Annakin, Singer/Songwriter

What does "inspiration" mean to you? 

For me, inspiration is the state of mind it takes to write a good song. It is the epiphany, a revelation or a flash of inspiration, the shot of endorphins and the start of something exciting. It's at the beginning and is important for the creative process to flow.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

I can't really do without inspiration, because without it you can hardly make any progress, if at all. And I also believe that you can hear it in a song because it then sounds uninspired. Inspiration is therefore an indispensable source for me to be able to work creatively and perhaps also a seal of quality. I don't think the result is the same if you work hard on something creative in an uninspired way. Because, in my opinion, inspiration animates the work.

What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration for you?

 At some point I realized that there are methods for tapping into inspiration. For example, I often just write down my inner monologue in search of good lyrics. Sooner or later, my thoughts circle around something that is worth pursuing or a play on words arises that I record. Basically, you can find inspiration everywhere if you sharpen your senses. Just recently, I couldn't quite read a sign that said "Brockenhaus" from a distance and thought it said "Broken Hans". A wonderful title for a new song, I thought.

Is there anything else you would like to say about inspiration? 

Embrace it while you can! It is often a fleeting liaison with inspiration and hard work to keep it by your side for a long time.

https://annakin.net

 

Benjamin Amaru, Singer/Songwriter

What does "inspiration" mean to you?

Inspiration (in relation to art/creation) for me is something I want to work towards. I usually see it in the form of other artists who achieve something that I find worthwhile. The most important thing for me is how they achieve it and how authentic they are to themselves and to the outside world. This includes things that touch and/or impress me. In other words, anything that does something to me and that I can identify with can be an inspiration for me and be part of the very process or development that I am pursuing.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

I think there's no getting around "hard work". However, I think that inspiration is also at the heart of hard work. Why do you work hard? For me, the drive is just as linked to inspiration as anything else. Accordingly, I believe that inspiration lies at the heart of all creation.

What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration and artistic results for you?

For me, it comes very sporadically. It doesn't need a certain state or a specific situation, just the will to be inspired.

https://benjaminamaru.com

 

Daniel Schnyder, composer

What does "inspiration" mean to you?

 It means that something is stimulating your mind. This can come from outside or from within. The spirit that "inspires", i.e. visits you, is everywhere, but you can't always open up to it straight away. It sometimes rings at the artist's door at inopportune moments. What triggers inspiration? A creative environment can have an inspiring effect, other people, artists. But being alone can also inspire. As I said, spirit lives everywhere, it just doesn't always reveal itself.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

 Inspiration means energy; yes, it takes inspiration to create, and then immediately hard concentrated work, otherwise the spirit is gone again immediately. You cannot "postpone" inspiration. Unfortunately, hard work alone is not enough. You simply don't have the strength to do anything. You dry up without inspiration. Today, distraction is the danger; everything strives for the energy minimum, which is physics, chemistry: i.e.: Fridge, news, wellness, TV, social media. That's when the mind just marches out the door again ... But if you manage to stick with it, there is the "inspiration pull", where a whole stream of ideas, creative urge and kairos come together.

 What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration and artistic results for you?

Other musicians, great concerts, great works of the past; but also great literature and other cultures.

Is there anything else you would like to say about inspiration?

 Yes; I believe there is a superordinate "creative spirit" that characterizes people and gives them the opportunity to design a kind of "counter-creation". If you can join this superordinate spirit, connect with it, you are able to do things that you cannot actually do. can. This is what Bach means, for example, when he writes JESU JUVA in the most complicated parts of his compositions. You want to get the spirit to help you reach the kairos, the point of success. That means happiness.

That's also the only reason why you do it at all. There's no commercial sense in writing a four-part spiral fugue. You can't even bluff with it these days hahaha. But when it's played and works, it's of course great and a moment of happiness. And then, years later, you never understand how it all fits together so well and could succeed: As a composer, you create your own creative puzzles, hahaha.

https://www.danielschnyder.com/

 

Emanuela Hutter, Hillbilly Moon Explosion

What does "inspiration" mean to you? 

Inspiration is life-sustaining for me. Like the oil in the gearbox.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

Creating something new and unprecedented requires inspiration. It takes hard work to turn inspiration into reality. And a lot of perseverance.

 What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration and artistic results for you?

Thanks to the lockdown, I was able to experience that I can only be creative when I am in social interaction with people, namely strangers. Observing strangers inspires me and stimulates my imagination. Lounging around at home with my family in harmony and security is wonderful and relaxing, but it's counterproductive for me. I didn't write a single song during the entire lockdown.

How do you write a catchy tune?

Earworms can be stupidly intrusive and unpleasant. Sometimes they attack me when I wake up and continue to buzz nefariously in my head, and when I try to process them, they are too greasy and intrusive for anything beautiful to come of them. In such cases, trusting in a collaboration with a fellow musician or producer is fruitful. A collaboration that allows and endures disagreement and tension. I find it difficult to aim for a catchy tune.

Is there anything else you would like to say on the subject of "inspiration"?

Inspiration is a wonderful thing because it just happens to you. It comes to you like a breeze. Without having to make an effort. It feels like falling in love. And it can't be forced or bought. That is sometimes a beautiful aspect.

https://www.hillbillymoon.com/

 

James Varghese, musician/producer

What does "inspiration" mean to you?  

Inspiration is the reason why I have to create. It's as if I have something important that I really want to say. It has to get out. It's a feeling of happiness, a "flash". Although happiness is not quite the right word. You're more focused then, "in the zone". I'm not jumping for joy in the studio. I tend to become quiet, humble and grateful that I can experience this moment. It doesn't feel as if I have done or created something. It's a spiritual experience and you don't feel like an actor, more like a medium.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?  

If I only created when I was inspired, a song would never be finished. It always needs the aspect of hard, dry work. But only through hard work I would never find a song interesting enough to release. Since I also can't control when I'm inspired and when I'm not, I also have to go into the studio when I don't feel like it. There are many areas of music that I can work on, even when I'm uninspired.

What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration for you?  

I wish I knew that! Listening to music can lead to inspiration and vice versa. As I live in the city, trips into nature are always very inspiring. Maybe it's just about the change of scenery. Visits to other cities also always trigger a lot. Sometimes it feels like a battery being recharged.

How did the idea of a collaboration with Simone Felber in the Bergbahn come about? Did the "forced" inspiration it provided lead your creative work in different directions than when you were alone?  

The collaboration was initiated by Swisscom. They created an online format called X-Stories to bring people from different worlds together. In our case, it was city X country, electronic music X folk music. This forced element was very refreshing and beneficial for me, because I don't usually get to do that so often. I "had" to deliver something and this pressure was good for me. I think that whenever you have to get out of your comfort zone, exciting things happen. If I only ever did collaborations, I'd be really excited if I was suddenly allowed to work alone for a day. But because I so often work alone, the exchange was very valuable and enriching.

What also helped were the strict deadlines. Otherwise I can spend ages tweaking a track. Move a detail here, make a small change there until it's "perfect". And then it's still never perfect. I had to be much more pragmatic and that helped me. We found a good mix between free playing time, fiddling around and searching on the one hand and the harsh reality that we have to deliver 15 minutes of music on the other. That sounds like a compromise and "settling for something quicker", but it wasn't like that. It was simply longer working days and shorter nights.

Is there anything else you would like to say about inspiration?  

It's a word that can be used to say everything and nothing. And it can also be used as a killer argument and as an excuse, because you can never prove or disprove it. I could still be working on my first song and convince myself that I'm just waiting for inspiration and in the meantime I'm lying on the sofa scrolling through social media. But once you've experienced that "flash", you want to hold on to the feeling forever. I often ask myself what it feels like for other people. And what actions or moments make non-musicians feel it and how they express it.

https://jamesvarghese.bandcamp.com/album/uijo

https://quietloverecords.com/jamesvarghese

 

Michael Sele, The Beauty of Gemima

What does "inspiration" mean to you?

 It is this spark that ignites my creativity, the moment when ideas, emotions and impressions come together and lead me to create something new.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

 Inspiration is at best the beginning of the creative process that brings my work to life, but since you can't just wait for the big inspiration, I have also developed my techniques to foster my creativity. And this is where the work aspect comes in. It can be more than tedious, even frustrating, but it is also the only faithful and fearless companion that is by my side throughout the whole process.

What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration and artistic results for you?

 I find inspiration in many aspects of life, because basically you are surrounded by ideas and impressions every day, not to say non-stop. The important thing is that I am also on the path of wanting to create something new. Only then are my antennae active and I can receive signals. Breaking out of the daily routine, leaving the comfort zone, turning night into day again, going out, leaving the warm room, going to concerts, going to the theater, going to the cinema, all these are circumstances or wonderful things that then amplify the signals exponentially.

Can you force a catchy tune?

 An earworm is usually a catchy song or a melody that keeps popping up in your mind. You can definitely try to compose catchy melodies that have the potential to trigger an earworm in the listener. This can be achieved by using certain harmonies, melodies or lyrics that are easily remembered. There are entire textbooks that have analyzed the big hits and tried to derive a so-called key to success from them. Production teams and record companies also try to apply these schemes and if this song then runs non-stop and in continuous rotation on all channels, the chances are certainly not bad that the catchy tune will become a hit at best.

Is there anything else you would like to say on the subject of "inspiration"?

 Inspiration in the sense of breathing in actually means nothing other than that everyone needs inspiration to survive and can and must be inspiration for others.

https://www.thebeautyofgemina.com

 

Nik Bärtsch, musician/composer

What does "inspiration" mean to you?

An artistic work, a performance or a football match must be brought to life - in its creation and during its execution. Rules, skill and a fat budget alone are not enough. We speak of "animated" when an event triggers empathy, emotion and community. This happens through the "breath of things" - life is breathed into the living beings involved. They begin to believe in the here and now together.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

Inspiration is like a Japanese spirit that constantly changes into other bodies. It appears out of nowhere in the shower as well as during hard work. So it cannot be forced, but it can be evoked: through patience and dedication to the music, in artistic ecstasy as a permanent state, so to speak.

What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration and artistic results for you?

 Work flow - whether under stress or with lots of time and space, the tunnel vision has to be right. The composer Morton Feldman says: To compose, you need two things - unconditional concentration and belief in it. I would add: tremendous joy in the music. Incidentally, this is how FCZ recently became champions against overpaid and greased competitors: joy, focus, faith.

https://www.nikbaertsch.com

 

Niklaus Keller, composer

Would you be willing to answer a few questions on the subject of "inspiration"?

Gladly, because:

A: Inspiration and creation are the two cornerstones of my life. Spirit and creation determine my existence, kissed by the muse, I compose in my study. I have no idea what I am doing there, the divine spark permeates me and the quill in my hand, the notes write themselves.

B: Maybe not, I make music and have little idea of the neurological sequences in the brain. Inspiration and creation are perhaps ultimately nothing more than electrical charges and people only create something new, just as they climb a mountain, namely because the mountain is there. So he writes music because he can and for no other reason.

Whether A or B, the music sounds the same. Good, then we can start the interview now, "Mr. Keller, thank you very much for the introduction."

What does "inspiration" mean to you?

For me, inspiration means having an idea without having to actively think about it; the spirit enters consciousness unexpectedly and is perceived. This happens in a moment of relaxation and self-forgetfulness, neither of which can be brought about consciously, because the whole process, I repeat, happens unexpectedly.

Unfortunately, I can't think of full-length symphonies at the drop of a hat; they tend to be short motifs and melodies that usually reveal themselves to me as I stroll along whistling. If I like a motif, I record it with my device, my cell phone.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

For me, inspiration is nothing supernatural, it is generated by people or their brains themselves, tends to be unconscious and arises from what you have stored as music in your brain and is reassembled there if it is an original idea. As I said before, I come up with short melodies. Then the hard work begins, which is sometimes worthwhile if the idea is good. Inspiration is the building block and a help to get started.

The fact that inspiration serves as a starting point can also be seen in the fact that some musicians believe that inspiration is a direct message from God. Trusting in God certainly gives you additional strength and legitimizes your own work. But you can also start without inspiration, because there are other parameters besides inspiration that play a role, such as the urge to create something that is right in itself, like a designer with a beautifully shaped car or a footballer with a beautifully struck free kick or, like Rossini, when he cooks something good.

And yes, it is work. You work long hours, because it shouldn't sound like hard work, but like it was made on the spot, and it should also sound good, so you should also have certain technical skills.

What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration and artistic results for you?

Unfortunately, I don't have an answer. I don't think even Beethoven would have one, because even he, if I remember correctly, didn't achieve 1001TP3 results in the operatic field. If he had known how to assess the situation correctly, he wouldn't have written operas - or better ones. But inspiration isn't everything, it's also about freeing yourself from your own making and looking at it from the outside, so to speak. Like the Beatles did for each other when writing songs. Moreover, inspiration doesn't just happen at the beginning. You also have new ideas during the work, which are a result of the initial spark.

https://niklauskeller.bandcamp.com/

 

Romaine Blum, Wintershome

What does "inspiration" mean to you? 

 Inspiration is what a musician lives on. It is the heartbeat of our creative existence. Inspiration is that which cannot be explained, the magic behind a song, that certain something.

Does it take "inspiration" to create or is hard work enough?

 You definitely need inspiration. You can achieve a lot with hard work, but I am convinced that creative work in particular requires inspiration that comes from somewhere and finds you. I think only hard work doesn't bring inner satisfaction because this magic is missing.

What circumstances are most likely to lead to creative inspiration and artistic results for you?

 Everyday things, but also the really big emotions. Sometimes you write a song about a break-up, a loss, the birth of a child or other drastic experiences. But sometimes all it takes is a sentence from a good book to inspire you to write a song.

Can you force a catchy tune with calculation? Some of your choruses are incredibly catchy ...

 We don't believe that this can be forced. We've actually tried it a few times. But we always got to the point where we couldn't get any further or became dissatisfied, and that's where inspiration comes into play. It works best when you are open to it and have no expectations, and then it just suddenly flows.

https://www.wintershome.ch/

Table of contents

Focus

Talent is a gift, its development is happiness
Interview with Michael Eidenbenz

Giving the gift of music
Musical gifts beyond CDs and vinyl

Musical dedications
A small collection

Mystery in the shower
The gift of inspiration
Link to the detailed interviews online

 (italics = summary in German of the original French article)

 

Critiques

Reviews of recordings, books, sheet music

 

Echo

Maria Schmidt and Theodor Kirchner
The first publication of a portrait of his wife on the composer's birthday

Rachmaninov in Lucerne
Exhibition at the Hans Erni Museum in Lucerne

" La partition permet de me connecter aux autres "
Entretien avec David Philip Hefti

Chronicler of post-war modernism
Obituary for Fritz Muggler

Losses and outbursts
Donaueschingen Music Days 2023

Change of baton at the "talent scouts"
Orpheum Foundation: Howard Griffiths hands over to Oliver Schnyder

Radio Francesco
Spectres | Ghosts

Le réveil de musiques endormies
Des cahiers d'anciens airs à danser viennent d'être publiés

Folk music in Graubünden
"Grenzenlos lüpfig" exhibition at the Rhaetian Museum in Chur

Those who feel good stay motivated
Symposium Swissmedmusica

"360-degree panorama of music education"
Updated job description for music education

Chatting about ...
Musical instruments as a gift

Bach, lo Stato e Spotify: Carte blanche
per Zeno Gabaglio

Base

Articles and news from the music associations

Swiss Federal Orchestra Association (EOV) / Société Fédérale des Orchestres (SFO)

Konferenz Musikhochschulen Schweiz (KMHS) / Conférence des Hautes Ecoles de Musique Suisse (CHEMS)

Kalaidos University of Music / Kalaidos Haute École de Musique

Swiss Music Council (SMR) / Conseil Suisse de la Musique (CSM)

CHorama

Swiss Society for Music Medicine (SMM) / Association suisse de Médecine de la Musique (SMM)

Swiss Musicological Society (SMG) / Société Suisse de Musicologie (SSM)

Swiss Musicians' Association (SMV) / Union Suisse des Artistes Musiciens (USDAM)

Schweizerischer Musikpädagogischer Verband (SMPV) / Société Suisse de Pédagogie Musicale (SSPM)

SONART - Musicians Switzerland

Swiss Youth Music Competition Foundation (SJMW)

Arosa Culture

SUISA - Cooperative Society of Authors and Publishers of Music

Swiss Association of Music Schools (VMS) / Association Suisse des Écoles de Musique (ASEM)

 

Secret organ donation
Puzzle by Michael Kube

________________________________________

Order issue for CHF 8.- (+ CHF 2.- shipping costs)

The career path to becoming a music teacher is clearly defined. After passing the entrance examination at a university, students complete a Bachelor's and a Master's degree, the latter with a focus on music education and didactics. They then teach independently or at music schools, often part-time, so that they have enough time for their own artistic work. - A brief summary that does not quite do justice to the wealth of opportunities that are available after graduation. Because what does that mean: teaching music? Is it one-to-one instrument lessons for school-age children? Is it leading a music and movement program? Is it leading parent-child singing, an ensemble for senior citizens, a youth orchestra, bands of all styles? Teaching in a team with elementary school teachers? Organizing and directing musicals and concerts? Setting up a music production program on a smartphone or computer?

Standardize professional understanding

In November 2023, the working group, consisting of members of various associations and representatives of universities and music schools from all over Switzerland, published the Job description music teacher. The document is intended to serve as a basis for music students and conservatoires as well as for those responsible for education, politicians and policy-makers. It is to be understood as an update of the mission statement developed in 2006 and provides an insight into topics such as the educational mission, training and further education as well as musical teaching and learning itself in four chapters.

The student at the center

The basic value of "pupil-centeredness" is particularly important to the working group: music teachers should focus entirely on their counterparts. This includes, for example, taking into account different biographies, but also the students' individual wealth of experience. This requires teachers to adopt an inclusive attitude and be sensitive to diverse needs and special learning profiles. This attitude, especially when including the physical dimension, is particularly important in the area of music and movement, as Céline Shuler, Head of the Rhythmics Switzerland office, emphasizes.

Broad-based and talent promotion - music for all

Another key point in the job description states that music teachers are ambassadors for music education and are committed to equal opportunities. "Music teachers lead their students to active music-making at both a broad and advanced level," says Marcel Blanchard, Prorector of the Zurich Conservatory of Music. Matteo Piazza, President of the Ticino music school association FeSMuT (Federazione delle Scuole di Musica Ticinesi), also emphasizes the importance of equal opportunities in music education, which is enshrined in Article 67a of the Swiss Federal Constitution.

Developing, thinking ahead

The concept of lifelong learning also applies to music education. According to the mission statement, this learning can take a variety of forms. Vessels such as coaching or team teaching are mentioned as well as participation in further education programs in both the pedagogical and artistic fields.

Promoting public awareness

Music teachers should be creative, musical role models, motivating, competent in organization and project management and yet, where necessary, spontaneous, interested in current developments and able to work together in different teams. These are high demands. - Are there such music teachers? "Oh yes, many things are not new and are already practiced in this way," says Christian Braun, Head of the St. Gallen Music School. "Unfortunately, many facets of this great profession are not yet known to the public," adds Philippe Müller, Head of the Cercle Lémanique d'Études Musicales in Lutry. Julien Feltin, Director of the École de Jazz et de Musique Actuelle in Lausanne, describes the document as a "360-degree panorama of music education in Switzerland". For the working group, one thing is clear: the professional mission statement should inspire and serve as a basis for reflection and further development. At the same time, it should show where the potential of music education lies - with the aim of further anchoring the offer throughout Switzerland both structurally and politically.

 

The job description is in
German https://www.verband-musikschulen.ch/de/musikschule/musikpaedagogik/berufsleitbild
French https://www.verband-musikschulen.ch/fr/musikschule/musikpaedagogik/berufsleitbild
and Italian https://www.verband-musikschulen.ch/it/musikschule/musikpaedagogik/berufsleitbild
before.

 

Call for applications from young choir conductors living and working in Switzerland

The Basel Madrigalists, in collaboration with the International Lyceum Club of Switzerland, Swiss choral associations and media partner Swiss Radio SRF2 Kultur, are awarding the "Swiss Made Choir Conducting Prize" for the first time. This prize is intended to promote young, talented choir conductors and is the first of its kind in Switzerland.

The winner receives the unique opportunity to develop and perform a concert program in the following year together with the Basler Madrigalisten, the renowned chamber choir of professionally trained singers. The collaboration provides practical experience in rehearsal techniques, project and concert organization.

Masterclass with competition: February 15 to 17, 2024, Music Academy of the City of Basel

Do you have a professional diploma in choral conducting and live and work in Switzerland? Then apply now! The pre-selection allows you to:

• 4 30-minute concerts with the Basler Madrigalisten, including dress rehearsal and competition concert.
• Individual coaching during the master class with Raphael Immoos, artistic director of the Basler Madrigalisten.
• Participation in the 1st Swiss Choral Conducting Competition Swiss Made with the chance to win your own project with the Basler Madrigalisten.

Application deadline: December 17, 2023

Program details and registration formalities can be found on our website www.basler-madrigalisten.ch. Register now and join in!

Everyone knows it, the highly dramatic O Fortuna - has been used in countless commercials and has thus become largely detached from its original context. The piece actually forms the framework of Carl Orff's Carmina Buranaa scenic cantata about the capriciousness and ambivalence of human existence. Orff set 24 of the 254 poems in the medieval manuscript to music for it Codex Buranuswere built in the 11th and 12th centuries.

This now world-famous work was performed in its entirety on Saturday, November 11 at the Stadtcasino Basel. Organist Babette Mondry and choirmaster Tobias Stückelberger, who founded the vokal:orgel association in 2022 and regularly present new formats for choir and organ, were mainly responsible for this.

What was new in the performance of Carmina Burana the beginning: It did not start with O Fortunabut with a kind of prologue - Hanna Marti, a specialist in medieval music, sang the song, also from the Codex Buranus originating Vacillantis trutine and accompanied himself on the harp. After a transition, Orff's work followed in its original structure. The instrumentation was new: Mondry imitated most of the instruments on the versatile Stadtcasino organ, accompanied by the percussion ensemble of the FHNW Academy of Music under the direction of Matthias Würsch. It was the first time that an organ version of the Carmina Burana It was adapted by Mondry herself, who obtained the publishing rights to the work especially for this project.

Scenic elements

The choir consisted of over 200 colorfully dressed young singers, made up of the Basel Young Chamber Choir and choirs from the Bäumlihof, Kirschgarten, Muttenz and Oberwil high schools. The solo voices were soprano Jardena Flückiger, baritone Yannick Debus and countertenor Julian Schmidlin. The numerous scenic elements performed by the choir and solo voices, which the work actually provides for but which are rarely performed today, were also special.

Carmina Burana is about the ups and downs of life, the changing moods and whims of (human) nature, symbolized by the ever-turning wheel of Fortuna - in scenes in the field, in the tavern or in the courtyard of love. The performance in the Stadtcasino under the direction of Tobias Stückelberger was convincing across the board, firstly because it managed to skillfully switch back and forth between a village-naïve and apocalyptic sound. Secondly, the staging by Swiss director Mélanie Huber and the music were full of life - as it should be in a work about the ambivalences of human existence. The sold-out Stadtcasino honored the performance with a standing ovation.

Prevention in music lessons has long been a taboo subject, said Pia Bucher, founding member of the Swiss Society for Music Medicine, today Swissmedmusica SMMin her greeting to the Swiss Performers' Foundation SIS. Nobody wanted to admit that things were not always good in the music profession. However, the pandemic in particular has changed this. Social security also contributes a lot to mental and physical health. She therefore advised those present to use the pension portal for cultural professionals to-be-or-not-to-be.ch and find out about the possibilities.

Self-determined music-making

A common thread running through the first three presentations was the demand for individuality: Anke Grell reminded the audience that music lessons for children and young people are often the only 1:1 time with an adult outside of the family. The responsibility this places on a music teacher is self-evident. Through playful and individually adapted lessons, the motivation to make music and practice can be maintained. Learners are encouraged to find out how much effort it takes to achieve their goals, and they should be allowed to take responsibility for their own practicing according to their level. This creates an intrinsic motivation that is more sustainable than one imposed by the family environment or over-ambitious teachers.

Oliver Margulies startled the audience with the statement that three quarters of all professional musicians have work-related health problems. Cramps, poor posture and one-sided strain often mean that even young musicians suffer from pain. It is therefore important that music students at universities receive individual music physiology support. Those who feel good when making music remain motivated, and those who will work as music teachers in the future can have a positive effect on their students with the necessary knowledge of music physiology.

Carine Tripet Lièvre made a fiery plea for music learners to receive individual support in the event of failure. She described motivation as an engine that is fueled by commitment and effort rather than fuel. Learners recognize which efforts lead to success. If this reward fails to materialize, the teacher must get the faltering engine running again by setting a task that can be solved immediately, e.g. within the next lesson.

According to Antonia Pfeiffer, learned performance anxiety can be countered with positive affirmations, and it can be "tapped away": PEP is the name of the method in which you tap on acupuncture points while mentally placing yourself in an anxiety-inducing or stress-inducing situation.

Emotional engagement brings interaction

As after every presentation, moderator Isabelle Freymond tried to motivate the audience to ask questions at this point. "Could it be because of the lack of practical relevance that there are no questions?" someone asked. - The topics covered all had a practical relevance and a lot of knowledge was imparted in the presentations. However, it was a little tiring that the speakers primarily read out their PowerPoint presentations. Some interactive elements would probably have provided additional motivation.

It was therefore the ideal time for Christian Studler's presentation: he talked about his practical experience as a musician and as a professor of flute. "Fears feel at home in the musician's soul," he said and found it frightening that entire classes at the HKB swallowed beta blockers before every performance. His remedy for instilling performance anxiety is a feedback culture in which students feel accepted for who they are. The focus should not be on forcing performance and fighting against mistakes. Rather, criticism should point out what is already there and what is good and how to build on it.

He was believed to have trained people during his teaching career, not music machines. Interestingly, his presentation triggered a flood of questions. It was a showpiece of how genuine commitment and emotionality can motivate!

The 19th SMM Symposium, which was bilingual and simultaneously translated, was perfectly organized by President Wolfgang Böhler and his team. During the breaks and the aperitif that followed, there was time for lively discussions with colleagues from the fields of music, music education, medicine, psychology and therapy, and at the table-top exhibition, participants were able to find out about new teaching methods, supporting instrument accessories and prevention methods. Prevention has also been at the heart of the organization since it changed its name to Swissmedmusica.

All this motivates us to attend next year's anniversary symposium!

According to the current call for applications, Joeʼs Youth Jazz Orchestra.ch focuses on the exploration of original big band material. The musicians, aged between 16 and 22, explore jazz literature and composition. Playing together in a big band is encouraged, as is solo improvisation.

In addition to Joe Haider, pianist, composer, bandleader and long-standing director of the Swiss Jazz School in Bern, Claus Reichstaller, director of the Jazz Institute at the Munich University of Music and Performing Arts, and trumpeter Bernhard Schoch, Uster, are also involved in the project management. During the work phase from August 2 to 10 in Uster, they will be supported by a large team of lecturers.

Further concerts in Switzerland and nearby countries are planned. Young people living in Switzerland can register for the auditions in March until January 31, 2024.

joesyouthjazzorchestra.ch

The good thing about anniversaries is that something gets moving again. Villa Senar, a stately Bauhaus-style building in the middle of a large park in Hertenstein, was privately owned until recently. Since April 2022, the property has belonged to the canton of Lucerne. Following extensive renovation work, it is temporarily open to the public to mark the 150th anniversary of the birth of Rachmaninoff (1873-1943). The Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation looks after the house and organizes events in Switzerland and abroad.

In this context, the estate was also handed over to the Lucerne State Archives, making Lucerne a focal point for Rachmaninov researchers. Organizing and digitizing it is a time-consuming task, which the State Archives are taking care of in exemplary fashion. An exhibition currently on show at the Hans Erni Museum provides an insight into this impressive legacy.

Suitcases, gardening clothes and photos

The Hans-Erni-Museum is located on the grounds of the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne. The special exhibition on Sergei Rachmaninov is located on the top floor of the imposing circular building. From a distance, you can see a large display case containing one of the virtuoso's suitcases and his original clothes, which he liked to wear when gardening. Rachmaninov lived in Hertenstein from 1932 to 1939; Villa Senar was his retreat from his strenuous concert tours, where he could also compose in peace. The exhibition focuses on this period.

Heinz Stahlhut, the director of the Hans-Erni-Museum, curated it. He has dedicated an extensive chapter to Lucerne and Hertenstein in the 1930s. Loans from the Swiss Museum of Transport, the Weggis Regional Museum and private collections show how attractive Hertenstein was for international tourism at the time. Another chapter focuses on the architecture, planning and construction of Villa Senar by Alfred Möri and Karl Friedrich Krebs. Floor plans, documents and photos provide an insight into the work of these progressive Lucerne architects, who also built St. Luke's Church in 1933/35.

Rachmaninov toured primarily as a virtuoso, even during his time in Hertenstein. Concert programs and posters from all over the world can be seen in the exhibition, especially from Carnegie Hall New York and Paris. Rachmaninov's only appearance at the Lucerne International Music Festival is also included. On August 11, 1939, he played Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 1 in C major under the direction of Ernest Ansermet, and his own Rhapsodie sur un thème de Paganini for piano and orchestra op. 43.

In this exhibition, it is above all the beautifully presented historical photos of Rachmaninov that attract attention. You can see him either at work on the piano or in private. Also eye-catching are the numerous editions, including Russian ones, of Rachmaninov's most popular piano piece, the Prelude C sharp minor op. 3 No. 2 from the documentation library of Walter Labhart. Old shellac records bear witness to a different era of recording technology.

Variations, essays and events

When Rachmaninov came to Lucerne, he was in a creative crisis. Only after a long break full of artistic self-doubt did he regain his creativity. In Hertenstein, he wrote the Variations sur un thème de Corelli op. 42, the Paganini Rhapsody and his Third Symphony op. 44. In addition to interesting editions of these works, the conducting score of the Paganini Rhapsody by the renowned conductor Willem Mengelberg is also on display, complete with his entries. All three works can also be heard in the Erni Museum.

A catalog accompanying the exhibition takes an essayistic look at Rachmaninov's time in Lucerne. In it, Karl Bühlmann Insights into Lucerne's artistic life in the thirties, Elger Nies carries Indian summer on Lake Lucerne and Graziella Contratto makes a An attempt at great happiness, Rachmaninov's music and the lake. It is richly illustrated and includes a biography, a bibliography and a list of works.

 

Museum of Transport Lucerne, Hans-Erni-Museumuntil January 14, 2024.
The catalog is also available digitally: heinz.stahlhut@verkehrshaus.ch
23. 11. 2023, 6 pm: Exhibition talk on Villa Senar
14. 1. 2023, 2 pm: Finissage concert with the Corelli Variations (Tommaso Carlini)

Serge Rachmaninoff Foundation: https://rachmaninoff.ch

How the Male voices Basel the choir under the direction of David Rossel was founded on international competition of the City of Derry International Choir Festival was awarded the special "Outstanding Performance of a First-Time Participant" prize. It placed directly behind choirs from Latvia (94.8), England (94.3) and Norway (93.1). In addition to the commissioned composition Diluvium by Swiss composer Ivo Antognini, the 25 or so Basel musicians performed other challenging compositions, such as Francis Poulenc's Chanson à boire.

Only a few award-winning choirs are admitted to this competition from numerous applications. The festival has existed since 2013.

 

The Knabenkantorei Basel, whose members are between 14 and 25 years old, came out on top in the "Musica Sacra with accompaniment" category under the direction of Oliver Rudin. It came first in both the Champions Competition and the Grand Prix of Nations and was awarded gold medals.

She received another gold medal in the "Youth Choirs" category of the Champions Competition. At this competition, they were beaten by the male voices of the Boys Choir Lucerne by one point. The choir, conducted by Andreas Wiedmer, also won a gold medal in the "Youth Choirs" category at the Grand Prix of Nations. The two choirs brought home five out of a total of 25 gold medals awarded.

 

The 10th edition of the Concours Nicati, the concours suisse de musique contemporaine organized by the Fondation Nicati de Luze, took place in Lucerne from 21 to 27 August. It was organized by the HSLU-Music, partner of the event. Three categories were presented: Solo and Ensemble, in which the candidates and candidates performed compositions written in Switzerland and abroad after 1945, and the Open Space category, which featured creations that did not take the form of a conventional concert. The competition brought together many different facets of contemporary music: instrumental and vocal pieces, musical theater, electronic music, multimedia works and multidisciplinary performances.

6 ensembles, 14 soloists and 9 open space projects from all over Switzerland were selected. Over 7 days, the public freely attended 26 concerts and 11 spectacles, including the finales followed by aperitifs offered to all.

The prizes of the finalists amount to CHF 48,000, including, for the first prizes, the opportunity to compete in the IGNM Bern, SMC Lausanne and FNML Lucerne seasons.

Palmarès 2023

Prix Interprétation Ensemble

1s Duet 2.26. Clara Giner Franco (flûte), Hèctor Rodríguez Palacios (flûte)

 

2ème : Duo Signal. Adrián Albaladejo Díaz (trombone), Alejandro Oliván Lopez (saxophones)

3ème Moser String Quartet. Ariadna Bataller Calatayud (alto), Lea Galasso (violoncelle), Kanon Miyashita (violon), Patricia Muro Francia (violon)

 

Prix Interprétation Solo

1s : Francesco Palmieri (guitares)

2ème Alexandre Ferreira Silva (percussions)

3ème : Nora Bertogg (voix)

 

Prix Open space

1er : Can Etterlin (composition et performance)

2ème : Ludmilla Mercier et Andrea Zamengo (composition et performance)

 

The next edition is scheduled for 2025.

 

Site web : nicati.ch

Instagram : concoursnicati2023

Table of contents

Focus

Art lessons must be at the heart of all education
Interview with Philippe Régana

Evening entertainment on the way to Mont Blanc
Tourism influenced Geneva's musical life

The sound of squats
Geneva's music scene is flourishing like never before
Link to the Geneva playlist

Composing in the city of Calvin
Some of Geneva's sound artists over the centuries

 (italics = summary in German of the original French article)

 

Critiques

Reviews of recordings, books, sheet music

 

Echo

Gentle socio-cultural Adventure
Ticino music village Sobrio

Una per tutti, tutti per una
La Festa federale della musica popolare di Bellinzona

Fear for and of music lessons
Podium in Zurich

In the paradise of cultural policy
Swiss Music Awards 2023

A Kampus festival in Lucerne
Music institutions at the Südpol

Concours Hélène de Montgeroult à Romont
Pour jeunes pianistes

Music retail in the niche market
A look around

"Making people listen" was his major concern
Urs Frauchiger

Radio Francesco
Far west | Wild west

Early music for today's audience
Forum Early Music Zurich

Yodeling, Joik and Krimanchuli
Film "Beyond Tradition"

Lutherie sauvage et musique pour tous
Joue à ton rythme

Clavardon's ...
au sujet de l'ethnomusicologie à Genève

Carte blanche fFor Thomas Meyer
A little boozy idea ...

Base

Articles and news from the music associations

Swiss Federal Orchestra Association (EOV) / Société Fédérale des Orchestres (SFO)

Konferenz Musikhochschulen Schweiz (KMHS) / Conférence des Hautes Ecoles de Musique Suisse (CHEMS)

Kalaidos University of Music / Kalaidos Haute École de Musique

Swiss Music Council (SMR) / Conseil Suisse de la Musique (CSM)

CHorama

Swiss Society for Music Medicine (SMM) / Association suisse de Médecine de la Musique (SMM)

Swiss Musicological Society (SMG) / Société Suisse de Musicologie (SSM)

Swiss Musicians' Association (SMV) / Union Suisse des Artistes Musiciens (USDAM)

Schweizerischer Musikpädagogischer Verband (SMPV) / Société Suisse de Pédagogie Musicale (SSPM)

SONART - Musicians Switzerland

Swiss Youth Music Competition Foundation (SJMW)

Arosa Culture

SUISA - Cooperative Society of Authors and Publishers of Music

Swiss Association of Music Schools (VMS) / Association Suisse des Écoles de Musique (ASEM)

 

A gaucho in Geneva
Puzzle by Dirk Wieschollek

________________________________________

Order issue for CHF 8.- (+ CHF 2.- shipping costs)

Abruptly in the middle of the piece, the quieter stream of sound breaks off abruptly, the musicians pause, a loose thread still seems to float lost in the air. And the Italian composer Clara Iannotta also speaks of being lost in her commentary. An illness forced her to change in 2020. Instead of being able to concentrate on her work, "I felt lost [...], I don't yet know who I am and what my music will be". Her piece where the dark earth bendscomposed for the incredibly subtle trombone duo Rage Thormbones and the SWR Symphony Orchestra, was nevertheless a first highlight. The way in which the solos, the orchestra and the electronics merge into a single unit was simply masterful. The ear was drawn in.

Diffuse and pale

This was not always the case at this year's Donaueschingen Music Days. Indeed, a sense of forlornness hovered over many a piece this year, but the music rarely managed to gain a presence. Some of it remained too diffuse and powerless. Even the poetic and convincing composition Haze - as if everything is coming backwhich Elnaz Sayedi created together with the poet Anja Kampmann, seemed at times like a dystopian idyll.

Perhaps it is due to the circumstances of the times, no: these brutally warlike months, that a certain hopelessness is spreading, disillusionment that may not gain traction. The saxophonist Matana Roberts, for example, in their Elegy for Tyre: "Welcome to the World through my eyes ..."which commemorates an African-American killed by police officers in Memphis, the SWR Symphony Orchestra improvised on a text score, which unfortunately developed too little expressiveness. The orchestral sounds were less depressing than the whispering at the end. The attempt by the US-American Jessie Marino to create a murder ballads to banish violence against women through gentle songs faded completely. The piece by the otherwise brilliant percussionist Tyshawn Sorey, For Ross Gay (the biographer of basketball legend Julius Erving), rose to a glistening crescendo at the end after an even conduction.

Nuanced and impulsive

In her first largely self-directed year, festival director Lydia Rilling has set herself the theme of "collaboration" (in addition to a high degree of diversity). Although this is certainly present in the "classical" tradition, it is limited to certain areas such as text setting or interpretation. The fact that an orchestra improvises or at least creates large parts of a score that may no longer exist or is graphic is the great exception. French composer Éliane Radigue, however, demands precisely this from her musicians. In her orchestral piece Occam Océan Cinquanta the SWR Symphony Orchestra played according to the instructions of co-composer Carol Robinson from the moment, whereby the playing style and also the form had been worked out in broad outline beforehand. The result was an extraordinarily nuanced performance, a vast soundscape.

However, when it came to the flexible juxtaposition of free playing, improvisation, concept and score interpretation, their jazz colleagues were far better placed. For the great New York quartet Yarn/Wire (with two pianos and two percussions), saxophonist Ingrid Laubrock and trumpeter Peter Evans created two diverse and stimulating pieces that once again brought a lot of life and drive to this festival. A conclusion full of contradictions after this weekend.

Touching and ecstatic

As is so often the case, however, it was turned on its head in the final concert. Younghi Pagh-Paan commemorated in her touching orchestral piece Woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for? of her late husband Klaus Huber. The Italian Francesca Verunelli played in Tune and Retune II with various detunings - and received the SWR Orchestra Prize for it. Finally, Steven Kazuo Takasugi's piano concerto once again tore down all walls of sound: splintering layers, probably generated in the electronics with the help of algorithms, continued in the orchestra, poured down on the audience, very loud in passages: a real joy! Nothing more of lostness ...

Born in Zurich in 1930, Fritz Muggler studied piano, school music, organ and later musicology at the University of Zurich with Paul Hindemith and Kurt von Fischer, as well as art history, journalism, music theory and composition. He was organist in Schlieren for 35 years and wrote for various newspapers, including the NZZ. He studied recorder with Hans Martin Linde at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis. He founded the NewConsortZurich, an ensemble for early music in combination with contemporary music. He attended the Darmstadt Summer Courses for New Music for many years. He also chaired the Swiss section of the International Society for New Music (IGNM).

In January 2008, the SMZ a music protocol with Fritz Muggler by Johannes Anders. It contains somewhat more detailed information about his biography (Download PDF).

Fritz Muggler has reported on the Donaueschingen Music Days in the SMZ for many years. Some PDFs for download:

2007
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012

 

Chronicler of post-war modernism

Obituary for Fritz Muggler by Max Nyffeler
(published slightly abridged in the Swiss Music Newspaper 12/203 of November 29, 2023, p. 31 f.)

Comprehensively educated music critics who are equally well versed in early and contemporary music and are also active as practical musicians are rather rare today. Fritz Muggler, who died in Zurich on September 25 at the ripe old age of 93, was one of them. The public hardly noticed. He had long since retired from the critics' business and only appeared at concerts that interested him personally. And as far as contemporary music was concerned, these were fewer and fewer; he let the latest developments pass him by.

Contemporary of the post-war avant-garde

Born in 1930, Fritz Muggler belonged to the same age cohort as the protagonists of the post-war avant-garde: Ligeti, Stockhausen, Nono, Boulez, Kagel, Schnebel ... He trained his criteria on their works. He had acquired in-depth musical knowledge during his piano and organ studies at the Zurich Conservatory and in musicology with Paul Hindemith, who taught at the University of Zurich from 1951. However, as a young, curious musician, he also attended the Darmstadt Summer Courses at an early age. This made him one of the few connoisseurs of the emerging serialism of the time. I gained an impression of his expertise at the beginning of the 1960s when, as a budding musicologist, I took part in a seminar on music in the 20th century with Kurt von Fischer in Zurich - an absolute novelty at a university at the time. At this seminar, von Fischer invited Muggler to give a guest lecture on Stockhausen - he himself was not so well versed in this new subject. Muggler's appearance was a benefit for everyone.

His professional career spanned more than half a century. After journalistic beginnings with the daily newspapers National law and The deed he was appointed in the Neue Zürcher Zeitung for decades to become an important voice for all things contemporary, and he also wrote a great deal for the Swiss Music Newspaperor later for the Swiss Music Newspaper. He was always there when there was something new to hear, whether at home or abroad. At one meter ninety, he was an unmissable figure, and as a conversationalist he was exceptionally friendly - an attentive listener who was tolerant of other opinions and discreetly withdrew his own ego. As a wide-awake music critic, he noted down his impressions and reflections at the moment of listening - in shorthand, so that he could keep up with the music in writing. His notebooks are a huge store of knowledge acquired through listening and must have filled shelves.

Facts instead of opinions

Excited disputes about right and wrong, once a specialty of avant-garde circles, were just as little his cup of tea as criticism or its opposite, today's widespread pandering and frenemy journalism. Nor did he engage in socio-political debates, a perennial topic in feature pages and specialist circles after 1968, and their by-product, book-filling theorizing. He preferred to stick to the recognizable facts and sound results and strove to communicate them to his readers in simple and clear language. His role was that of the rationally arguing observer, open to anything new, who put his impressions and reflections down on paper in a matter-of-fact, modest tone - more of a soberly judging recorder of events than an advocate of artistic utopias. With this attitude and his profound knowledge, Muggler became an important chronicler of post-war modernism.

Sharp statements

For all his liberalism, he did not shy away from sharp statements. His reports from the Donaueschingen Music Days, which he organized until 2012 in the Swiss Music Newspaper are a treasure trove of pointed criticism. A few tidbits (from the PDFs listed above for download):

• The composition Apon by Beat Furrer also ran itself to death in the small sound groups, which then always gave the speaker space for a text that you still couldn't understand. Furrer tried to recreate the sound of speaking orchestrally, which he obviously did not succeed in doing.
• About Bernhard Lang, Monadology IXThe constant small-scale repetitions, which seem chatty and don't bring anything new, get on your nerves in a good 65 minutes.
• A fundamental problem for many composers in post-modern orchestral music, however, is filling the body of sound, which used to be done with chordal material. Both the Italian Aureliano Cattaneo (...) and the Paris-born Franck Bedrossian in Itself accomplish this with simple groups of notes that are endearingly banal, with the latter's blah-blah interspersed with awkward bursts of power. This is music that obviously doesn't expect you to listen to the details, that only cares about the superficial.

Condemnation and praise in the same breath

But in the same breath, the master of the succinct critique also knew how to praise:

• About Isabel Mundry, Me and youThe piano, even if soloistic and extremely virtuosic, is totally integrated into very precisely eavesdropped, beautifully balanced, highly complex sound combinations with a whirring, interwoven piano sound. In contrast, Enno Poppe in Old building with tonal gimmicks and imbalances.
• What Jennifer Walshe, Clara Maïda and Iris ter Schiphorst demanded was completely unimaginative, eternally repetitive, yet highly demanding singing, pimped up for fun with gestural, mimic and percussive actions, and only the Berliner Sarah Nemtsov with her Hoqueti was to be taken seriously in her typesetting skills and sensibly used additional effects.
• About Globokar, Radiographie d'un romanFor over three quarters of an hour, it was incredibly dense and, despite the variety of sounds and actions, including theatrical elements, formally completely convincing. The enthusiasm of the audience, especially the young ones, was huge.

Organist, IGNM President and radio critic

In addition to his profession as a music critic, Fritz Muggler was also very active. He studied recorder with Hanns-Martin Linde at the Schola Cantorum Basiliensis and then founded the New Consort Zurich, as well as playing the organ in a church in Schlieren. His commitment to contemporary music found its organizational expression in his many years as president of the Swiss section of the International Society for New Music (IGNM) and as director of the IGNM World Music Festival, which took place in Zurich in 1991.

Muggler also focused intensively on the topic of music in the media. In the NZZ he published detailed radio reviews for many years, a type of text that would be important in the media age, but unfortunately no longer finds a place in the print media today. And what goes far beyond the scope of music criticism: as a passionate radio listener, he recorded countless music programs from Swiss, German and Austrian stations between 1954 and 1991, creating a unique archive of sounding documents.

Securing the legacy

The material has been conserved and inventoried since 2016 as part of a research project by the Zurich University of the Arts with the support of Memoriav, the association for the preservation of Switzerland's audiovisual cultural heritage; it will be available to interested parties on request in future. Originally, it comprised a total of 946 analog tapes with over 18,000 pieces of music from the Middle Ages to the present day, jazz and ethnomusicology. According to project manager Lukas Näf, a few hundred more tapes will now be added following a thorough review of the estate.

In addition, Muggler's extensive written legacy will also be evaluated and inventoried. Näf hopes that the huge amount of information that the tireless journalist has absorbed over the decades, both at home and abroad, and incorporated into his texts will provide a wealth of insights into recent Swiss music history. An initial project entitled "Heard abroad" will use Muggler's writings to document the presence of Swiss composers and performers at international new music festivals. A long-term side effect of such activities: As the collection and preservation of cultural data used to be criminally neglected by the responsible institutions in Switzerland, the evaluation of private sources now offers the opportunity to at least somewhat compensate for the omissions and thus strengthen historical awareness.

Fritz Muggler's archive will be a treasure trove for anyone who wants to delve into the recent history of music and its interpretation, as well as the changing musical tastes of the time. The sprightly author and collector, who is well over 80 years old, personally supervised the initial archiving work at the ZHdK. The results of his lifelong work as a chronicler in sound and writing will keep his memory alive.

 

Fritz Muggler's tape collection at the ZHdK:

https://www.zhdk.ch/forschungsprojekt/tonbandsammlung-fritz-muggler-553597

Research project "Heard abroad":

https://www.zhdk.ch/forschungsprojekt/im-ausland-gehoert-schweizer-komponisten-und-interpreten-an-internationalen-festivals-neuer-musik-569891

Memoriav: https://memoriav.ch/de/projects/fritz-muggler/

The website for the List of Living Traditions of Switzerland states: Naturjodel and Jodellied are widely regarded as the forms of singing that represent Switzerland. The UNESCO Convention for the Safeguarding of the Intangible Cultural Heritage obliges the acceding countries to draw up such a list. Yodelling, the list continues, is "a vocal form of expression in which phonetic syllables are sung in frequent alternation between the chest and head registers". This change of register creates laryngeal beats, which are made more or less audible depending on the singing tradition. And sequences of tonally different, alternating low and high tones are formed. The singing technique can be found on all continents in a variety of forms characterized by vocal formations, languages and dialects. Yodeling is also used in Georgia as "Krimanchuli" or in Northern Europe. There, the Sami people yodel.

Geographical connections

In their documentary, directors Lea Hagmann and Rahel von Gunten and producer Thomas Rickenmann portray these Sami and Georgian singing traditions alongside the Appenzell Rugguusseli. The young Appenzell yodeller Meinrad Koch, who has "absorbed the typical regional style of natural yodeling with his mother's milk", as he says, provides the narrative link. For the film, he travels to Georgia to meet Tbilisi music student Ninuca Kakhiani and to Norway to meet Marja Mortensson, who is as good with reindeer as she is with her voice. Together with drummer Jakop Janssønn and tuba player Daniel Herskedal, she fuses modern soundscapes, sampling and modal jazz with the traditional Joik of the Southern Sami in a fascinating way. Herskedal also composed the atmospherically harmonious title melody for the film.

Ideologically divisive

Beyond Tradition is primarily characterized by the stupendous, virtuously composed images of the Norwegian, Appenzell and Georgian landscapes. Many of them, shot with a drone, aestheticize and transfigure the scenarios: The migrations of the northern reindeer herds look like flocks of birds from a distance, the desolate Georgian prefabricated housing estates develop a poetry of their own. The visual language is so strong that it threatens to push the actual theme of the film into the background and also to conceal thematic gaps: on the one hand, there is the question of how the raw primitiveness of nature's voices can become an art form when these two phenomena are actually mutually exclusive. Secondly, the production company Extramilefilms explicitly mentions "the critical examination of tradition and the inclusion of innovation and youth culture" as the motif of the documentary. The fact that tradition and renewal are often perceived as a conflict and that this is carried out emotionally is hardly noticeable in the film: how traditionalists view the innovative approach to the old is left open.

In addition to these differences, there are others: both Marja Mortensson and Meinrad Koch have a rather special relationship with food that takes some getting used to. Koch is a food technologist studying the potential of insects as a future source of protein, while Marja Mortensson bakes pancakes from the blood of slaughtered reindeer. The latter in particular breaks through the feel-good atmosphere of the film and hardly seems organically embedded in the overall narrative context.

Bulky topics

Other, more irritating or unwieldy topics that could disturb the peace are only mentioned and not really elaborated on: For example, one becomes perceptive when the charismatic choirmaster Tamar Buadze in Georgia rather incidentally addresses the conflict between the legacy of art socialization in the Soviet Union and modern cultural understanding (which incidentally also applies to some extent to Sami culture). The repressive policy of the Scandinavians, who pushed yoiking into obscurity with state bans, is also merely touched upon.

We would also have liked to know more when Meinrad Koch admits that the witty, creative and original approach of the "Hitziger Appenzellerchor" - the film clips with the ensemble founded by Noldi Alder are highly refreshing - to Appenzell's cultural heritage did not only arouse enthusiasm among traditionalists. What remains of the film experience are touching, sometimes overwhelmingly beautiful images and the successful synthesis of landscape poetry and vocal textures that make you forget time and the present in the cinema.