"Children of Sceut" — Eva Saladin

As a baroque violinist I have been very active in the field of historical improvisation. Creating one’s own music in one way or the other (improvising, composing and embellishing) was a common practice and skill until the 19th or even 20th century, and is still the base of almost every other music style, but it has almost completely disappeared from today’s classical music culture and education.
Even “historically informed” musicians often don’t realise how incredibly important improvisation is for their repertoire.
Learning how to improvise in a historical style is similar to learning a foreign language: after understanding the rules and knowing the vocabulary one develops a feeling which allows them to be expressive. I think I reached this stage for some historical styles, and really enjoy creating music on the spot, which also has a very different effect on the audience. But even though these moments are spontaneous and unique, I don’t consider them contemporary art, as we are using historical “material” which is not part of today’s language.

I had never tried Free Improvisation and didn’t know much about this art form. I still don’t know a lot about its scene, but I am very happy to have become a member of the formation “Children of Sceut” founded by my colleague Matthias Klenota. We are five to six musicians with different backgrounds and interests (classical/early music, contemporary music, jazz, pop and free improv), we make music together and we learn from each other. For me it is very liberating that there are no rules and that every sound can be music, although one still has a strong feeling for things that make sense and things that don’t. We meet in different places for rehearsal sessions and performances. This world is refreshingly different from my usual environment.

Our group members are, apart from myself:
Matthias Klenota, violin
Mara Miribung, cello
Brice Catherin, cello
Lukas Rickli, piano/fender
Halldór Bjarki Arnarson, harpsichord
…all instruments include several kinds of percussion, vocals, electronics, etc.

The project is supported by Pro Helvetia and other foundations.