Soundscapes – The St. Gallen Concert
The St. Gallen concert in St. Otmar Church is like a gift from heaven for me—just as the musical encounter with natural tone musician Willi Grimm is one of the greatest gifts I have ever received through the Overtone Music Network.
Willi Grimm has made a name for himself in the didgeridoo scene as a didgeridoo player. In the early 1970s, he essentially introduced the didgeridoo to Switzerland. Together with Gérard Widmer, Willi Grimm celebrated the 25th anniversary of their “Naturton” duo in November 2011. It was therefore a great pleasure and honor for me to perform with Willi at Hanumans Move in Berlin in October 2010. After the concert in Berlin, we both agreed that I should pay a return visit to Bern. It was just a question of when.
St. Gallen concert with Willi Grimm & Jens Mügge
It was wonderful that we soon agreed to give our second joint concert in February at the Klangkeller Bern. Once the date was set and a ticket to Bern was booked, we were also able to include a second concert date in our plans. Many thanks to the pastor of the St. Otmar Church in St. Gallen for allowing us to give an overtone concert in St. Gallen on February 6. It was incredible what a gem awaited me there.
Bern and Berlin have – as I discovered – many similarities and analogies. A bear in the city coat of arms, four identical letters in the city name – a federal parliament – and much more. But there is one thing these two cities do not have in common. They are not located on the same longitude and latitude. In other words, it was not possible to rehearse the St. Gallen concert extensively with Willi in advance. Our dress rehearsal for the concert in St. Otmar was basically our previous concert in the Klangkeller in Bern. Otherwise, the rule was: free improvisation and letting the music arise in the moment of experience. A guideline discussed in advance – the so-called line-up – for the concert served as orientation for both of us. The depth in our music grew through contact and resonance with the audience and the arcane location of St. Otmar Church in St. Otmar itself.
I am delighted to present a complete recording of this overtone and natural tone concert here, also on behalf of Willi Grimm.
This music was created in the moment, or perhaps more accurately, in the act of listening.
Willi Grimm can be heard playing the didgeridoo, slide didge, a jaw harp in D, and tanpura. Jens Mügge sings overtones and plays the didgebox, three jaw harps in D, Khomus in F sharp, Wachtelberger bamboo jaw harp, a Fujara in C and D, a Futujara in G, a Bina Shrutibox, and finally an M1 Shrutibox in G by Stefan Cartwright.
