pastoral forever

"My decree: just stay in the country. How easily this is fulfilled in every spot! [...] It is as if every tree spoke to me in the country: holy, holy! Delight in the forest! Who can express it all? [...] Sweet silence of the forest! [...]"
Ludwig van Beethoven - Sketch sheet 1815
In "pastorale forever", we focus on nature and our eternal relationship with it. What Beethoven wrote about the countryside back in 1815 is a thoroughly contemporary phenomenon: people living in cities in particular are increasingly looking for peace and quiet and a connection to nature as a contrast to their stressful, often unnatural lives. Beethoven was a great lover of nature, loved going for walks and his symphony is a reminder of country life. In the movements of Symphony No. 6, he musically depicts various feelings and situations in nature, including the violence of nature in the 4th movement Donner, Sturm. Caroline Shaw also drew inspiration for her work from a walk, not in Europe, however, but in Canada. She sees her work as an offering to a tree, which reflects the eternal cycle of nature's rebirth. Her work focuses more on nature itself, which corresponds to current social developments in the shadow of the omnipresent climate crisis. Instead of thinking of the world only from a human perspective - anthropocentrically - we are forced to place nature at the center after centuries of exploitation. To this end, Shaw invents unbelievably delicate sounds, which emulate the - also fragile - beauty of nature. The completely different tonal language of her work creates an exciting contrast to Beethoven's "Pastorale" for the listener. The title "pastorale forever" is made up of both titles of the works performed and is ambiguous. On the one hand, it describes the timeless relationship between nature and man and man's desire to be connected with nature, whether in the 19th or 21st century. On the other hand, the title also contains the idea that nature outlasts man: it was there before him and will be there after him; "evergreen". However, we have also taken it for granted for far too long that healthy, evergreen nature simply exists around us. In addition, the word "pastoral" contains the idea of man as a shepherd and protector of nature, albeit for his own purposes. In the face of the climate crisis, we should take this idea to heart, as our future depends on that of nature. Protection for self-protection.

Date and time
April 25, 2025, 19:30

Address
Widmer Schutter violin making workshop (Balmweg 24, 3007 Bern)

Organizer
arte frizzante

Works
Caroline Shaw - Evergreen String Quartet | Ludwig van Beethoven - Symphony No. 6 "Pastorale", arr. for string sextet by M.G. Fischer

Soloists
Sofia De Falco and Zoë Gordon, violin | Alberico Giussani and Flavia Kaufmann, viola | Alma Tedde and Benedikt Böhlen, violoncello | Hans Greve, moderation and concept zeit.los!

Admission price
Admission free - collection (suggested donation CHF 30.00)

Contact us
sponsoring@artefrizzante.ch

Website
https://www.artefrizzante.ch