In May 2000 Ensemble XXI Moscow played a
dramatic performance
in the Arctic Circle
Ensemble
XXI Moscow toured to the Arctic Circle to
play in towns that had never seen an
orchestra before, bringing live classical
music to one of the furthermost parts of
Russia.
Furthermore
it was decided that the orchestra would fly
right up to the Tundra to the indigenous
Nenets people who are Nomadic
Reindeer Herders. This tour was seen as so
unique by Australia's ABC Television that
they chose to make a documentary film about
it, which subsequently has been shown with
great success around the world. Indeed in
the midst of the war in Afghanistan it was
screened on Al Jazeer!
Both
in Usink and Naryan Mar the halls were
filled to overflowing and it was
particularly touching to see the great
representaion of children in the audiences.
No orchestra had ever been there before but
yet, as always in Russia, the audiences
soaked up the music, the children listening
with wonder at even the most difficult
pieces. After the concerts when meeting the
the music teachers and the students, the
orchestra was very moved by their dedication
against all odds.An audience member, a
Russian deer hunter, told us that he had
never before been to a classical music
concert and that he was overwhelmed by it.
The final concert
was one of the most extraordinary in
Ensemble XXI's history. The orchestra flew
North by helicopter
to the Tundra to seek and to play for the
nomadic Nenets
reindeer herders. Touching down halfway
through the trip, the helicopter picked up a
local Nenets man, an expert on the movement
of the nomads, who with a map and
observation from the cockpit soon spotted a
cluster of Nenets yurts (a tent made
from reindeer skins) in the middle of the
Tundra.
With mounting excitement the orchestra piled
out of the helicopter to be
greeted by an equally excited group of
Nenets who quickly gathered around the
visitors. This community was relatively
young with many children. There was an
opportunity for all of the musicians and the
TV crew to ride
on sleighs pulled by reindeer and
everyone was invited inside the cosy yurts
for a delicious meal of wild goose and
reindeer. While the musicians drank tea, the
reindeer herders enjoyed their own local
drink - a cup of fresh reindeer blood
Then
the entire community – including a number
of curious reindeer -- gathered outside
the Yurts to listen to Vivaldi and Mozart
played by members of Ensemble XXI. The
freezing wind constantly blew the bows of
the instruments away from the strings and
the fact that the musicians couldn’t wear
gloves made playing even more difficult. The
second part of the concert took place inside
a yurt, where everybody gathered on
reindeer rugs for more Vivaldi. In
honour
of the audience, the musicians began the
concert with "The Hunt" from
Vivaldi's Four Seasons. The audience
listened with rapt attention, but perhaps
the most memorable and overwhelming moment
on the tour was the comment by the Chief
of the community when he said: "I have
heard music from the radio but I never
realised
that it was such hard work and required such
skill. At what age did you all start playing
your instruments" A dramatic moment
occured when the performance of Mozart and
Vivaldi carried across the Tundra and other
Nenets arrived to listen to the music.These
people heard their first and perhaps only
live concert during their lifetimes. For the
orchestra it was the experience of a
lifetime too, a memory of a visit to this
wild and beautiful area where the musicians
were made so welcome with extraordinary
hospitality of the Nenets.
In the bus on the way back to the hotel the
orchestra’s guide, an elderly Nenets lady,
sang and recorded a Nenets welcoming song in
the old style, which she composed on the
spot. She sang of the orchestra's visit to
the Tundra and to her people.
This
particular tour has been captured in a
documentary film
made by the ABC. |