A new soundtrack festival, Composers Soundtracks Festival (CSF), was recently announced, and it was quite special to me because it would be the first soundtrack festival in the Netherlands. We have the Buma Music in Motion conference, but that is only for professionals. Tthere have been some film music events that were tied to a film festival, but never a festival dedicated to soundtracks. To make such a festival happen, involvement from outside the country was needed. Even all the way from Brazil, by the people of Musimagem, which is a soundtrack festival organized by a large group of Brazilian composers. Some of them, Tim Rescala, Alberto Rosenblit, Mú Carvalho, Anselmo Mancini, Flavia Tygel, Marion Lemonnier and director of both festivals Marcos Souza, came to Amsterdam and collaborated with Dutch composers Matthijs Kieboom, Johan van der Voet, Luna Zegers, Annelotte Coster, Rui Reis Maia, and Ella van der Woude to create a small festival with concerts and panels. Of course I had to attend this first edition.
Concerts
During the three-day festival, people could attend a concert each day. One of them would be in Rotterdam, and the other two would be at Teatro Munganga, a small theater in Amsterdam run by Brazilian actors Cláudia Maoli and Carlos Lagoeiro since 1987. That same cozy venue would also host all the panels that took place during the day.
June 4: Film concert: Central do Brasil
The first concert was a movie concert in Lantarenvenster in Rotterdam. There we could enjoy the movie Central do Brasil from 1998 with the music provided by Anselmo Mancini on the piano, Tiago Lageira on acoustic guitar, and a string quintet that had been formed especially for this festival: Michael Rein (violin), Loes Wiea (violin), Francesca Wiersma (viola), Sebastiaan van Halsema (cello) and Louis van der Mespel (double bass).
I had never seen this Brazilian movie before and it told the story of an old woman who is scamming people and suddenly has to take care of a small boy. The music, composed by Antônio Pinto, was also unfamiliar to me, and its introduction by the quintet with piano and guitar was quite a treat. I was also quite happy to see the entire theater filled with many others who enjoyed the film and the live music.
Concert information
Where: LantarenVenster in Rotterdam, the Netherlands
Performers: Anselmo Mancini, Michael Rein, Loes Wiea, Francesca Wiersma, Sebastiaan van Halsema, Louis van der Mespel and Tiago Lageira
June 5: Brazilian & Dutch Composers Concert
The first concert in the wonderful Munganga was all about the music from the invited composers from both countries. What made this concert very special was that there were no additional musicians in the room: every composer would be responsible for performing their own music, and each did it their own way. Many composers sat behind the piano to perform their work, but others tried something different. Luna Zegers, for example, attached her laptop to the big screen and sang one of her songs. Annelotte Coster and Ella van der Woude collaborated on each other’s works. For Coster’s piece, they both sat behind the piano to perform their piece, with the help of a tape recorder. Van der Woude chose to sing one of her songs while Coster was accompanying her on the piano.
All in all, I think this is one of the best concerts I have attended in recent years. It is a bold statement, and it is probably a case of you having to have been there. What made this concert stand out so much was the intimacy. With such a small venue, with only about 50 people attending and filling the entire room, it made it feel like you were in the composer’s living room while they were performing their own work.
Concert information
Where: Teatro Munganga in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Performers: Alberto Rosenblit, Anselmo Mancini, Annelotte Coster, Ella van der Woude, Flavia Tygel, Johan van der Voet, Luna Zegers, Marcos Souza, Mú Carvalho, Rui Reis Maia and Tim Rescala
Program
Music of the following composers performed by themselves:
- Alberto Rosenblit
- Anselmo Mancini
- Annelotte Coster
- Ella van der Woude
- Flavia Tygel
- Johan van der Voet
- Luna Zegers
- Marcos Souza
- Mú Carvalho
- Rui Reis Maia
- Tim Rescala
June 6: Closing Concert
The last concert, also at the Munganga Theater, saw the return of the quintet. That evening they would perform a variety of music from Dutch and Brazilian composers, as well as by other composers with ties to the Musimagem festival. It was a beautiful performance by these five musicians, and they were visibly delighted by the music. As with the concert the night before, the intimacy made this evening special. It showed that you do not need a full orchestra, a choir and a big venue to enjoy some fantastic film music.
Concert information
Where: Teatro Munganga in Amsterdam, the Netherlands
Performers: Michael Rein, Loes Wiea, Francesca Wiersma, Sebastiaan van Halsema and Louis van der Mespel
Guests: Flavia Tygel, Matthijs Kieboom, Tim Rescala, Johan van der Voet, Marcos Souza, Mu Carvalho, Alberto Rosenblit, Marion Lemonnier and Anselmo Mancini
Program
- Mateus Alves – “The Secret Agent” from The Secret Agent
- Mychael Danna – “Little Miss Sunshine” from Little Miss Sunshine
- Flavia Tygel – “Marcha dos Sapiens” from My Drywall Cocoon
- Matthijs Kieboom – Like Tears in Rain
- Het Verlies Van Marius
- The First Time You Meet Rutger
- Tim Rescala – Velho Chico
- Desolação
- Desafio Agalopado
- Alexey Kurkdjian Ogalla – Luz
- Johan van der Voet – Adágio for Wendy in C Major
- Marcos Souza – Fremd – The Foreigner from Fremd, o Estrangeiro
- Harry Gregson-Williams – Suite from Shrek
- Mu Carvalho – Legado Italiano
- Marcos Valle – Medley
- Pigmaleão 70 – Umas e Outras
- Selva de Pedra – Ligação / Selva de Pedra
- O Fabuloso Fittipaldi – Azimute / Rindt / Vitória
- Os Ossos do Barão – Ossos do Barão
- Alegria da Vida (Children’s Program)
- Pequena Cotação – Um Novo Tempo (Final Theme)
- Samba de Verão (So Nice)
- Alberto Rosenblit – “Um Fogo no Coração” from Presença de Anita
- Marion Lemonnier – Nos Passos De Mestre Antonio
- Anselmo Mancini – “Despedida / Farewell” from Jasmine
- Rachel Portman – “Vianne Sets Up Shop – from Chocolat
Panels
On the second and third days of the festival, we could attend panels prepared by the invited composers and by Gorka Oteiza from SoundtrackFest. These kinds of panels always contain excellent information for those working in or wanting to work in the film music industry. Unfortunately, only a small group of people was in attendance, which was a bit of a shame. The panelists had excellent information to share, and with the panels having no attendance fee, others would probably have joined if they had been aware of how informative they would be.
Conclusion
With film music not being that big in the Netherlands – when it is not about Star Wars, The Lord of the Rings, or Harry Potter – I was a bit afraid this festival would not be successful, but luckily, the organizers had a better sense of scale than I did and, to my delight, things turned out differently. Having the majority of the festival at the small Teatro Munganga was perfect for the size of the audience that wanted to experience the festival and get to know each other. All the concerts were well attended, even the concert at the larger Lantarenvenster drew a full house. In a way, I am glad that this festival was smaller and more intimate than I am used to. It was perfect for me to get to meet more people, even from my own country, and to celebrate film music with them. A promising sign: Marcos Souza has mentioned several times during the festival that they will be returning next year. I will gladly return and hopefully see this festival grow. We finally have our own soundtrack festival in the Netherlands, and I hope they keep it going for many years to come.
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