Freedom!

O tomto mieste

‘Freedom! – a musical approach’ places six songs on the theme of freedom at the centre and takes you on a journey through different debates about freedom. Everyone is invited to voice their own wishes for freedom in a soundproof soundbox. From a selection of these wishes, the museum will compile and publish a new freedom song. Alongside preserving material cultural heritage for future generations, museums also have the task of researching and making intangible cultural heritage visible. For the theme of freedom, Schloss Burgdorf Museum has taken a close look at historical song material and the living tradition of singing. Collaboration with the bearers of intangible cultural heritage — with choirs and bands from Burgdorf — was key to developing the exhibition. They also helped decide what you will see and hear in the exhibition and enrich this year’s Schlosskultur programme with several concerts (see https://schloss-burgdorf.ch/veranstaltungen). Looking at faith, censorship, myth, lockdown and escape, the exhibition explores the repeatedly topical struggle for freedom and presents six songs in the space that are linked to the region’s history: «Haslibacher Ballade», unknown poet, 1620s, sung by Konzertchor Burgdorf «Lied der Burgdorfer Schützen», Gottlieb Jakob Kuhn, 1830, sung by Cantabella Burgdorf «Aemme-Jutz», Willy Felder, 2005, sung by Aemmitaler-Chörli Burgdorf «Längwiligi Zitte», Lina Wisler-Beck, 1920, sung by The Rattlesnakes «Steu dir vor», sung by Alizarin, 2022 «TDME», Antytila, 2019, sung by the choir of the Ukrainian welcome classes in Burgdorf The participants describe in short audio texts what working with the song lyrics triggered in them and to what extent singing means freedom to them; there are also brief explanations of the historical context. An important element of the new exhibition is the specially set-up soundbox, where you can record your own wishes for freedom — whether by singing, whispering, yodelling or shouting. From these wishes, Burgdorf musician Tim Rebmann, who was responsible for the recordings, will develop a new freedom song over the course of the exhibition. The exhibition will be on view for the next five years at Schloss Burgdorf.