PAIN, PEACE, PATIENCE

The idea for the “Pain, Peace, Patience” project arose during
this ongoing pandemic and represents a call for insight and transformation of challenges into new creations.

Roots Revival has nominated 16 musicians from around the world to create an original piece or improvisation which best reflects their personal experience with all the happenings in and around them during these challenging times.

Project coordinator: Mehdi Aminian
Project co-developers: Ioana Aminian & Delfina Zabaleta

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL40bSdpQjo1ApkCs_tGcdN7PD8dmub1D1

We have periodically uploaded the work of all

the musicians listed below who honored us

with their creations alongside a short text

they wrote for their creation.

The compelete works can be found

in the full project video here:

The Musicians in this project are (alphabetical order):

1. Ahmad Al Khatib - The Clock on the Wall - Composition and Oud by Ahmad Al Khatib.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Ahmad Al Khatib:

"A waltz for solo oud, I started the beginning of the piece many years ago, the current period and situation gave me the chance to build the B and the C parts, it reflects my feelings to time and small sounds that starts to sound loud and visible by time!"

2. Helene Glüxam - Wellensturm (wavestorm) - Composition, Double bass & vocal: Helene Glüxam

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Helene Glüxam:

"Finding myself alone on an island, surrounded only by the sea, I realise I am stuck. Suddenly a rhythm emerges: sometimes it accelerates with the wind, sometimes it gets accompanied by it. I can hear faint voices from afar. Do they come from beyond, or from within? They are playing with me – or maybe it’s the other way around?"

3. Jóhann Gunnarsson - Katsüra - Acoustic bass, vocal and composition by Jóhann Gunnarsson.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Jóhann Gunnarsson:

"Katsüra was written and recorded after the outbreak of COVID-19 when I had the time to focus on composition and playing of a few solo pieces, finding and develop the texture of my tone, at this time of introspection."

4. Emmanuel Hovhannisyan - "Why Are People Crying?" - Composition & Duduk by Emmanuel Hovhannisyan.

The idea accompanying the piece as chosen by Emmanuel Hovhannisyan:

"When we were born, we cried, but all others were happy, and when we will die, everyone will cry, but we will be happy.”

~ Quote by Avedis Eskenian

5. Mohammad Khodadadi - Soon it will Snow - Improvisation on Ney by Mohammad Khodadadi.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Mohammad Khodadadi:

"Our masks are getting bigger, like a cold and lonely star in the heart of a black galaxy. In the light of digital coercion, we play our instruments showing off the misery of our presence to the world with a simple click, drunken from the delusion of possibilities. Maybe Nietzsche foresaw our alienation by saying: Soon it will snow -- Poor he who has no home"

6. Akihisa Kominato - Genjyobushi (Translation: "Song of Genjyo the Monk") - A Shakuhachi interpretation by Akihisa Kominato.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Akihisa Kominato:

"My hometown is Fukushima prefecture in the Tohoku region, which is rich in nature. I remember when I was little, my father and I often went to see the lakes and mountains surrounded by the morning mist. The song theme is a Japanese folk song called "Genjyobushi " in the Aizu region, about an hour's drive from my hometown and the poem tells about a village girl that falls in love with a monk at a temple. It is a simple song in which the singer and the musical accompanists interact with each other and has been performed at banquets and festivals. As for myself, for the past six months, I have often deeply reflected about what it means to live and be human. Now I am in a better place, but I will never forget the feeling of despair and emptiness that overwhelmed us when these unusual times started. I hope that the tunes which my shakuhachi sends into the world, at the very beginning of the day, will remind you of the feeling of "love" which embellishes whatever there is with meaning."

7. Lukas Kranzelbinder - In Motion - Improvisation on Double bass by Lukas Kranzelbinder.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Lukas Kranzelbinder:

"For me, in times like these, it's really helpful to remind myself that everything around me is in constant motion. Everything has its own flow and moves with its own pace – with or without me. There is only so much I can actually influence, so I rather focus on my own flow and finding my own tempo of movement. Music helps me a lot with that and in contrast to regular practice routines I find it quite calming to just go outside and play without any goal or preconceived concept. As always, music is the healing force of the universe...”

8. Behnam Masoumi - Beat the pain away! - Tombak & percussion solo by Behnam Masoumi.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Behnam Masoumi:

"There is a lesson from the nature of rhythm and its effect on all that surrounds us. However unusual, however asymmetric, it always flows, as long as there is a beat: of the heart, of will, of meaning."

9. Nataša Mirković - La Bendision de Madre - An interpretation by Nataša Mirković.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Nataša Mirković:

"This is a mother´s prayer taken from a small prayer book compiled in 1932 by Hajim Papo in Sarajevo. Especially for older Sephardic women who considered Ladino written in Yugoslav orthography as their Jewish language, since they had never the opportunity to study Hebrew."

10. Petra Nachtmanova - Lullaby for my Love - Vocal, saz, composition and lyrics by Petra Nachtmanova.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Petra Nachtmanova:

"Sometimes in a moment of utmost beauty you run into a wall, which keeps you from it. It doesn’t allow you to see it, to feel it, to live it and causes you pain, because you know, that the beauty is just there – behind the wall. This is a lullaby for a new family with all its happiness and all its problems - in Isolation."

11. David Six - Triptych / Goma - Composition and Piano: David Six.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by David Six:

"Being locked in with a piano is a beautiful thing... until the instrument begins aiming for control and snatches for the reins. One urgently needs to tame it back into its position and place. A space of gloom, sadness and bewildering beauty. It wants you to stare at it. But don’t be fooled. Just play with ease, open the sky and pretend not to stumble over its fragrant crescent."

12. Emily Stewart - Twice in a Day - Composition, performance and lyrics: Emily Stewart.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Emily Stewart:

"I’d been wanting to write a villanelle poem for a while. During lockdown, I revisited some poems by Dylan Thomas and Sylvia Plath, who had used the form in their work. The villanelle itself goes back to the sixteenth century, but the form we know today began to be used towards the late 19th century. I thought this was the perfect opportunity to write verse using the villanelle. I liked the idea of working on a poem that needs to have such a structured form; for me it mirrored how all of us performers now have to work within a strict frame in live situations.

I intended the music to be different, but the song just took a shape of its own. I enjoy playing Chopin preludes from time to time, and I feel the music has a similar sombre tone. At the beginning of the lockdown I often thought about what would happen if the performing arts never came back; that feeling of decay, of something precious being wiped out forever, the not-knowing…those thoughts colour the verses. However, I like to think of death as a transforming experience, and to me, that should be the message that prevails. That we do get a chance to reinvent ourselves and the world around us."

13. Mónica Pustilnik - Lágrimas de Tierra - A creation and Lute by Mónica Pustilnik.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Mónica Pustilnik:

"Cascade of sounds that prelude the pain of the forced distance, the hugs we did not give each other, and some hope placed in the friendship that manages to maintain itself and the sound of a lute, which can spread without the fear of being contagious."

14. Tohid Vahid - The Song of Hope - Composition, Kamancheh and Kamancheh alto by Tohid Vahid.

The idea accompanying the piece by Tohid Vahid:

"Life is the unique stage of our artistry,

Everyone singing his own song and leaves the stage,

The scene continuously abides,

Blessed those songs that are retained by the folks.

~Zhaleh Esfahani"

15. Nenad Vasilic - Traveling - The creation and double bass by Nenad Vasilic.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Nenad Vasilic:

"Traveling with the travel bass"

16. Delfina Zabaleta - Standing still - A creation by Delfina Zabaleta.

The idea accompanying the piece as written by Delfina Zabaleta:

"March felt like someone pulled the hand break in a car which was going really fast: I wasn't badly injured, but I was harmed and startled. Outside, life was moving... I was ok. But sometimes I still needed to sit down and cry a little."

Supported by

Roots Revival - Verein zur Förderung des musikalischen Welterbes

ZVR-Zahl: 1963335889

Vienna