My experience in Sachaqa Centro de Arte in Peru
Music in its entirety, inexpressible mysticism and indefinable form is something so special that I try to describe them as best I can with words. We sometimes forget what music can mean, which role, function it can take and what meaning it has and can have for people. I was able to experience the magic of music on my journey and residence in the jungle in Peru. Picking the unplayed notes out of the air, experiencing the enchanting magic that allows people to unite, share and also heal. I got up every morning and often felt like playing the saxophone. This impulse that I had almost forgotten, often not noticed, not felt before. Listlessness, fear and excuses had often covered this true and light impulse. What opened this up, how was it freed, how can I take this feeling with me? I’ve often asked myself this, and I don’t think there is a general answer, every moment and day is different. But in the jungle there were no distractions, no tasks I had to fulfill. Just the pure nature, the chirping of birds, the sounds of buzzing insects, warmth. I often just sat there for hours and listened to the surroundings. One thing I really learned during my residency was to listen, to the sounds around me, to my inner melody! Even in the evening, I just sat there and absorbed the sound of the stars. I had never seen so many stars.
The greatest teachers for me were the animals, nature, which accepted me as I am. Who accepts everyone as they are. There are no masks, no distractions. Just the purity, purity of being. The dogs that led their own independent lives. I also felt once again that it is so important to treat animals with love and respect. Because they are a mirror of ourselves.
The local musicians welcomed me so warmly. When we played together, it didn’t matter who came from where, what experience or skills somebody had on their instrument, only the common wish to play. To create something that wasn’t there before, to catch the moment.
The residency brought me so much. I always like to think back to it. Lots of rest, time to let grow my ideas, to play around with it. Playing outside in the morning made me feel very free.
Participating in a didgeridoo workshop in Tarapoto was a special experience for me.The didgeridoo player said that the frequencies and tones helped bones and tendons to grow back together properly. During the workshop we laid down on the floor. As he played close to my ear, I actually felt the vibrations in my body. Playing the didgeridoo myself almost got me into a kind of flow. It was a bit difficult at the beginning, but the idea of the sound, the inner hearing of it, not the explanations at all, made it better and better. I also noticed that when I put less power or effort to try my best, the notes on the instrument came out more easily, because I was more relaxed.
It is important to trust the picture of the sound. That was an experience that also helped me immensely when playing the saxophone, that the air can flow better with less force, pressure and effort.
A special experience for me was meeting the flute player from Lamas, whom I was allowed to meet there and who taught me his traditional music. The hut seemed rough, as if it had been there for a long time. Built of clay. On a wooden bench sat an older man with very friendly eyes. He started playing his flute. It was melodies that were repeated, maybe 2 or 3 different melodies in one song. He played the flute, which he made himself, with one hand and the drum with the other hand. His melodies were based on rhythm. I was surprised how many tones he could play, not only 2 (because of the two holes in the flute) but about 8 tones. He said, nobody would want to learn his tradition anymore. He would be one of the last to teach this tradition. He knows about 60 songs and when he learned them, it took him about 1-2 days or sometimes 1 week to learn a song. They were passed on without sheet music, only by ear. He had had 3 different teachers. I wanted to play directly with him and I took my saxophone and wanted to improvise with him. He played his songs and I tried to memorize the melodies as quickly as possible and play along, but that was very difficult, and just improvising together like that didn’t work, unfortunately. This was also an interesting experience for me, because different cultures around the world understand improvisation differently and there are different perceptions. For him meant improvising within the form of the songs, but improvising completely free without form and structure, as I know it, he didn’t know.
On one of my last days at the residency, there was a big party with several DJs. I was allowed to give a small concert that evening together with the sounds that surrounds me. I walked around while playing the saxophone to bring the melodies closer to the people and to connect with them. Later that evening, during the party, the electricity went out for a short time. And now the magic of music happened, we just kept playing and singing. No one was angry or upset, we automatically made the best of the situation. Many people started singing or drumming and we created a song together.
The jungle enveloped me with its magic and started inner processes. The green leaves enveloped me and protected me. The insects have taught me their wisdom. And I have entered a world where the animals live their own dependent lives.
The natural rhythm of nature
I sit here and blend into the overall picture,
don’t want to stand out
am part of the whole
pick the tones out of the air like apples
trees whisper to each other
I don’t want to bother, just listening
The birds gradually begin to raise their voices
A chuckle from the right, another whispering tree
the creaking door driven by the wind speaks its mind
a fly whizzes past my right ear
now the main act begins with an inevitable hiss that comes in waves
High, low frequencies are there, almost like a jet of water sounds
I see light everywhere
The bird with the yellow belly beeps single tones at different intervals
Nature has its own rhythm
Inga Rothammel 