Contrasts and Clarity Part II

Now where was I…ah yes, contrasts.

We had watched “The War Tapes” (see previous post) and HB was surfing the channels, as you do when you are sprawled out on the sofa in the sun recovering from the flu. Purely by chance we came across the second documentary I want to tell you about. It was run in place of the scheduled programme. So it was even more by chance that we viewed it.

The contrast between The War Tapes and this documentary by Paul Smaczny, entitled, “The Ramallah Concert: Knowledge is the beginning…..” was incredible. It was like the contrast between winter/summer, sunshine/rain, night/day or depression/optimisim.

I am finding it difficult to find the words to describe the power and magnificence of this documentary..

Again if I refer to the heading on this blog site, “Words frame our reality. Actions define our lives”, this documentary encapsulates that philosophy.

What we were watching was an incredible collective of young men and women from the Middle East. Young people, whose reality had been framed by the place of their birth and the information , language, history and stories of their families. They were from Israel, Palestine, Jordan, Syria and Spain. People, whose reality encompassed inbred fear, mistrust and a history of hatred between these states. Histories of oppression, war, death and destruction at the hands of each others ethnic grouping. Words of hatred and mistrust had framed the only reality they knew about each other.

Most of them had never met or spoken to anyone from the other ethnic gorupings. This was their first experience of being able to talk one to one with each other. They are segregated into geographical areas with no access to each other. This is a situation that is ongoing in the Middle East with no clear sign of any changes in the near future.

How is it then that this particular group came together?

That is where the magnificence of the human entity comes in. That is where the power of the arts and contribution from artists comes in. That is where creativity and vision come in.

Two men, one an Israeli Musician, one a Palestian academic had made this possible. Daniel Barenboim and Edward Said had joined forces on this project. They breathed life into it and made it happen.

Part of my delay in updating my blog is that I have been finding out so much about each of these amazing men that I have disappeared into the internet!! I already knew that Daniel Barenboim was a musician who had once been married to Jacqueline du Pre. My sister introduced me to du Pre's magnificent cello playing many years ago. On first hearing the her play, I simply wept. It was so beautiful. It stirred my soul and touched my spirit in a way that only wonderful music can do. That is a rare feeling. I will never forget that particular moment.

What was extraordinary about this documentary was that it was much more than the story of an orchestra, (the group was called the West-East Divan Orchestra).

The process of living, working, travelling and playing music together provided a backdrop for dialogue. Dialogue between people that do not normally have a chance to speak to each other. To air their views, question each other and learn about each other’s lives. There were animated discussions the content of which were so honest and truthful that I was again brought to tears. There were heated discussions about the viability of playing at Ramallah. Consensus had to be reached and then extraordinary measures taken to make this happen. That it happened at all was a miracle.

It was incredible that this group formed, it was incredible that they learned so much from each other.It was incredible what they brought to the people in the Middle East. It was incredible what they brought to me.

At one stage Barenboim was asked for an interview after one of the concerts. He simply said words to this effect: there is no need for words after that (the music).
That is why it has been so difficult for me to find the words to convey any of this.

Truly incredible and life altering.

The dvd is available through Amazon if you are interested.

Arohanui

KG