Jeremy Corbyn's commitment to invest in the arts includes the aspiration that every child should have the opportunity to learn a musical instrument and he asserts that this will make Britain happier. In support of this noble aim, I got my flute out of its case this week. I can testify that this made me very happy.
The reason for my happiness was not that I found myself to be as good as I was in my prime in 1981. What I'm in now, as far as flute playing is concerned, is my twilight. But my younger son, who is on the ascent, agreed to accompany me in a rendition of Handel's sonata no. 5 in F major for flute and piano, and my elder son offered to throw in some bass riffs on his cello.
It's hard to analyse exactly why a substandard performance of Handel not at his best and recognisable to no one but ourselves should have been such fun, but not everything is measurable. Corbyn's instinct to take music out of its traditionally elite preserves is a good one. Not every child will want to take him up on it, should he ever get the chance to enact his dream, but I think every child should have the chance to turn him down.
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