In Tune

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Here comes my wish for you on the summer solstice: Harmony in Life, Music and Food

Earlier this year I went to a concert. Not in a big place, but at a smaller location. A friend’s spacious kitchen was transformed into a concert hall. That day I sat with my back to the grand piano, because all the artists on stage brought their own gear. And they put on a marvelous show, beautiful handmade music and true lyrics.

After the show, I had a chance to talk to the singer-songwriter of the combo. We agreed and disagreed. Like people talking about any kind of art: It’s always in the eyes and ears of the beholder. He said: “Good music is like a good meal.”

‘Exactly’, I thought. And I remembered how I was working on a name for my blog back then. The first thing that came to my mind was a canon we used to sing in elementary school: “Where there is song, you can sit down and be among friends. Because bad people don’t have songs.”

The annual Fete de la Musique also lives up to this idea. It was founded in Paris in 1982 by the French Minister of Culture, Jack Lang, to bring music to the people. Not in large, secluded concert halls, but in the streets, where everyone could participate. Just make music and listen.

What started as a local festival has now spread to more than 500 cities around the world. And it continues to grow. Everyone who has been there on June 21st – musicians and guests alike – will tell you about it with a certain gleam in their eyes. Because they felt it on the ground, in the air, in the streets.

For one day, just as summer gives you the longest stretch of sunlight in the year, everyone is ‘in tune’.

He said: “Good music is like a good meal.”

Side Notes:

  • This year, the Fete de la Musique’s partner district in Berlin is Tempelhof-Schöneberg. And you’ll never guess where part of the program takes place: at the Friedenau Marketplace (see [‘Local Foods: Friedenau Market’]). If you want to go, check out the official website of the city of Berlin (berlin.de), ‘Aktuelles’ and ‘Fete de la Musique’. Or you can visit the website of the Berlin ‘Fete de la Musique’ (fetedelamusique.de, information about the events in English and German).
  • Yes, I wrote above that my friend has a grand piano in his kitchen. But that’s another story …