EUROPEAN FOLK TRADITIONS AT THE RAINFOREST WORLD MUSIC FESTIVAL 2006

Date: 16 May 2006
Written By: Yeoh Jun-Lin

There are just some bands with music so beguiling that one can just sit back and soak it in without much effort.

HOTEL PALINDRONE is one such example.

They are a 4 man band from Austria and between them they interchange and perform on more than twenty instruments.

The band got together in 1995 and has been the driving force in the Austrian folk scene in the last few years.  

Their music is deeply rooted in various European traditions with a great leaning towards Swedish and Balkan melodies and traditional alpine songs. There is also some yodeling worked into the sets.

Expect to hear anything from asymmetrical time South European dances, to old German songs, Swedish polkas, Brittany songs and dances, bourees, circle dances, medieval pieces – the list goes on.

The four musicians - Albin Paulus, John Morrissey, Peter Natterer and Stephan Steiner – play by ear and are excellent at what they do and a great feel for the style and genre of music.

The extra bonus is that they will bring with them the hurdy-gurdy. The organizers of the festival have been desperate to try bring in this wonderful instrument for the last five years of the festival and it has never materialized. And now HOTEL PALINDRONE will have it with them.

The hurdy-gurdy is equivalent to a synthesizer of the medieval times. Also known as the vielle a roué in France, the zanfona in Spain, the tekerolant in Hungary, the lira in the Ukriane, it is a stringed instrument with several string arranged in such a way they can be simultaneously be played by a rotating rotating wheel. This gives out a drone effect and nasal tones which is reminiscent of  bagpipes which is also why the hurdy-gurdy is often accompanied by bagpipes in French and Hungarian music.

The first known hurdy-gurdies around the 11th century were so big that it had to be played by 2 people. It became very popular in the Rennaisance period but by the end of the 17th century, it had been demoted to a lower class status and called derogatory names like the “beggar’s lyre” or the “peasant’s lyre”. However in the 18th century during the time of the French rococo period, it regained its standing and was again in great demand by the nobility. During this time, its use spread further east to the Slavic countries, Germany and Hungary. But by the time the 20th century began, it was almost extinct.

Aside from the hurdy-gurdy, HOTEL PALINDRONE also performs with bagpipes from all over Europe, the Irish-Italian mandola, the harmonium, the Swedish nykelharpa, jew’s harp – it will be an education all by itself!

The Rainforest World Music Festival will run from the 7th to the 9th of July at the Sarawak Cultural Village, just 45 minutes outside of Kuching.

Tickets are priced at RM60 and RM30 for children aged 3 – 12 years. They are available at the Visitor Information Centres in Kuching, Miri and Sibu. Or check the website www.rainforestmusic-borneo.com for packages or travel agents or outlets and updates on the festival. More enquiries can be made by calling the Sarawak Tourism Board at 082-423600.

The festival is run by the Sarawak Tourism Board with support from the Ministry of Tourism. They have on board with them, Malaysia Airlines who is Official Airlines 9th year running as well as fROOTS magazine as Media Sponsor. The official telco for the festival is DIGI and supporting sponsors are Heineken and Water Genesis.

 PATA (Pacific Asia Travel Association) has just announced the Rainforest World Music Festival as the winner of the gold award 2006 in the Heritage and Culture category. PATA, the leading US-based travel industry, will be officially presenting the award at the 55th annual conference in Pattaya, Thailand from 23rd – 27th April this year.

Don’t miss HOTEL PALINDRONE on main stage and definitely try to go to a workshop where the hurdy-gurdy will be featured. It might be a long time before such an instrument will find its way to this part of the world again.

Yeoh Jun-Lin
Artistic Director
Rainforest World Music Festival