Lisbon: Fado

This series of posts describes a study abroad course in which students visited several central banks and talked with central bankers about how they responded to—and sometimes failed to respond to—the global financial crisis, and how they are adjusting to their new roles.

by Brittany Cline

Wow, so we are now exactly halfway through our trip and here we are in Lisbon, Portugal.  Lisbon is an incredible city full of beauty and culture.  The weather here is perfectly breezy too!  Today we walked all over the city and did some amazing site seeing so it was really nice to wind down our day with enjoying our first Fado.

First, I will back track a little bit to two months ago.  When Charles said that attending a Fado was the one mandatory event that we needed to attend during our free weekend in Lisbon, I can say that I was excited even though I was not entirely sure of what a Fado really was.  Charles described it as the Portuguese analogy to America’s blues music, but wow; it is so much more.

Fado really was an experience.  Let me explain.  To me, Fado felt like a type of music that really reaches the audience’s soul.  No one in our group speaks Portuguese, yet some of us were tapping our feet and bopping our heads to the music.  How can that be when we could not even fully understand the music?  I think it was due to the enthusiasm of the singers.  The singers were so engaging and passionate, which guided us to feel the depth behind the song even without knowing the lyrics.  The crowd interaction was great too.  From the captivating eye contact to arms reaching out to the audience, I felt the soul behind the music.

There were multiple rounds of singers so we had the option of staying relatively late into the night.  After each round, some people left and more people came inside.  The restaurant was so cozy so it was amazing to see so many people arrive and pack in tight to enjoy the music.  The Fado only consisted of one person singing, one person playing guitar, and another person playing an instrument similar to the guitar.  Together, this small group was able to finesse a beautifully cultured song that pleased the crowd each time.  I see Fado as a remarkable symbol of Portugal’s nationality.  What an amazing way to immerse ourselves in Portugal’s culture!  From the late evening dinner to the crowd packed restaurant to the sound of others speaking Portuguese in the background, I have to say that the Fado was an experience we will never forget.

Oh, and let me not fail to mention the mouth watering food that was served and the incredible service.  I think I speak for the entire group when I say that the amount of bread we devoured that night was incredible.  The warm bread, the delicious salmon, and the assortment of desserts really topped off the night!

Experiencing Fado really did bring our trip to Lisbon full circle.  It was a really nice way for us to bond as an entire group.  We are so grateful for the experience--to eat and to be entertained!

Lisbon: Fado

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Celebrating Oktoberfest: Across the Cornfields Edition

by Reneé Gordon Holley

Every September, millions of people flock to Munich, Germany, eager to take part in the annual Oktoberfest celebration. Tourists and locals alike overrun the city, spending hours in festival tents, sipping fine brews specially formulated for the occasion, and consuming innumerable pretzels and pork shanks. Among the smells of people, beer, meat and sweets, listeners are treated to traditional folk bands, which blast Bavarian classics and entice children to dance.

For those unfortunate souls who are unable to make the yearly pilgrimage to Bavaria (myself included), you may be able to catch a local party. Communities scattered throughout the United States put on their own, home-grown versions of the “Fest,” complete with Dirndl, Lederhosen, and traditional Bavarian decor.

In Central Illinois, residents have the option of making a culinary pilgrimage to experience the closest thing to German Gemütlichkeit on this side of the Atlantic. Travelers heading north on Illinois 47 encounter corn, soybeans, and the occasional pumpkin patch. But, when an old drive-in theater peaks over the horizon, you have reached a town that serves the best slice of Germany, complete with Oktoberfests, May poles, and enough apple strudel to satisfy any appetite. In Gibson City, you are transported to a Bavarian hunter’s lodge when you eat at Bayernstube.

This experience of European culture “across the pond” is really just a few miles away, across Illinois’ golden sea of corn, bending in waves with the cool harvest breeze.

On Friday, September 30th, the EUC staff paid a visit to Gibson City, complete with jovial German folk tunes, appropriate for the journey. (Those of you with UI library access, check out item number CDISC M1734 B38 – Bavarian Holiday – for a unique German music listening experience, complete with brass, yodeling, and some culturally puzzling moments that might spark larger musicological debates, if you are interested in that sort of thing.) As we approached Gibson City, we caught a glimpse of Twin Groves Wind Farm, one of the largest wind farms this side of the Mississippi. Wind farms are a staple in many regions of Germany, and since seeing my first windmill in my high school German textbook, I associate one with the other.

The EUC staff regrouped at the restaurant in the Dietrich Hall, named after the original owner’s father. Father Dietrich’s hunting legacy was readily apparent; restaurant guests enter the bar, which features walls of many fine examples of taxidermy. Before entering the beer hall, I was tempted to select one of the hundreds of steins adorning the main dining room to serve as my beverage glass for the evening.

Bayernstube maintains an Oktoberfest menu, including pretzels, traditional Munich “Weisswurst,” Rouladen, and a special Camembert and dark beer cheese spread. The regular menu boasts eight varieties of schnitzel (breaded, pan-fried pork or veal filets); red cabbage and sauerkraut so tasty that the pickiest eater might need convincing that they are indeed consuming cabbage; and potatoes that are served in salad, pancake, mashed, and sautéed forms. Each meal is accompanied by a basket of Bauernbrot, or farmer’s bread, plus Bayernstube’s homemade smoked sausage spread. Be warned; one slice is not enough. After selecting your entrée and drink from the list of German beers on tap, remember to save room for dessert. At the end of the meal, Dirndl-adorning waitresses display dessert trays at each table and feature an assortment of cakes, inviting guests to select a slice.

For as authentically German as we perceived our experience to be, we were glad to have a resident expert with us to provide a running commentary on the finer qualities of the meal. EUC Visiting Scholar Gregor van der Beek, along with his son, gave rave reviews of the food and atmosphere. Dr. van der Beek commented that Bayernstube embodied the style and feel of a restaurant that his grandparents would choose if they were to take the family out for a nice meal. After spending almost three months in Illinois, our German guests enjoyed the Bauernbrot and entrées, which reminded them of home, and Bavaria of course!

Although Oktoberfest has nearly drawn to a close for this year, plan on partaking in next year’s festivities, or perhaps make the pilgrimage to Bayernstube for a family meal or a get-together with friends. Bis dann!

Stay tuned for the next “Across the Cornfields” edition of “Across the Pond” – Chicago’s Christkindlmarket!

Reneé Holley is a PhD Candidate in Musicology and an EU Center Graduate Assistant. She is working on a dissertation that addresses the influence of EU cultural policies on contemporary German musical life.

Celebrating Oktoberfest: Across the Cornfields Edition

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Making Music, not Malice, Together: the European Union Capital of Culture in Essen, Germany

by Renée Gordon Holley

Amid fears of terrorist attacks and increasingly public xenophobia in Germany, tensions have grown as this founding member of the European Union and world economic leader has increasingly taken on burdens in the current financial crisis, aiding in the bail-out of Greece and now Ireland. Chancellor Angela Merkel’s declaration that multiculturalism has utterly failed in this ethnically diverse nation reflects growing concerns throughout Europe regarding uniting people from various cultures. In contrast to these dark political clouds, my field research in Germany during summer 2010 took place among celebrations, accompanied by World Cup vuvuzelas, cheering soccer fans, German flags everywhere, and news reports that Germany’s ethnically diverse team was an exemplary model of how the country had finally learned to work together with its many minorities.

Although the 2010 World Cup was an entertaining backdrop for the two and a half months I spent in Northern Westphalia last summer, the main object of my pre-dissertation research was the musical events of the EU’s Capital of Culture program. The EU’s recent participation in cultural policy has produced programs and agendas that simultaneously strive to preserve the cultural diversity of its members while highlighting common cultural threads throughout Europe. The EU’s main effort in this regard and most widely recognized program is the European Capital of Culture. Every year, several member states are selected to host an elaborate year-long series of cultural events. Cities in these countries compete for this honor in a similar style to that of Olympic cities. Along with Pécs, Hungary and Istanbul, Turkey, Essen, Germany and the entire Ruhr Region generated a rich program incorporating every aspect of culture.

As a musicologist, I am interested in the musical life of other nations and in learning about how assorted musical styles and performers contribute to the discourses of music, politics, and culture. My association with the EU Center and coursework specifically on the policies and structure of the European Union led me to consider how this institution adds to and amends the musical cultures found in its member states, especially Germany. An appropriate combination of music and EU policies made the Capital of Culture a dynamic stage where challenges regarding an aging population, cultural diversity, economic downturn, and industrial re-imagination were acted out by area orchestras, teenage pop singers, church organists, ravers, and sound sculptors.

Touted as one of the top highlights of Essen’s program, the !SING – Day of Song brought together hundreds of choirs from Europe and beyond. The four-day event featured over sixty-six individual choral performances and sing-alongs. On June 5, as over 50,000 amateur and professional singers gathered at the Veltins Soccer Arena in Gelsenkirchen, international star Bobby McFerrin and the Bochum Symphony orchestra accompanied us as young and old joined in singing Handel’s “Hallelujah Chorus,” Beethoven’s “Ode to Joy,” Schubert’s “Ave Maria,” and the Beatles’ “Let it Be.” Germany has a long history of choral singing, where amateurs sang together with hopes to strengthen a sense of German identity and political consciousness in its members and the nation as a whole. The !SING events and many of the other concerts and performances held in Essen this summer worked to unite the community and reach out to its neighbors. This demonstration of music’s role in shaping and influencing Germany’s and the EU’s citizens shows how they might move forward in the years to come, isolating and tackling political, social, and economic struggles through music.

Renée Holley is a doctoral student in musicology at the University of Illinois and an EU Center FLAS Fellow. Her pre-dissertation research was supported by a DAAD German Studies Research Grant. Next school year she plans on completing dissertation research in Bonn, Germany, analyzing music’s relationship to regional, national, and EU cultural policy agendas.

Making Music, not Malice, Together: the European Union Capital of Culture in Essen, Germany

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