Barbados’ oldest sheet music to unlock enslaved people’s voices

A project based in Gloucester has been awarded Arts Council England funding for its work exploring slavery, using a rare manuscript from the Caribbean.

The manuscript includes the world’s oldest-surviving sheet music from Barbados, capturing voices of enslaved people working in the sugar plantations.

It was placed in Gloucestershire Archives in the 1970s, and listed in the UNESCO Memory of the World register in 2017.

It is part of the Beating Back The Past project, which will also feature an installation of textiles, photographs and music.

Rider Shafique, a Gloucestershire musician of Barbadian descent, and Vanley Burke – commonly known as the godfather of black British photography – will head up the project, which will explore the transatlantic slave trade from their point of view.

Mr Burke told the BBC he was shown the manuscript a few years ago when mentoring a group of young people.

He met up with Mr Shafique to plan for the upcoming exhibition.

“This trauma resonates through the community – and it’s a very big topic,” he said.

Mr Burke added he wants people to see “glimpses” of slavery through their work, and said the manuscript is “one of many important materials held in archives”.

“It’s hidden in plain sight,” he added.

There will also be contributions from Voices Gloucester, as well as four other stitching groups, with the project being displayed at the city’s cathedral between the 6 and 30 of September.

In total, the project received £29,750 in funding from the Arts Council.

Phil Gibby, Area Director, South West, Arts Council England, said: “Cultural artefacts such as this rare manuscript serve as time capsules. They help us make meaning of the past, interpret the present, and shape our collective future.

“Thanks to public funding, we can invest in the care and exhibition of important objects like this, for the benefit of audiences across Gloucester – an Arts Council Priority Place – and further afield.”

Councillor Lynden Stowe, cabinet member at Gloucestershire County Council with responsibility for Archives, said: “This project will provide an opportunity for audiences to consider the impact of slavery historically and today.”