Otherlands Collaboration #32
Date: June 26, 2022 • Location: Myslík, Czechia
I think it’s fun to trace how one situation in life leads to another, even more so when it’s years later. So here’s how my collaborations in Czechia began…
In 2017 I was living and working in Valencia, Spain. Maybe word had gotten out that I was in Europe and more easily available in this part of the world. Could it have been an Estonian fiddle collaboration with Eeva Talsi and the Villajndi Folk Festival we had played? I don’t know. Anyhow, I received an invitation from the Folk Holidays Festival in Náměšť nad Oslavou (Czech Republic) for a three fiddle collaboration performance with Stano Paluch (Slovakia) and Thyge Søndertoft van Dassen (Denmark). I accepted.
Fast forward to 2021…living back in the US, I was invited to return to the Czech Republic for a solo show at their Banjo Jamboree in Čáslav in the following year. For context, the kickoff of my Otherlands project was in 2019 and ended with COVID in 2020. The banjo festival would be my first international trip since the world had shut down. I was eager to tie in some personal international music exploration that I had come to love—and miss. I decided to visit WOMEX in 2021 to reconnect with the international music community. While on the streets of Porto for the conference, I ran into Michal Schmidt, the very festival organizer who first invited me to the Czech Republic for the tri-fiddle collab. I mentioned my upcoming Czechia trip and Otherlands interests. Within weeks of returning home, he had put me in touch with multi-instrumentalist and musicologist Marian Friedl.
Marian was enthusiastic about my project, and so generous, with many ideas about what we could do. He truly guided my experience. His specialty, within the traditional music of Czechia anyway (he is also a great jazz bassist), is in the east, the Moravian region and the Beskydy Mountains. I met his colleagues who teach at the local music school to jam. We played for his children’s school where I gave a workshop to their music class. We performed a concert in a park. The war in Ukraine was only 4 months old, and we collaborated in solidarity with a Hutsul flute player living in Czechia. We visited historical villages and walked the hills. I went to the home of a very traditional flute luthier and came home with a bass jaw harp. And he took me to a traditional Moravian cottage on a working sheep farm where our first collaboration took place.
On our first day together, Marian and I joined up with bassist Martin Kocián to get a vibe and try some pieces. Marian had a few picked out, some very traditional, some original, and some traditional with more contemporary arrangement. He played overtone flute on a couple and malý cimbál (hammered dulcimer) on others. I shared few bluegrass tunes, thinking ahead about a set of music for our park concert in a few days.
One tune I was particularly drawn to was a medley Marian had created. The lyrics of the first were traditional, but he had written the melody. It was in 5 and I loved the groove which was much different than anything I’d done on the project. The middle part of the arrangement turned out to be another traditional song that fit the theme of the first. Marian had a singer in mind to join us and thought it would be a great piece for a special cottage he had in mind. (I was excited to see the place but had no real idea of what it would be like.) The rest of the evening was spent celebrating and jamming with his fellow music school faculty who were having an end of the school year gathering.
The next morning, the three of rehearsed again–quite a luxury for my project! We also discussed the specifics of our session at the sheep cottage the following day, where we’d play two songs—the traditional Moravian with the vocalist in the morning and “Arkan,” a traditional flute piece from the Hutsul culture in Ukraine during the afternoon. At 3 instruments and 2 vocals for the morning, we had grown beyond what my travel rig could record. No worries, they said, we could borrow some gear from the music department.
Rising early the next day, Marian, Martin and I carpool with the gear to the cottage. Marian drops us off to and leaves to pickup up our singer Michaela.
Up a gravel road in the hills, the sheep farm and cottage setting is unbelievably picturesque. There are two small homes, one with an attached barn; two flower gardens, one with a carved wooden sculpture of a woman and a lamb. Beyond a fence is a hilly pasture, complete with roaming sheep. Inside the cottage is quaint and well taken care of, and so colorful! There are twin beds in the corners. Cupboards of painted dishes. Curious glass lamp shades. Each room has Christian devotional art of some sort—cross, crucifix, portraits. Each room also has a wood burning stove. It’s so idyllic to my sensibilities. I love it, let’s make some music!
We set up in the kitchen. Our percussionist for the afternoon tune shows up early so we invite him to join us. In his bag of tricks he has a cow’s jawbone…it’s not necessarily traditional, but that’s not of concern to us. He decides to play it with a large nail.
At 930a we’re offered a beer. I’m not ready yet, but eventually (give me an hour or so) I enjoy a shot of local plum liquor.
Often with this project I’m looking for solutions, like ways to attach cameras or mics since it’s hard to travel with tripods or mic stands. My favorite solution so far is our “mic stand” for Marian’s dulcimer mic—a butter churn with an upside down garden tool.
It’s our first time with the full ensemble. We rehearse a bit of course, and it’s so delightful to hear our complete sound. Soon, we’re recording.
The first song in this arrangement is Kyčera. The word is used by local Valach shepherds for a steep hill, today often overgrown with forest. The lyrics speak to the hard work of harvesting at the end of the season:
Verse 1 — God, please bring us the evening.
Verse 2 — Owner of the land, prepare the Aldamaš, the celebration of our harvest.
Verse 3 — Sun, go down as fast as possible so we can enjoy the evening.
Midway through the Kyčera, we transition into second song, Hrajte muzikanti, which translates to “play, musicians.” It’s a call for music so we can celebrate and feast.
There’s great eye contact between all and wonderful solos from Martin and Marian. I love the vocals from Michaela and her contrast with Marian. The space is special…magical even.
Envigorated and happy with the music we’ve made, we adjourn outdoors to celebrate and enjoy a lunch feast of meats, cheeses, pickles, and a beer or two.
CREDITS
Song: Kyčera / Hrajte, muzikanti
Writer/Composer: Traditional Lyrics, Marian Friedl (Melody) / Traditional
Malý Cimbál/Voice: Marian Friedl
Voice: Michaela Vitová
Bass/Recording: Martin Kocián
Jawbone: Michal Wierzgoń
Fiddle/Video/Mixing: Casey Driessen
Additional Music (Intro & Outro)
Song: Lístečku z javora
Elderwood clarinet "bezový klarinet"/Voice: Vít Kašpařík -
Drone zither "kobza"/Voice: Marian Friedl
Special Thanks
Michal Schmidt
Lukáš Mrkva
Jiří Pospěch
Základní umělecká škola Frenštát pod Radhoštěm