|
Anyone who wants to decipher the mystery of the interior genre Dutch paintings (such as those of Pieter de Hooch, Gerard Borch or Frans van Mieris the Elder) should contemplate the van Asperens. Pau Airport, 5 August, 8.15 pm. His plane is delayed half an hour. Finally, Bob van Asperen appears. He isn’t alone. He is accompanied, firstly, by the beautiful Annemarie, whose sensitivity is perfectly suited to her profession as a book restorer. Then comes the young Bregje, with translucent skin and blond—almost albino—hair, a source of constant admiration for the olive-skinned Spanish population. Delicate features like her flat country of origin itself, without a trace of Pyranean harshness, for Bregje the world is still very simple: human beings are all “parents” (pappa) while all the other animals are “hens” (kip).
|
You are going to give a recital during this year’s festival, in which the Bishopric of Jaca won’t permit the use of the churches dependent on his diocese, using the argument that admittance is not free. Your recital is going to take place in the Church of San Juan de la Peña because it doesn’t depend on the above-mentioned bishopric. Can you imagine a similar situation taking place in your country?
In Holland we fought to free ourselves from the bonds between religion and economy during the Middle Ages, in the 15th century. It was a positive fight which was worth the trouble at the time. There are free concerts in Dutch churches, but they frequently have to be rented by the organisers since they often belong to a foundation. On the other hand, in my country both the State and the Church contribute to the maintenance of our musical heritage, with the former contributing the larger part on the condition that the Church does so as well.
Audiences generally believe that churches are ideal venues for performing and listening to early music. Do you share this belief?
Music sounds so good in churches…, especially in medium-size ones, that they are frequently ideal for the Renaissance and Baroque repertories. For the Romantic repertory, things are different. But early music and churches are not always suited, and it is true that music can also be enjoyed in concert halls, but good acoustics are rare in these. Architects usually forget about acoustics and are unaware of its secrets. And a dry acoustic is deadly for early instruments.
The return to music from the past seems to cast contemporary classical music into oblivion.
No, contemporary music is subject to great interest. There are concerts everywhere and, in general, a lot of activity on this score.
With your devotion to “early” music, are you in touch with the latest trends in pop and rock? What is your view of the present trends in musical fusion?
This is so-called normal music. I don’t exactly know what this is, but I suspect I know what it’s about. It’s called normal or “modern” music. With respect to mixtures and fusions, everyone is entitled to do what he believes best. I can only say that by introducing a jazz element (on jazzifie, to use one of my own neologisms) to a piece of classical music that I appreciate, for example, makes me want to be sick and I suddenly have to move away; I can’t stand it. But, I insist, everyone is free to do as he wishes. It’s not a question of quality, but too many things are killed off using these procedures, although it is definitely true that musicians always kill something since the direct road doesn’t exist. But at the beginning of a performance of the St Matthew Passion, for example, many possibilities (of movement, as well as timbral, rhythmic, cadential ones, etc.) are excluded. Notwithstanding, artists should assume that they are living in a world filled with mistakes. It’s something like driving a car, the road is never completely straight, there are constant turns, although the result can be magnificent.
Speaking of death, what is your view of it?
Stimulating. But it is also true that there are signs everywhere which show the human will to survive, to preserve one’s memory through time. For example, the effigies of Damián Forment and his daughter on the alabaster of the altarpiece of the Cathedral of Huesca which we have just seen. François Couperin referred to the immortality to which all men aspire, and that at a time in which recordings didn’t exist.
|
|
|
|