Meeting with Bjarte Eike - A toast to joy & good music
Photo: Gorm Valentin
"I've been in so many orchestras where the conductors come in like tyrants and almost beat the right interpretation into the musicians, I hate it! It's just music. Music should be created out of joy."
Music should be created out of joy, hums Bjarte Eike, and states: - I'm done with the career hunt! I've been able to be a soloist in almost everything. I can choose new collaborations with those I want to play with. Now I've resigned from my position at the Academy of Music. New opportunities continue to open up for me, I've learned to trust them. But don't get me wrong, I've worked like crazy to get here. I was over 30 before I bought a sofa! I owned a few violins and a couple of suitcases and slept on mattresses all over the place at friends and acquaintances' houses, says the musical director of the Baroque Soloists.
Bjarte Eike comes from Gjøvik and has his education from the Grieg Academy in Bergen. Here he switched from regular classical violin to historical instruments. In 1996 he graduated as the first Norwegian with baroque violin as his main instrument. The following year he graduated from Trinity College in London with the highest grade . - Last year, when the album The Alehouse Sessions – was nominated for the Spelemannsprisen, I received a nice letter and congratulations on the nomination in the country category! Then I thought: "Yes, that was all that was missing!" Bjarte Eike laughs heartily. - It turned out to be a mistake, but it still shows how genre-crossing, free and improvisational this project is.
“ It wasn’t very expensive, you could come in and listen to what were called “sessions”. Not particularly formal, open to everyone, linked to a drinking culture, but also a meeting place where folk culture could sharpen itself and reach out to the talented musicians who participated. ”
- To understand history, we have to go to England and all the way back to the end of the 17th century. The country was ravaged by war both abroad and at home. The costs were so great that the king had to close the theaters and music venues. It was Torries against Whigs, Protestants against Catholics. Civil wars raged. Musicians and writers had to use the inns as stages. When Charles II returned to the throne, he tried to find new, affordable ways to invest in music and culture. Soon the first subscription concert was advertised in The London Gazette, at a pub called "The Black Horse". It was not very expensive, you could come in and listen to what were called "sessions". Not particularly formal, open to everyone, linked to a drinking culture, but also a meeting place where folk culture could sharpen itself and extend itself towards the talented musicians who participated.
Photo: Matthew Long
“ There are only two types of music: Good and bad! ”
- I had a book lying around for a long time: "The English dancing master." You know, there are no recordings of this music. The only thing you can do is read it out loud. The book had over a thousand melodies, no chords, no instructions. But with a simple choreography on how to dance to the notes. So we had established "The Baroque Soloists", almost like a house orchestra at the Larvik Baroque Festival. Here I got to handpick the people I would most like to work with.
- We have fantastic workshops together. Sometimes in the mountains, sometimes out at sea, on an island. We meet, cook, dance, play. As a musical director, I of course have the final say on how a concert should be put together, how the music should be played, but people must be able to move freely! People must thrive in order to be able to perform at their best. I have been in so many orchestras where the conductors come in like tyrants and almost beat the right interpretation into the musicians, I hate it! It is just music. Music should be created out of joy. I found a framework through the stories of subscription concerts and "sessions". It is wide and open, but still provides precisely the framework to stick to and be creative within. It becomes a concentrated and intense version in Førde , we only have an hour until our party there. That's a bit short, he laughs. But add that he's really looking forward to performing at Førdefestivalen , known as it is for conveying the authentic and original. Baroque violinist Bjarte Eike concludes with a clear message, suitable for reflection: - What does it mean for music to be authentic? You have to write yourself into the music, to convey the authentic. You have to do it so that YOU can offer something that YOU are passionate about. There are only two types of music: Good and bad!