CARNIVAL IN MAASTRICHT
The most beautiful song
Length: 52 minutes
Language: English and Dutch dialect
CARNIVAL IN MAASTRICHT
The most beautiful song
With a sharp eye for the dilemmas of the low countries, with respect for our eccentricities, plus a wink and a nod to our customs.
‘Carneval in Mestreech’ is on another level from all the other celebrations in the Netherlands in February. The songs written expressly for the occasion are distinctively different from the average period ‘hits’. Carnival in Maastricht: one big musical party in the street!
Documentary filmmaker Paula Rennings, raised in Maastricht, together with ethnomusicologist Bart Vonk, go in search of the most beautiful song. They meet the old generation; people like Willy Hageman, the elderly chairman of the Carnival Association of Maastricht, songwriter Annie Van Loo, and John Hoenen, founder of the very first ‘Zaate Herremenie’ (Drunk Brass Band). All of them are representatives and keepers of the tradition. Young Turks, like the samba band Segura! and the singers of the group Zoeper, challenge tradition with modern ideas about style and lyrics, though they are just as passionate about the celebration and the music.
By confronting the old song writers and the young Turks the tension becomes tangible. In short, where does tradition end and the modern begin? How important is renewal for the existence of carnival music? These are questions asked in this documentary set against the background of the colourful sparkling street carnival of Maastricht. But the Mestreechtenaars decide, and they all burst into song in front of the camera when asked: What is the most beautiful song?
A superb documentary, filmed up close and personal.
Trouw - Stan Rijven
A search for the most beautiful carnival song from Maastricht illuminates a genuine popular tradition and shows a surprising resemblance with what anthropologists described as inversion rituals in primitive societies.
Volkskrant - Ton Maas
The search for the most beautiful song produces a treasure of bizarre pictures, music and tales.
Parool - Saskia Tornvist
The most beautiful song
With a sharp eye for the dilemmas of the low countries, with respect for our eccentricities, plus a wink and a nod to our customs.
‘Carneval in Mestreech’ is on another level from all the other celebrations in the Netherlands in February. The songs written expressly for the occasion are distinctively different from the average period ‘hits’. Carnival in Maastricht: one big musical party in the street!
Documentary filmmaker Paula Rennings, raised in Maastricht, together with ethnomusicologist Bart Vonk, go in search of the most beautiful song. They meet the old generation; people like Willy Hageman, the elderly chairman of the Carnival Association of Maastricht, songwriter Annie Van Loo, and John Hoenen, founder of the very first ‘Zaate Herremenie’ (Drunk Brass Band). All of them are representatives and keepers of the tradition. Young Turks, like the samba band Segura! and the singers of the group Zoeper, challenge tradition with modern ideas about style and lyrics, though they are just as passionate about the celebration and the music.
By confronting the old song writers and the young Turks the tension becomes tangible. In short, where does tradition end and the modern begin? How important is renewal for the existence of carnival music? These are questions asked in this documentary set against the background of the colourful sparkling street carnival of Maastricht. But the Mestreechtenaars decide, and they all burst into song in front of the camera when asked: What is the most beautiful song?
A superb documentary, filmed up close and personal.
Trouw - Stan Rijven
A search for the most beautiful carnival song from Maastricht illuminates a genuine popular tradition and shows a surprising resemblance with what anthropologists described as inversion rituals in primitive societies.
Volkskrant - Ton Maas
The search for the most beautiful song produces a treasure of bizarre pictures, music and tales.
Parool - Saskia Tornvist