Music in abundance
Klang Basel, a festival of local institutions and musicians, offered concerts in abundance. Where to start and where to stop was the big challenge for visitors, as the sheer volume of music eventually made their ears go weak.
Basel musicians, whether professional or not, can present their ideas and music in unusual spaces or open air on the three days of the festival: in churches, in private homes, on walks or in elevators, to name but a few. Sunday was designed as a "family day", with the motto being "join in, try out, listen, learn".
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- Photo: Benno Hunziker / Klang Basel
- The Millenials of the Basel Music School under the direction of Petra Vogel
It was a packed network festival that impressively demonstrated what Basel has to offer in terms of music and musical styles. Something that Anne Brugnoni, Head of the Basel Music School, particularly appreciates: "At Klang Basel, we can present our diversity and versatility in styles and concert formats to the public." The music school is represented by up to ten different groups. "For the music school ensembles, this is an opportunity to bring a performance to a high level with intensive practice and to try out unusual formats in unfamiliar spaces." This time, the Millenials, a group of twelve young people from the Jazz Basel music school under the direction of Petra Vogel, also took part. They performed gospels and songs in front of around 60 visitors in the Kreuzkirche.
Action, relaxation and threads everywhere
At Klang Basel, however, there was also the possibility of violent changes of scene, as the example of Chez Soif on Riehenring shows. Once you had made it up the steep cellar stairs in one piece, you found yourself in a vaulted cellar with seating for around 40 people. "Bass drop in - no fun without bass!" was the title of the invitation. Basses in all variations could be experienced every hour, from jazz bass to pop & rock and blues bass. During our visit, Henry Imboden on electric bass, Robi Schweizer on fretless electric bass and Felix Handschin on drums kicked things off.
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- Photo: Benno Hunziker / Klang Basel
- "From the House of Bach" with Jermaine Sprosse
Jazz, rock and baroque were followed by yodeling - an unexpectedly inspiring event with the Trio Jüützigs on a walk along the banks of the Rhine. Seraina Clark-Wüthrich, Lars Handschin and Renate Schwank presented a tour through the yodeling landscape, with the audience of over a hundred people singing along to the Muotathal and Toggenburg natural yodels.
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- Photo: Benno Hunziker / Klang Basel
- Paul Hanmer & Derek Gripper with Hopkinson Smith brought desert blues and baroque
The interdisciplinary concerts were exciting, such as the performance at the Center for African Studies by Paul Hanmer & Derek Gripper together with Hopkinson Smith, who combined desert blues and baroque. Hanmer on the clavichord and Gripper on the classical guitar played music inspired by Mali in an incredibly subtle, soft-toned manner. Hopkinson Smith also interpreted several pieces on his lute, for example by Johann Kapsberger. It was very harmonious house music. In general, there were many small, fine concerts lasting no more than an hour, the range was huge.
The major institutions were also involved, such as the Basel Symphony Orchestra, which performed across all genres with the Noti Wümié duo. Or Alberto Garcia Tribal, whose world music project featured percussionists, bassists, wind players, singers and dancers. But even if you would have liked to attend more events, your ears were overflowing!
