Westfälische Rundschau 2009-04-05

Jackpot in Königsfeld: Cradle of a new music

By Matthias Nowakowski

Ennepetal. When Beethoven, Brahms, Mozart, Shostakovich, and Co. are no longer enough to fill the needs of musicians, it can happen that some of them break away from the dictates of the conductor and dedicate themselves to an experiment that is the start of a new music.

“Jacaranda” is an example of such an ensemble. Sebastian Pietsch (saxophone), Richard Mosthaf (didgeridoo, alpenhorn), Thomas Hoffmann (alpenhorn, cornet), Thomas Ringleb, and Matthias Dressler (both percussion) performed in the hospital auditorium in the “Culture in Königsfeld” program. The five are musicians from the Brandenburg Symphony Orchestra who expanded their horizons beyond European music.

Just as it is generally hardly possible to characterize new music in any way, this quintet also cannot be categorized. With a huge collection of instruments from all kinds of gongs, cymbals, xylophones, and vibraphones to alpenhorns, congas, a bassoon, saxophones, and Australian didgeridoos, “Jacaranda” – botanists may be familiar with the name of the tropical tree – touches the rhythm of music. The alphorn hums archaically as the growing island chain “Hawaii” emerges from the sea. Another time, a Chinese folk song is interpreted in jazz. With little pathos but a great deal of virtuosity, the audience is reminded of long forgotten rhythms and sounds.

It lies somewhere between jazz, folklore, pentatonics, and a bit of classical, searching for the primeval tone that must have given rise to music. This search is made on the ground. Instead of improvising in airless heights, they form a close-knit fabric, a dense carpet of sound with the resounding battles and then disperse it again.

The five experiment with atypical music from the whole world and the experiment seems to be successful, as they have already conquered China with their music. They also came to Ennepetal with their contribution to global understanding. “Culture in Königsfeld” hit the jackpot again with this combo.