The Festival van Vlaanderen Mechelen, spring edition, got underway on Saturday. A festival in festive mode that has been meandering for half a century on the beautiful and surprising paths of music.
On Saturday afternoon, during the grand opening celebration, everyone was invited on an introductory tour. Artistic director Jelle Dierickx cast various lines. Here and there in the city center, mini-concerts took place. Teasers to give the public a taste of what there is to experience until May 12. The city festival features 20 concerts, 315 artists from 15 countries and a new section LUNALIA 4 KIDS.
Lunalia Lift Off
A festival that has lifted Mechelen as a music city for 50 years deserves a song of praise. Jelle Dierickx greeted the audience in his warm, charming way. LUNALIA is a ritual in all meanings of the word, more than a musical festival, it wants to appeal to all senses. Not a monster festival but an intimate city festival, which may nestle in the rich heritage of the city, such as in the beautiful Onze-Lieve-Vrouw over de Dijlekerk. Mayor Bart Somers is always present and went through the history. Who was conspicuous by their absence was Culture Minister Sven Gatz who apologized, 'Les absents ont toujours tort'.
Let us assume in a wave of cultural optimism that art indeed contributes to a better society, because it teaches us empathy for what is foreign to us. The composition of the opening concert could be described as an encounter between East and West, musical boundaries are transcended and thrive in a peaceful co-existence and universal alliance. They offer a view of most registers, voice inflections and variations.
The concert opens with a capella singing by Karima el Fillali, a work by princess Wallada bint al-Mustakfi. The elegant mystery of Arabic sounds, poetry and the alchemistic charm of old things. The thin, meandering sounds resonate through the space and immediately set the tone. Following this, the iconic work 'Fratres' for violins and percussion by Arvo Pärt. It begins as a whisper of string instruments that slowly but surely evolves into a crescendo. Simple musical lines that wind around each other, blocked by the drum, repeated and varied. Fragile, ethereal, and yet powerful, of a delicate beauty.
Director Maja Jantar has the performers play throughout the church, singer Karima el Fillali was positioned all the way at the back of the church, the cello octet all the way at the front. A Nocte Temporis brings Bach's work to the center of the church, while voice in residence, tenor Reinoud van Mechelen, sings the aria 'Ich habe genug' from the pulpit. Again at the very front in the choir, bandoneon player Gabriel Rivano brings the mournful 'Adios Nonino' by Astor Piazolla, perhaps his most famous composition, which he wrote in 1959 after his father's death. The focus shifts back to the rear of the church: singer Karima el Fillali is accompanied by Jamil al Asadi on qanun. Memory is also central to the poem 'Ya Jarat al-wadu' by Ahmad Shawqy, set to music by Mohammed Abdel Wahab. Karima el Fillali sings with an exceptionally moving sonority, in which all pent-up emotions find an outlet. The long notes and beautiful phrases create a very special atmosphere. Then it goes back to the second part of Bach's recitative 'Ich habe genug'. Following this, a slow tango by Astor Piazolla 'Oblivion' and then again in the center of the church Bach's 'Ich habe genug' with a serious piece of voice gymnastics for Reinoud van Mechelen. A continuous alternation of profane and worldly works with as a finale soprano Lore Binon in Heitor Villa-Lobos 'Bachianas Bresileiras no. 5'. The fifth part is the most well-known from the series. It begins with a long vocalise with the cellos playing a passacaglia. In the middle section, a poem by Ruth Corêa is set to music, with the moon and melancholy at the center. The work ends with a vocalise with closed mouth, a hum on the sound M, the Sound of M, the festival motto of LUNALIA 2019 in its purest form. During the concert, light and shadow are played with, a contemporary appeal with color, lines and compositions where the eye-catchers of the church are highlighted.
Visually and auditorily carefully executed, a fine-meshed styled concert full of surprising sounds and references to minimalism, power, but also with pleasure and nuance. The whole thing caught on with the audience, who thanked with long applause.
- WHAT: Festival van Vlaanderen Mechelen LUNALIA – The Taste of M
- Opening concert
- WHERE & WHEN: Saturday, April 27, 20:30, Onze-Lieve-Vrouw-over-de-Dijlekerk Mechelen
- PHOTOS: © Lunalia – FvV Mechelen
