It is an annual tradition at De Bijloke in Gent, Côté Jardin in and next to the Bijloke concert hall at the beginning of summer. In the large concert hall and outside under the tent there were six concerts, from classical to jazz and flamenco. Everything free, which explains the large turnout. In addition, there were also plenty of activities for children, who are always present in large numbers at Côté Jardin.
Many young families come to it. The largest musical picnic in Gent, it is called. People gather and bring food and drinks with them. Logical, when you look at the bar's price list (€3.50 for a glass of water …).
Mysterious Bach
The families go with their children to listen to the concerts in the large concert hall. Things go differently there than usual. Of course, these little ones can't sit still for an hour, so children's voices sound between Bach's concertos. On stage are the Boho Strings with soloist Gwen Cresens on accordion. A surprising combination. Cresens is not the first virtuoso to bring classical music on his accordion. The accordion as a small organ, you can play anything on it.
The Boho Strings from Borgerhout are by the way a string ensemble that wants to break down boundaries. Not an orchestra that plays concerts that the public comes to, no, they go to the public themselves. That is sometimes businesses, or for audiences who would not otherwise go to the concert hall. They have a nice project for people with dementia. Today they play a part from their project "Bach Works in Mysterious Ways". Between the two Bach concertos they also play one of the Bachianas Brasileiras by Villa-Lobos.
Listening Practice
After the Bach and Villa-Lobos they continue with a world premiere: "Betsubara" by Gwen Cresens himself, a concert for accordion and strings, based on Japanese eating culture. No difficult music, easily digestible, with here and there a touch of waltz and tango.
Sitting and listening for an hour and a half is too much for small children. But it is precisely the spontaneity of the children that makes Côté Jardin so nice. Next to me sat a father with his toddler on his lap. He summed it up nicely: "When is it over daddy?".
So there is a different atmosphere in the concert hall than usual, but there are also listeners who remain concentrated and expect that from others as well. During the concert I was reading on my smartphone. When leaving, a stern gentleman addressed me and corrected me. "Was it interesting on your phone?". "Yes, thank you," I answered. He probably didn't realize that I had practiced authentic listening. In Bach's time there were no concerts where you sat still listening. People talked, played cards, drank, read the newspaper and smoked during the performance.
Petites Histoires of great and small
Outside the sun has broken through and under the canvas Myrddin & Helena Casella bring gripping poems by Lorca, with singing and flamenco guitar. In the afternoon Petites Histoires is on the program in the large hall. Just like last year, De Bijloke has set up an original project with B'Rock and Paul Griffiths to bring people on stage who would never otherwise be there. Last year it was about people with low incomes, this year about a dialogue between children and the elderly.
The children from the Toverberg, a primary school in Gent, have been writing letters to the elderly at a nursing home for months. They wrote back and so a whole correspondence arose. From there they wrote all the texts and music themselves. They made it into an idealistic story, with songs about sand, clouds, heaven, Utopia, about love and friendship. It looks like an ecumenical service. Everyone sings along, an elderly woman does a little dance. Nice, but tame. Where is the social dimension that was there last year? Last year there was much more bite to it. You heard the uprising of the poor in their songs.
Particular to this performance was the bond between child and elderly person. That is an enrichment for both generations. For children there is fortunately much attention and care in our society. The elderly, on the other hand, often fall by the wayside in society, are patronized and discriminated against. Where are the grey wolves in these Petites Histoires? However original, it was a tame affair.
Packed hall for the carnival
Later in the afternoon comes the main act of this Côté Jardin: Carnaval des Animaux by soloists from the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, conducted by concertmaster Jan Orawiec. How popular the piece is today, Saint-Saëns never allowed its publication during his lifetime, he found it too satirical and joking compared to his great works.
With the hall filled to the brim, the choir benches were also opened for the massive crowds of visitors. Beforehand pianists Shuhei Aoshima and Abel Hox play Schubert and then they join in for the Carnaval des animaux. Masterfully played by the soloists of the Symfonieorkest Vlaanderen, but there could have been more staging for this audience. When the double bass began its solo, one could imagine an elephant. The swan, everyone knows that. A chicken, a tortoise, a kangaroo… nice when you know the piece and can picture the animal. But this audience would have enjoyed it more if they had been given the order of the animals beforehand or during the piece.
Back outside for a chat with friends I notice some familiar faces. Côté Jardin is not only for young families or the all-round music lover. My gaze fell on the legendary professor Walter Prevenier, a historian who had many thousands of students under his care at UGent. He is ninety years old. Music keeps him young. Long live De Bijloke!
