BAGPIPE FESTIVAL || ARTICLES
The Bagpipe Festivals
("Dudarski Fest") in Minsk, Belarus
Nowadays in Belarus, there is a wide movement of reviving one of the oldest Belarusan musical instruments - bagpipe ("duda"). The interest to this instrument called forth two Bagpipe Festivals in Minsk in 1992 and 1993. Those festivals were international. Concerts and conferences during the festivals caused a big resonance in the musical, folklore, historical and amateur spheres.
Thirteen years have elapsed since the latest bagpipe festival. A new generation of masters and musicians have grown up during that time. A lot of musicians, both folklore and rock ones, have begun to play this instrument. Advertising and historical movies have been filmed about bagpipes. People play bagpipes during political actions on the streets. Informal meetings and contests of bagpipers take place in parks where up to 40 masters can gather. However, the police does not allow such meetings to happen and stops them. The Belarusan bagpipe is becoming a symbol of a new musical-patriotic youth movement. It is very important to give a certain form to this movement. Thus, the Bagpipe Festival can be this form in organizing the movement.
According to the proposal of Zmicier Sasnouski, an organization committee of the Festival has been created. The committee includes the following people: Master Todar Kaskurevic (development of a musical concept), BMA Group company (rent of apartment, advertising, tickets) and Zmicier Sasnouski, the leader of Stary Olsa band (sound equipment, musicians' salary, scenario, all administration and financial management).
The renewed Bagpipe Festival ("Dudarski Fest") took place in the Reactor Club on May 4th, 2006. The best Belarusan pipers and groups participated in it. Together with a lot of participants, many young people from musical, scientific and social circles attended it. Among the participants, there were both representatives of the state-run and independent public organizations.
Six hours of a club atmosphere and four hours of live sound turned into a creative laboratory, in a big meeting of musicians sharing different political and cultural views.
Exchanges of musicians' knowledge, meetings of masters and folklore researchers, demonstrations of the instruments and ways of playing them, a free club atmosphere and a possibility to compare the instruments from different countries - all that provoked a revival of the Bagpipe Festival. During the Festival, Belarusan, Galician, Scottish and Latvian bagpipes were played. Participation of the instruments from different countries and folks at the Festival showed the place of traditional Belarusan culture in the whole European context.
The Festival caused an enormous attention of mass media. Journalists from six TV channels, five radio stations and twelve newspapers visited the concert. All the state-run Belarusan TV channels (ONT, BT, STV, LAD) and two Russian ones (Moscow TVC and ORT) were present. All the channels showed their reports about the Festival in their news programmes. After the Festival, the ONT TV Channel additionally made a programme about Belarusan bagpipers and masters; the Russian channel ORT decided to make several programmes about Belarusan bagpipers' movement (this work has already begun). Thirteen articles were published in the newspapers (extracts from several of them are enclosed).
As a result, many of the participants have expressed their interest to the annual festivals of this kind. Certain steps have been taken in this direction yet. During the next Festival, it is planned to arrange scientific meetings of masters from Belarus, Poland and the Baltic states in the village where Master Ales Los lives. The Studio DP-Records offered us to issue a CD with bagpipers' music recorded at the Festival. The BMA-Group firm proposed us to carry out two concerts during the next festival: an "official" one in a concert hall and an interactive one at a club.
Articles
Party With Bagpipe. Today, the Bagpipe Festival is taking part in Minsk. The sounds of the old instruments inspire light trance more than a desire to dance. Only well-trained musicians' ears can differentiate the sound of the Belarusan bagpipe from that of Galician, Scottish or, for example, Latvian one. Bagpipe has come to the Festival from informal flat-based parties, medieval festivals and meetings in the parks. The instruments themselves are practically exact copies of ancient ones. They are hand-made by rare masters, but there are hundreds of those who want to buy them.
ONT, May 5th, 2006
It is now obvious that the Belarusan "duda" (national type of bagpipe) finds more and more amateurs among youth and sounds widely in concert halls again. At the beginning of May, bagpipers from all over Belarus came to their traditional festival. This fact has added the festival of performers features of a national musical forum. The revived Bagpipe Festival has demonstrated that since the latest festival a new generation of talented players have appeared. Thus, we can talk about a rebirth of a national school of playing this instrument.
Jazz Kvadrat Magazine
The Bagpipe Festival is a continuation of the bagpipes' revitalization and an attempt to bring such festivals back to Belarusan society. Unfortunately, foreign masters could not participate in this event because of financial reasons, though the organizers have received numerous proposals from Latvian, Polish and even Scottish bagpipers.
BelaPAN News Agency
The Bagpipe Festival, one of the most interesting shows in Belarus, took place at the beginning of May. Mr Biarbierau, one of the most well-known players, "Bagpipe is something more than definite views - it is something whole-national. It just brings back itself under the sun". Musical critic Padbiarezki, "Lately, "duda" has begun taking new musical horizons. For example, the rock-group Neuro Dyubel wrote their single Life, having invited a bagpiper".
Radio Liberty
The movement of reviving one of the oldest and mystic Belarusan instruments - "duda" (bagpipe) - is becoming stronger during the latest years.
TELEGRAF News Agency
The Bagpipe Festival is renewed in Minsk. You can listen to all kinds of sounding of this instrument. The best groups and foreign guests are playing. Today, musicians say, Belarus may soon become a centre of bagpipe culture among the countries of Eastern Europe.
STV Minsk TV Channel
The latest event of such a kind took place thirteen years ago. Now, the tradition of big meetings of musicians, folklorists and bagpipe amateurs is renewed. Bagpipe is one of the oldest and mystic Belarusan instruments. The interest to it is alive nowadays, as well as bagpipe itself. The festival united the best young and elder Belarusan bagpipers.
Va-Bank Newspaper
The movement in reviving the Belarusan bagpipe is becoming extremely strong nowadays in Belarus. It is time to revive bagpipers' festivals, to make a big meeting of musicians and amateurs of bagpipe.
News.tut.by
The movement of Belarusan musicians who dream about reviving the traditions of Middle Ages' music spread on the territory of the Grand Duchy of Lithuania, becomes stronger and brings new names and discoveries to the listeners. At the beginning of May, the revived Bagpipe Festival took place with a big success due to Todar Kaskurevic and Zmicier Sasnouski.
Internet top-ten music.fromby.net
The tradition of bagpipe festivals is revived in our country. The Bagpipe Festival has turned into a stylish Middle Ages' party. The public in the club have liked unusual, mystic sound of this old instrument and its beautiful melodies. Guests could also share dance traditions of our ancestors. The organizers are planning to make such bagpipe festivals annual.
Minskij Kurjer Newspaper, May 10th, 2006
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