Yes, of course it is exciting: on Tuesday the band members meet for the firsttime and they dive into the rehearsal room together. Three days later, onFriday, they will tour for eleven concerts, starting in Almere. “But I’mespecially curious,” says pianist and arranger Julian Schneemann (1992) abouthis new project ‘Island Songs’. “I’ve been working on this for so long, andnow it’s finally happening.”
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For Island Songs, Schneemann traveled to the edges of Europe: Ireland andCrete. He studied the local musical traditions and found strikingsimilarities, both in the way of singing and playing and in the social contextof the music. “They are living musical traditions, where melodies are passedon from father to son. The role of music in the community is very differentfrom here where we really only hear live music in concert halls. Music isreally part of life there,” says Schneemann.
Intimidating
The choice for Cretan music is not accidental, says Schneemann: „I have beengoing to Greece every summer all my life, my parents have a wooden sailingship there, an old fishing boat, and with that we sail to a different islandevery day. From an early age I have heard a lot of folk music there, thatsound has settled in my ear. Crete is at a crossroads of cultures and themusic contains many influences from Turkey and the Arab world.”
Julian’s father Bart Schneemann is artistic director of the Netherlands WindEnsemble. For the New Year’s Concert 2020 he brought the Greek brothers Nikosand Adonis Xylouris to Amsterdam. Julian wrote the arrangements for thespectacular performance – which can be seen on YouTube – and had a click withthe brothers. “When I asked them if I could come and study their music, theytook me in for weeks. They are like rock stars in Crete. When I told themsomewhere on the island that I was staying with the Xylouris brothers, peoplealmost fell off their chairs,” says Schneemann.
In the summer, the brothers perform night after night. And everyoneparticipates in the parties where they play, Schneemann noted: “Grandpas andgrandmas, small children, teenagers with hooded sweaters, the local machos –they all dance. For me as an outsider that was a very romantic image. But Ialso saw that it could be intimidating: they had to keep playing, and they hadto stay within the lines of tradition.”
The role of music in the community is very different than in the Netherlands
Folk music is a common thread through Schneemann’s professional existence. Heis the son of classical musicians, he himself studied jazz piano at theAmsterdam Conservatory. But for his pleasure, he mainly listened to music fromother cultures, in which he found something he lacked in classical and jazz:“The music is very earthy, they are strong, simple melodies, often very old,that sound slightly different every time. . You hear life, that’s theattraction.”
After graduating, he founded the group Caravan, with drummer Jeroen Batterink,a fellow student, and the Syrian oud player Jawa Manla, whom he knew from hiswork as an arranger for the NBE. The project was a success, they touredextensively and the third album was released this spring, Caravan III. Thefourth member of Caravan, violinist Emmy Storms, also participates in IslandSongs. “Emmy can play anything from a classical violin concerto to jazz. ButIrish music is her great love. I liked that too, but thanks to her I startedto delve into it even more,” says Schneemann.
the pub
Because he had no contacts in Ireland, he had to rely on the internet – andthe pub. “That was no punishment,” laughs Schneemann, who drove around theentire island in a rental car. “In the past people used to come together athome to sing, nowadays it is mainly in the pub. As a child you get to know thetradition by being immersed in it.”
The Irish contribution to Island Songs comes – except for Emmy Storms – fromthe famous bodhran player John Joe Kelly. The bodhrán is a frame drum (kind oftambourine) that is played with a stick.
The melodies that Schneemann learned from his Greek and Irish colleagues formthe basis of Island Songs, supplemented by some new compositions. At home hepuzzled together arrangements, which he then taught his band members againduring countless Zoom sessions. “There is a plan, but nothing is on paper –that was the agreement from the start. At Caravan I have always written allthe music, but this is really a joint project. All musicians know the pieces,they embody the music. During rehearsals we will find out exactly how we aregoing to play.”