ODE TO JOY

THE STOLAC BRASS BRAND


This post is also available in: French

The Stolac brass brand plays music for a community that hardly exists. The city, one of the oldest in Bosnia and Herzegovina, was destroyed during the war and was barely rebuilt afterwards. Its prewar inhabitants were either expelled or killed. Local authorities are torn between Bosnian and Croatian nationalists and seem to enforce ethnic segregation in order to make communal life impossible: Bosnian and Croation children have separate school hours, the first ones in the morning, the latter in the afternoon, and they do not enter the school through the same doors! Political leaders strive to maintain crisis, holding up any attempts for economic renewal. In this destroyed, segregated city, the Stolac brass band has succeded to miraculously reunite people through the « music making » tradition of the community. It is thus formed by survivors, prewar members of the orchestra, and the youthful members who have no recollection of the community life era and glorious days of the brass band. While the concept of community in this area applies mainly to an ethnically identical entity, the Stolac brass band is, according to philosopher Muhamed Dzelilovic, an attempt to create a pure spiritual community, including all ethnical groups, of the communities based on the Other’s rejection and on ethnic and religious differences. The brass brand is an orchestra like any other, composed of dedicated people driven by the passion for their instrument played in an ensemble and as well as alone. This is what these photographs were intended to express. The brass band is not presented in group images but by a series of individual portraits of the orchestra’s members. They all have the same position, the same uniform and pose with their instrument. The instrument is held in their arms, a third hand, embraced as if they were going to kiss it on the lips or play a note. The eyes and the body seem to say « Take a photo if you wish, but it’s not my purpose for being here. I’d like to show you what I can do… » In each photo, you can see pride, self-will and the joy to express what can be done here and now. Together and alone, against all odds.
The brass band will celebrate its 80th anniversary by playing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy, one the most moving pieces of music ever written. But beyond that, it is music that transcends this community whose political leaders strive to undermine by forcing divisions that do not make sense.Playing Ode to Joy is a message that those who have destroyed Stolac and nourish its state of great devastation can not understand. « We are here, together, in this city that remains, against the tide, beautiful… And now, let us show you what we can do… »Andrea Lešic
photographs by Milomir KOVACEVIC

From 28/07/2011 to 06/09/2011
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