07-021
disORIENTation
Buying a
busking CD is rather hit or miss. This applies to Hong Kong. This applies to
Germany as well.
Busker in Marienplatz
Buskers are
everywhere in Marienplatz. Most of them sing very well or play very good music.
But only a few of them sell CDs. We are living in the 2020s. Everything goes
cyber. It is a world dominated by Instagram and Tik Tok. Most people don’t even
have a working CD player at home.
Gypsy woman busking outside Hugendubel bookstore at Marienplatz
But I still
like CDs. They give me a feeling of “owning” the music. It happened that after
visiting the Jüdisches Museum München, I found this couple playing music
outside the department store Ludwig Beck. They played so well and attracted a crowd
of audiences. And they sold CDs. I told myself, “I mustn’t miss this chance!”
Ludwig Beck at Marienplatz
But when I was
about to pull out my wallet, I realized that I didn’t have any small change.
During my whole week in Munich, I had hardly spent any cash. I paid almost
everything by credit card. I was still carrying those 50 EURO banknotes that I got
from the bank in Hong Kong.
I quickly went
into the U-bahn station nearby and grabbed a bottle of water, paying cash. But
when I came back to Ludwig Beck with some changes on hand, they were gone! I
was gone for just 2 minutes, but they were already gone. I tried walking around
for 20 minutes but could not find any trace of them. I did not even get their
name. There was not even a chance for me to buy their CD from eBay.
Luckily, I got
another chance of acquiring a busking CD in Germany earlier that week. In one
of the nights out with my colleagues, I met an old man playing an accordion
outside Frauenkirche. He played very well. And he also sold CDs. Since I was
with my colleagues, I quickly grabbed a CD from him and left. I had no chance
of taking any photo of him. I was amazed. He said “Xie! Xie!” to me. I was
talking to him in English. I don’t know why he know that I was a Chinese.
The CD album "disORIENTation"
Only after I
came back to Hong Kong, did I have time to really listen to his music and find
out what his CD was about.
The title of
the CD is called “disORIENTation”. The music was recorded in Church Town
Studios of Munich some 20 years ago, in 2004. And the CD was not performed by a
single person but by a group called The Bridge Ensemble. “disORIENTation” is
their second, and probably the last album. It contains 20 tracks with titles
like Bulgar, Dimitrio, Nostalgia, Libertango, and Sherele. The album features
instruments such as accordion, bayan, cello, clarinet, double bass, dulcimer,
guitar, keyboards, percussion, and violin.
Inside of the CD
The Bridge
Ensemble was formed in 2000 by Adam Mazurek. The group consists of artists who
are “searching for the sources of culture in the traditions of various nations
and ethnic groups.” At the time of recording, there were 10 artists in the
group, old and young, men and women. There were members from Poland, Germany,
Ukraine, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Bulgaria, and Belarus. They play various
styles of music, such as Sephardic, Polka, Klezmer, Armenian, Greek, and
Balkan.
The title
“disORIENTation” was referred to the then world situation. “Disorientation in
the world has reached a critical level”, as stated in the CD insert. Looking
back to what it said 20 years ago, their prediction was surprisingly true.
I found that
the album was also religious. Not only did there are Jewish music in the album.
The cover picture was adapted from the Quran “The Paradise found under the feet
of good people.”
I guess the
accordionist I met was Alexander Schamigov. Too bad that I had no time to talk
with him longer. If I had been given the chance, I would definitely have asked
him where the other members in the ensemble were.
Now, his CD is
sitting next to my Hi-Fi, together with the other 2 CDs of Pepito. I am happy
to acquire it into my collection.
Go back to the Lobby ...
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