What turns out to be a major problem in real life is a blessing within the arts! "Our advantage is that people from 20 different nationalities live together in the Pannonian plains", says Boris Kovac, composer, instrumentalist and multimedia artist from Novi Sad, capital of the multiethnic region Vojvodina in the Pannonian plains of former Yugoslavia: "So today no one can say which folklore my music stems from exactly. Me and my musicians - living in an urban situation, having no contact to the little villages in the country - we cannot retrace where the music comes from, anyway. It is not necessary, too, I think - the crucial point is to use the sources as nourishment for your own creativity."
Boris Kovac understands about these things! Known as a legendary cross point for all sorts of migrants from the Mediterranean to the Baltic, Pannonia until today is characterized by the concurrence of Catholicism and Slavic Orthodoxy - and all the cultural characteristics those different religions stand for. Kovac, born in 1955, began to draw from the numerous different heritages many decades ago, acquiring a spectrum of artistic expression rarely heard of: He writes music for chamber groups he rehearses and leads; many of his projects are connected with theatre; in 1982 he created the Ritual Nova Ensemble, an ever-changing, flexible group of musicians as well as visual artists, dancers and performers, acting as sole composer and director; since 1989 he has been the leader of the Chamber Theatre of Music OGLEDALO from Novi Sad, Academy of Fine Skills and "La Danza Apocalypsa Balcanica" with LADAABA Orchest.
Now, La Campanella with their "World after History". They serve as the perfect vehicle to combine the two main motifs their leader artistically indulges in at the moment - being rooted in the Pannonian plains and--longing to come to terms with the difficult political present of the region by infusing their unmergeable characteristics with some Mediterranean philosophy á la Albert Camus: The sun is an answer to all historical dilemmas! After staying in Italy, Slovenia and Austria for several years, Boris Kovac came back to Yugoslavia to participate in the cultural reconstruction of his home country in numerous projects in the reflourishing theatre scene. He shared his artistic talents at more than 100 festivals of new music and contemporary theater in many different countries. He reveals his Serbian, Hungarian and Romanian roots and at the same time discloses similarities with the darker side of "Rock in Opposition" (Art Zoyd / Univers Zero) as well as with the Third Ear Band combined with the manifest influence of Béla Bartók and Balkan folk music.
At this point of his career, Boris Kovac, like Bartok 70 years before, stands out as a cultural hybrid between music traditions and the young contemporary scene of Yugoslavia plus all the influences he picked up on the way - last but not least by way of his musicians. The Balkans became far too narrow for the open-minded lot of them - politically as well as musically. So they move on to new horizons - this time preferably Mediterranean: accordion, violin, bass and drums are played by Half-Serbians, Half-Hungarians and Half-Macedonians.
Which still does not even begin to give you an idea where they are heading. Says Boris Kovac: "La Campanella marks a cool turning away from the pains of the Balkans' recent years to realities more hopeful and promising!" It is a trip into sentimental spaces, Boris Kovac is very satisfied with. A flirt with nostalgic "tristeza", melancholy joy, romantic enthusiasm, he is very proud of. And quite relieved about. Longing, desire, utopia, and vision - they all have a new name: La Campanella. And a record: "World after History"
La Campanella:
The members are:
Boris Kovac – alto & soprano sax, voice
Goran Penic – accordion
Vukasin Miskovic – classical guitar
Milos Matic – double bass, tamburitza
Istvan Cik – drums, percussion
special guests:
String Quartet Tajj (3,4,5,6,8,9,11)
Bodgan Rankovic – bass clarinet (3,4,10)
LaDaABa Orchest
The members are:
Bogdan Rankovic (Bogi) - clarinet, bass clarinet
Goran Penic (Gogi) - accordion
Milos Matic (Miki) - double bass
Boris Kovac (Boki) - alto & soprano sax
Istvan Cik (Picu) - drums, percussion
Olah Vince (Vici) - acoustic guitars
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