What is "Babel 2007"?

"Babel 2007" is one of the Philharmonie’s central projects in the context of "Luxembourg and Greater Region, European Capital of Culture 2007". "Babel 2007" seeks to develop a reference project for music mediation reflecting the cultural variety of the Greater Region, which will enable people of all ages to approach the great variety of music with their own ideas and personal means of expression.

Background: Geography and Languages

Luxembourg and the surrounding Greater Region have been nominated as "European Capital of Culture" for the duration of 2007. This is the first time that this title has been given not to an individual city but to an entire region. The Greater Region in the heart of Europe (Saar-Lor-Lux, Rhineland Palatinate, Wallonia) has a total area of 65,400 km2 and extends over four member nations of the European Union. Three official languages, Luxembourgish, French and German, are spoken together with a large number of minority languages. In this setting, the Philharmonie Luxembourg, in partnership with four professional orchestras from the Greater Region – the Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, the Orchestre National de Lorraine, the Rundfunk-Sinfonie Orchester Saarbrücken, the Philharmonisches Orchester der Stadt Trier – will realise the "Babel 2007" project – a music mediation project reflecting the multiplicity of languages and cultures.

The Music

The Philharmonie Luxembourg commissioned the Rumanian composer Violeta Dinescu to write an orchestral composition lasting approximately 50 minutes (with the title An den Strömen Babylons – By the rivers of Babylon). The commissioned piece is for a grand orchestra and two amateur choirs. This composition, based on the biblical story of the building of the Tower of Babel which reflects the cultural and linguistic variety of the Greater Region – has one distinguishing characteristic: a section is left open in the middle. In the four performances this middle part will be developed in turn by one of four school classes from the Greater Region: under the direction of professional musicians from the four participating orchestras and following simple musical instructions provided by Violeta Dinescu schoolchildren from Schifflange (L), Schweich (D), Friedrichstal (D) and Metz (F) will prepare their own version of "Babel 2007".

On the Rivers of Babylon
Violeta Dinescu

My composition On the Rivers of Babylon for two choirs and grand orchestra includes seven parts. These parts are individual units. However, they can also be regarded as a whole. They can be sung and played in different times and spaces; on another level, they find themselves in an irreversible process of thriving just as life itself. This flexibility of the arrangement as a mindset for the formal structure is an essential solution for the piece, assimilating amongst others an independent island of sound called Babel-box.

Two processes are thus generated : the preparation and the dissolution of this Gordian knot - as one could also call the Babel-box - of the part not composed by myself, but left open as a creative impulse for participants truly an open work, an opera overta.

Despite the unidirectional tendency (like a one-way street), the playful character of the meeting point Babel-box could be respected which is why the possibility of retrospective visions (versions) can be considered as if one could turn back time and get it back or rather: allow a certain yearning in that respect!

The selection of biblical texts resembles an invitation to ponder on a , as the story of Babel is historical, but timeless even nowadays, we still are in the middle of Babylon! The use of a reflection on the subject is to consider the story in such a way as to perceive different perspectives as in a rainbow or a kaleidoscope and to find personal ways.

It is not by chance that this piece contains, in different contexts, a composition of the personal, in the truest sense of the word (an authentic composition thus); for instance, there are moments in the vocal score of the choir in which every chorister sings his own personal song, in his own language, detached from the others, as an individual.

A similar thing is happening on the instrumental level, and even more in the Babel-box, the highest level of individuality, calling forth an intensive dimension of creativity! The work is thus a meeting place for the personal in the context of the general with archetypical material, one is for ones own life.

Traduction: Nathalie Scheeck

Musical Mediation

"Babel 2007" intends to develop a reference project corresponding to the rich cultural variety of the Greater Region. At the same time it will create new bridges linking the participating institutions, musicians and, of course, the children, youngsters and senior citizens involved and will thus contribute to broadening the understanding of contemporary music beyond geographical and cultural borders.

The idea of realising a music mediation project involving the professional orchestras of the Greater Region stood at the very beginning of "Babel 2007": "Babel 2007" is to open up a new perspective of work as orchestral musicians for the participating orchestras – the perspective of working creatively with amateur musicians. At the same time "Babel 2007" seeks to bring together all generations in different ways.

In September 2005 the initial "Babel 2007" meeting was held at the Philharmonie with the music mediators Paul Rissmann, Sarah Goldfarb, Hans W. Koch and Klaus Brettschneider, in order to define the project on the basis of these premises.