Composer and conductor Dirk Brossé is in high demand and works more abroad than in Belgium, but in March he conducts his 'Artesia Revisited' four times, starting on Thu 14 Mar at Concertgebouw Brugge, Sat 16 Mar at CC Zwanenberg, Heist-op-den-Berg, Fri 22 Mar at Muziekcentrum De Bijloke Gent and on Sat 23 Mar at CC De Factorij Zaventem.
In 1995 'Artesia' premiered, the first symphony by the then 32-year-old Dirk Brossé. He called it a universal symphony. A cross-cultural vision of peace in which classically trained orchestra musicians from Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen shared the stage with ethnic musicians. He described 'Artesia' as -an imaginary place- a universe where people, from a deep respect for each other, live together in a peaceful way. 'Artesia' was performed more than thirty times at the time, even in China and Japan. Meanwhile we are almost three decades further.
'Artesia Revisited' pierces like a ray of light through these dark and sinister times. In his own eclectic way, composer Dirk Brossé places his inner world in a universe of sounds full of compassion. With the addition of ethnic instruments, you travel the world as a listener without physically going anywhere. The technicality of his composition demands utmost control. Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, together with the ethnic musicians, does justice to the lyrical beauty and finesse of the music.
-You are a collector of special and old instruments.
I own quite a few. That's correct.
-At some point there was also the ambition to do something with them.
That grew. At some point there was one instrument, it was a pre-Columbian flute, which I incorporated into my composition 'La soledad Americo Latina'. Work for the official opening of the World Exhibition in Sevilla in 1992. My collection grew bigger and bigger and then I composed a symphony in which all the instruments I had at the time found a place. That symphony was named 'Artesia' and we are now going to perform it four times again.
-Does composing put you in a kind of creative meditation?
Absolutely. It's not like a bookkeeper, with all respect, doing his work. You have to be inspired. You can search for that inspiration or fan it. You need a certain spiritual, intellectual or emotional state of mind to be able to compose.
-The classically trained orchestra musicians from Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen shared the stage with ethnic musicians back then. A surprising combination, warmly received by the audience. Next month there will be a revival, with an addition, an epilogue.
'Artesia' was a plea for a multicultural society. Now thirty years later I look at it differently. In that span of time the world has evolved enormously. After we performed the original work, a kind of post scriptum emerged. That post scriptum consists of two new compositions that I have made very accessible. They are a supplement and also a response to how the world looks today.
-You originally described 'Artesia' as an imaginary place where people live together in a peaceful way. Currently, some 100 wars are said to be fought worldwide. Is that hopeful sentiment now tempered by a mild wisdom of age?
I think so. But perhaps thirty years ago I was working from a naivety. I did speak of an imaginary world back then. The world is on fire today. There are, as you say, an enormous number of war zones. But it was not better in the past. People have always fought conflicts. Always tried to dominate other people: because of skin color, geographic, political or ethnic reasons, what ever! In that regard there is nothing new under the sun.
-There is a feeling of geopolitical insecurity noticeable in society.
What has changed today is one: the scale has been enlarged and two: all news comes into our living room. The world has become a village. That's why we have the feeling that there are more conflicts than ever. What is perhaps new in my way of thinking, now that I have indeed grown older, is that my imaginary world will remain an imaginary world!
-Peace rests not only on a world without the sound of weapons, but on the will to dialogue and the search for permanent solutions.
There may well be municipalities or cities where we, with the necessary tolerance, have managed to live together. Looking at the bigger picture, I think we have failed. Look at what is happening in the Middle East. If we go back in history: it is brothers who are slaughtering each other there.
-We can only react with disgust to that!
Today I must indeed conclude that the imaginary world I dreamed of -and would one day become reality- is not achievable. We have failed to establish that multicultural world. But it remains urgently relevant to tell my imaginary story.
-Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen consists of a fixed group. I suspect it was a puzzle to rehearse with the other instrumentalists who come from all over?
That is true. The musicians of yesteryear have returned to their country, are out of circulation or no longer play. I had to find all new people. That was not obvious, but I found them. Indeed, it is very confronting. There are two worlds: bringing the classical world together with the ethnic world. Not only in terms of sounds but also in terms of the training of musicians. Our musicians are trained to perfectly reproduce what is written on their score. While those ethnic instrumentalists, most of them don't read notes, no score, they play on feeling. To make those two worlds accord with each other and play together, that is indeed no easy task. But we succeeded.
-May I call them exotic nomads? What you are striving for is coherence in diversity.
Coherence in diversity and I also want to demonstrate that there are no differences in music cultures. We, from our Western classical music culture, have very often thought, and some still think, that our Western music culture is the most advanced, the highest in thought and the most refined music culture on earth! That is not so. Of course, I am a child of that classical music. I am incredibly fond of everything we have produced in that Western music culture. But it is not true that we are the only high-level music culture that the earth possesses.
-Unexpected cross-connections with other cultures in an extremely
rich sound palette. As an artist, are you a traveler who constantly discovers new worlds?
Exactly. Absolutely. When I look at Indian music, how refined it is. That is extraordinary. Or an Aboriginal playing on his didgeridoo. There is not much to it, sometimes called inferior. Until you learn to decode the code. That applies to art in general. I always compare it to Japanese No theater, which is a very high, refined form of theater. But if you don't know the code, you can't appreciate it. Every hand movement, every silence, only when you know what it all means does it sink in. It's like listening to a language you don't understand. It's the same with other music cultures: Indian raga music, that is of incredible refinement. It testifies to a great deal of intellectual work. It is not written down but collectively transmitted from one generation to the next. Those artists are phenomenal performers. If you don't know the code, you just hear tinkling, but if you can decode the code, you think 'O my God, what a wealth of sound'.
-Instruments of diverse cultural origin and background. Although we don't speak the language, as a listener you still get connected with the music and culture. You describe it yourself as a 'universal symphony'. A cross-cultural vision.
That is indeed so. The more you know about certain music, the more you can appreciate it. That is also the case with our Western classical music. I know quite a few people who enjoy classical music incredibly and know nothing about it. If five individuals listen to a piece of music, from the expert to the absolute neophyte… Each of those five people will enjoy it, but each in a different way. That is also the strength of music. I myself, for example, listen very analytically to music: I listen to the timbres, to the harmonies. I unconsciously ask myself: how did they arrive at that result, how was it made? Sometimes I am jealous of people who know nothing about it and just let the music come to them and enjoy it intensely.
-Your ambition as a composer is to convey emotion and inspire.
To convey emotion, in the case of 'Artesia Revisited' it is also to convey a message, to inspire people. It is an experience, they must be stimulated and moved. By now I know what the impact is of a certain key, a certain rhythmic figure, a certain timbre. It is communication and must touch. Something is told without words, which you can never say with words. That is where the incredible and timeless power of music lies.
-The tragic and beautiful thing about 'Artesia Revisited' is that despite all that goes wrong in the world, there is always a glimmer of hope that remains smoldering.
Hope is very important in the world. Hope is a feeling that keeps us upright. If you have cancer, you hope that you will recover. The relatives of those held hostage by Hamas hope that their loved ones will return safe and sound. Hope is a powerful sentiment that gives us strength and energy from one day to the next.
-'Artesia' had thirty performances, even in China and Japan, will that happen this time as well.
I don't rule that out. It is an absolutely groundbreaking work. To my knowledge, I was the first composer to work with so many ethnic instruments and a classical orchestra. In the past thirty years, I have been copied here and there, which I don't mind at all. It is in any case something universal. The philosophy and the music are timeless. I hope that we can also bring performances on other continents than Western Europe.
- PHOTOS: © Michel Correman
