 Listen to samples at Musicline. Click here ...Most of the titles are the musicians’ own
compositions. New stylistic elements have been
added to traditional themes, and new lyrics written
– resulting in something that is new and yet
seemingly familiar to us.
The Bremen Immigrant Orchestra bases its
name on the world-famous fairytale by the Brothers
Grimm, but has the edge on its fi ctional counterparts
in one signifi cant respect: its musicians
actually arrived in Bremen. Willy Schwarz, the
brains behind the ensemble and also its musical
director, has had some experience in Chicago
with similar projects: the All - American Immigrant
Orchestra and the Chicago Immigrant Orchestra.
A project such as this one, featuring eleven
musicians from nine nations, raises a lot of musical
questions. What can any person from one
culture contribute to the repertoire of any other?
The concept of the Immigrant Orchestra is to
maintain traditions on the one hand while simultaneously
developing a new musical repertoire together
on the other. In this respect, the musicians,
each trained in a particular traditional music style,
still do not regard themselves as a ‘folk’ ensemble,
nor are they eager to present a fashionable
mix of „global“ music (indeed, they dispense with
electric instruments for that very reason). Instead,
ambivalence and complexity become a principle
of the compositions. Curiosity about the music of
„others“ and the ability of the individual musicians
to feel at home instantly in all kinds of different
musical worlds make the The Bremen Immigrant
Orchestra into an ensemble that is quite unique.
If music is indeed the international language, then
what we have here is a lively roundtable discussion.
Most of the titles are the musicians’ own
compositions. New stylistic elements have been
added to traditional themes, and new lyrics written
– resulting in something that is new and yet
seemingly familiar to us. So what‘s so special
about the The Bremen Immigrant Orchestra? Well,
for instance a Chinese musician plays a Chilean
piece, a Kurd plays an American piece that has
its roots in the traditional music of Kashmir, and a
Turkish-sounding piece is actually a new composition
– combined with German lyrics that would
certainly have not been written in the same way
in Turkey itself.
In fact, the Bremen Immigrant Orchestra is
a futuristic model for a multicultural society. The
German language and German culture here serve
the cause of international understanding rather
than that of world domination. And a good thing
too, because understanding takes mutual respect
for granted.
„Home Away From Home” was conceived
and put together by Willy Schwarz. He was born in
Michigan, USA, the son of Italian and German refugees.
At a time when the concept of global music
was as yet unheard of, Schwarz traveled the
world from Brooklyn to Bombay and Katmandu to
Kabul, researching, studying and playing music in
all the musical languages of the world. In doing
so, Willy Schwarz gained inestimable knowledge
and also became a highly impressive musical allrounder.
He has played with such luminaries as
Tom Waits, Ravi Shankar and Steve Martin. His
excellent theater music won him the Drama Desk
Award in New York. His last two CDs - „Home,
Songs of Immigrants, Refugees and Exiles“ and
„Jewish Music around the World“ received great
acclaim from the international press and are now
available from JARO Medien.
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