When silence falls - a look back at the premiere of "Barometer of Freedom"
In the end, it came down to something very simple: Would the evening be a success? I wasn't entirely sure on the afternoon of opening night. When you read texts as often as I did beforehand, their meaning seems to fade.
On the evening of October 3rd, I sat at the piano in the sold-out Johann Sebastian Bach House in my hometown of Bad Hersfeld. I've already told the story of how this program came about here . Now the idea had become a reality, and before me sat people who were ready to engage with it.
The silence
I've played around 2,800 concerts. And yet, one thing always impresses me: when so many people fall silent together. Expectant, attentive, without a cough or a rustle. You can hear your own breathing, and you know: now it's serious. Now, whatever you do, don't get nervous, don't let your hands tremble or stammer.
That evening, the silence was particularly profound. This was, of course, due to the program itself. "Barometer of Freedom" is not light entertainment. Between the musical pieces, I read texts by Duke Ellington, Martin Luther King Jr., Arvo Pärt, Michelle Obama, Barack Obama, and Wynton Marsalis. This demands something of the listener—and the people in the hall certainly delivered.
From outside to inside and back again
The evening begins with the question of what freedom means for a society. It then leads inward, to Pärt and to silence. And it returns outward again, to the responsibility that democracy demands of each of us.
In between, I played "Creole Love Call", "Handful Of Keys" and Pärt's "Ukuaru Valss" in my arrangement. I also played my own compositions such as "Jäätunud Hommik", "The Dilemma" and "Pathway to Freedom", as well as "Martin's Mambo" by Tom McDermott.
I especially enjoyed the moment with Marsalis: improvisation represents freedom, swinging responsibility, and the blues optimism. A fitting comparison. It sounds like jazz. And like democracy.
An audience that gets involved
What pleased me most was how the audience was swept away. As a soloist, you can really sense whether a room is truly engaged or just watching from a distance. That evening, they were fully engaged. Especially when I'm playing solo, the attentive energy of the audience is incredibly important.
Ultimately, that's the best confirmation there is.
Armstrong at the end
As an encore, I played "What a Wonderful World," with a commentary based on Louis Armstrong's famous statement about the song. The gist of it: The world is wonderful, it's just what we make of it that's terrible. I find this quote so powerful and so true that it was a fitting end to the evening and brought us back to the present. It was another moving moment for everyone in the hall—myself included.
Ellington was right. And sometimes, if you listen long enough, you understand that even without an explanation.
Thanks
My thanks go to the Working Group for Music (Arbeitskreis für Musik e.V.) for their cooperation and trust. Without them, this evening would not have been possible. Thanks also to Steffen Sennewald for the photos in this post and to Eda Luley for the camera during the recording.
I cut a 13-minute trailer from the recording...
And now?
The topic remains, and the program will continue. You can find all dates at www.janluley.de .
If you would like to bring "Barometer of Freedom" to your city, club, or organization, please write to me at info@luleymusic.de . And if you don't want to miss anything, subscribe to the newsletter .
Heartfelt grooves,
Jan
