• Fri 03 – Sun 05 10 2014 •
Sound of the Imaginary Homeland

This event explores how notions of ’home‘ can be conveyed through music, and how the traditional German concept of Heimat – homeland – has been diversified through migration. The topic of “Heimat” has gained currency once again, calling into question the meaning of the term itself. With transformations in society brought about by individualization and migration, richer and more plural ideas about home have also been enabled. Heimat is intimately linked to music: folklore, the “lore of the folk” (the “knowledge of the people”), has always been transmitted through song and dance, and song has the ability to create imaginary communities. In Germany, however, folklore is largely an unknown concept – its place usurped by a genre of cheery national Volkslieder that exploit the nostalgia for a sense of home. Immigration has also played a role in bringing new “Heimat songs” to many European countries, where they have become naturalized in their host country’s repertoires. What do other homelands sound like? And how is the notion of Heimat developed and reinvented through music today?

Fri, 3.10.2014 / 19:30
Songs of the Homeland from Germany Concert

More than sixty artists from Berlin and Cologne present songs that have been brought to this country by immigrants: Cuban Son, Portuguese Fado (with Mongolian overtone singing), Croatian Klapa, Mozambican Marrabenta, and the UNESCO-protected Quan ho singing from Vietnam.

Venue: Schauspiel Köln, Depot 1, Schanzenstraße 6 – 20, 51063 Cologne
Tickets: 11 – 29,70 €

Sat, 4.10.2014 / 15:00
In every dream home a heartache

Lectures

Four lectures on homeland fantasies, music, and fleeting communities will be held by author Mark Terkessidis (in German), music journalist Louise Gray (in English), ethnomusicologist and music journalist Thomas Burkhalter (in German), and scholar of Portuguese and Lusophone literature and culture Kimberly DaCosta Holton (in English).

Venue: Stadtgarten, Venloer Straße 40, 50672 Cologne
Tickets: 7 €

Sat, 4.10.2014 / 20:00
Elina Duni Quartett
Concert

Swiss jazz singer Elina Duni, originally from Albania, presents her folk adaptations together with her quartet: Colin Vallon (piano), Patrice Moret (bass), and Norbert Pfammatter (drums).

Venue: Stadtgarten
Tickets: 19 € / Advance booking 15 €

Sun, 5.10.2014
Folklor invalid. Experimental homeland
Concert
Nikos Veliotis, Yannis Kyriakides / Andy Moor

Nikos Veliotis, a classically trained cellist from Athens, experiments with free improvisation and drone sounds. Cypriot composer and sound artist Yannis Kyriakides, who was raised in England and now lives in the Netherlands, presents his interpretations of folklore together with British DJ and producer Andy Moor.

Doors open: 19:00, Start: 20:00
Venue: King Georg, Sudermanstraße 2, 50670 Cologne
Tickets: 12 €