SPEV by Building Bridges

The Norwegian-Slovak project building bridges develops relationships through music. Building a bridge enables us to make contact with an opposite bank, with worlds unknown; distant people become acquaintances, acquaintances become friends. By building bridges, you create a space that is not just for yourself but also for others: a community, city, country, perhaps the entire world. It was in Oslo that I first met Nils Økland, the phenomenal musician, composer and improviser. When he played a few melodies on his Hardanger fiddle, I began to realise that an exciting new adventure lay ahead of us, together with the accordionist Boris Lenko and the clarinettist Braňo Dugovič, both of whom move easily in a variety of genres and styles. The singers Åsne Valland Nordli and Gabriela Kováčiková, and the double bass player Róbert Ragan, joined us in the course of our journey. Rehearsals, concerts and recordings became an exploration of new musical worlds, where our experiences, styles and temperaments met and complemented one another, creating magical soundscapes: lands of freedom, beauty, memories and shared discoveries. We know that we cannot change the world with this project. But we can contribute to change; we can inspire and encourage. If music could do more to shape our everyday coexistence, our lives would be better. We live in uncertain times, and mutual understanding is what we need the most. 

Jozef LUPTÁK · cellist, bridge-builder 

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bridge over a divided world ​

The building bridges project links written themes, with an open space for improvisation. Music is born from intuition; form appears out of nothing. Musicians respond to one another. If they are to respond honestly, they must attune themselves to the emotion of music that is still only emerging. The listener’s situation is similar. To enter the music, listeners must pay attention to all the elements of its sounding architecture. The poet T. S. Eliot wrote that, if we listen to music deeply, we are the music while the music lasts. In music, the human being expresses and experiences the transcendental dimension of humanity. We go beyond ourselves towards the eternal and infinite. Music can liberate us from our restricted situation. This dimension of freedom and awareness of transcendental meaning gives us the energy to resist the malign forces that deform our humanity.

Daniel PASTIRČÁK
(The complete essay is included in the booklet.)

Konvergencie is about coming closer. Chamber music has to do with convergence and communication: between the artists and between performers and the public. It is like a conversation which, once commenced, doesn't end but keeps on developing. Listening to chamber music, just like communication, develops the human being inwardly: our sensitivity to the world, to the others, and to our own selves.

konvergencie.sk
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