Echoes Across the Divide

20 april 2006, Domkerk Utrecht-opening Vrede van Utrecht

As a sequel to Long Distance Call, 20 Cypriots from both sides came together in Utrecht to collaborate on a performance in the Dom church. Traditional music from Northern and Southern Cyprus formed the thread that ran through a spatial composition for vocal soloists, choirs, students and percussion.
The schism between the Greek and the Turkish parts of Cyprus as a result of the civil war in 1974 was recreated symbolically in the Dom church by emphasising the differences and similarities between the musical traditions of both countries. That a confrontation between cultures does not necessarily have to form a threat but can instead be an enriching experience for both parties was felt in the electrifying ways in which the music created both unity and contrast.
The music moved between order and chaos; the sound in the church contrasted between light serenity and a darkness filled with activity.

The Australian film maker Adam S�bire has made a documentary based on Long Distance Call about the origin of this musical composition on both sides of the buffer zone.

To watch this documentary go to: 
http://www.vredevanutrecht.nl/
content/home/
VVU-LongDistanceCall_web.WMV