In the spirit of the idea that Brno and folklore belong together, the Folklore Ensemble Happening of the Year took place on Thursday 6 June. The event was organised by the Brno UNESCO City of Music Office in cooperation with the Brno Dances and Sings association. The event thus became part of a long-term project that set out to map the amateur music scene in Brno, and not only folk music. Last year Brno City of Music reached out to choirs in a similar way, and in the future will host garage bands and more. This just goes to prove the diversity of Brno's music scene, not only as regards professional ensembles, but also enthusiastic amateurs for whom music is an inseparable part of their lives.
In addition to the Happening, the Year of Folklore Ensembles will also see an inventory taken of all groups with folklore as their main source of inspiration, from folk ensembles, through cimbalom music groups to brass and inter-genre bands. No institution has compiled such an up-to-date list for a long time. After all, it is a commendable but far from easy achievement.
The date chosen for the Happening deliberately coincides with the traditional Brno Dances and Sings show. This meant that audiences were able to enjoy the diversity of folk culture of the wider Brno region on separate stage at the Old Town Hall.
The April-like weather that has accompanied the whole of this June so far finally decided to cooperate, so the scheduled parade was able to make its way through the city for this part of the programme.
The rest of the sites scattered throughout the historical centre hosted other groups active in Brno.
The ensembles that attracted the largest crowds were in busy spots such as Brno's Valášek on náměstí Svobody and Javorníček on Jakubské náměstí.
It is also worth mentioning Brno’s youngest ensemble, Výkvet, which filled Moravské náměstí by the statue of Jošt.
However, attentive visitors had the opportunity to discover folklore in other places around the city as well. Appearing on Římské náměstí was Anna Urbaničová, a talented composer, musician and also a guest singer with BROLN. The Folk it dance school, which draws on elements of folk dance for aerobics workouts, was getting things moving on Dominikánské náměstí.
Among the many other performers, I must also mention the minorities who make up a significant part of the Brno folklore scene. They were represented at the Happening by Bulgarian Pirin and Roma Salut Roma.
Marie Hvozdecká, folk editor of Czech Radio Brno, is behind the dramaturgy of the Happening as a whole. This institution still plays an important role within the folklore movement. Not only is musical folklore a regular part of the programme, but new recordings are constantly being made here, which have maintained the same high quality standards for many years. That's why radio was one of the stops at the Happening. In studio 7, the dramaturge of the folklore broadcast Jaroslav Kneisl played legendary archive radio recordings, adding a touch of frivolity with his unique sense of humour.
Folklore is an essential part of the genius loci of the South Moravian metropolis.
The Happening of the Year of Folklore Ensembles made great use of this fact, bringing it into the public eye. At the same time, through performances and singing and dancing schools, it got audiences involved in the creative process and gave them a glimpse of how truly diverse and broad the folklore scene in Brno and the Brno Region is.
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