Events

A colonial symbol, brass bands have been constantly reinvented by the inhabitants of North Sulawesi for more than a century, with instruments made from bamboo, assembled zinc or copper plates. In the Minahassa peninsula and the Sangihe islands, there are hundreds of them today, bringing together around forty musicians from the same village, who perpetuate an oral polyphonic Dutch repertoire (hymns, marches, waltzes, polkas, scottish, etc.). Since valves cannot be reproduced in bamboo, they are replaced with holes. Therefore, the number of pitches per instrument is limited, forcing the musicians to divide up the notes of the same melodic part. This lively musical practice raises questions regarding the values it perpetuates, in reference to a colonial past certainly, but also to a more holistic and egalitarian conception of society that is perhaps to be found in this particular way of playing together.