From the land of the Alps comes Bayerisch Créme, a Bavarian folk music band who showcase their culture and tradition through their music. The group of four, 3 women and a male, seemed to be oozing oodles of energy. The ladies in ‘chudidars’ looked extremely comfortable in what they were wearing. Sandra, a member of the band, quips, “These clothes are much more comfortable than our clothes.” Monika, another member, nods in agreement and looks all pleased with her experience here so far. “We come from 3 degree Celsius, so this is spring for us,” Monica beams. As we settle down for a little chat, they say they were in Kovalam for a couple of days and really enjoyed the sea.
So what does ‘Bayerisch Créme’ mean? “Bayerisch Créme is actually a Bavarian dessert, a really sweet dish. They named it so because their music is equally sweet and delicious to the ears,” says Barbara the band’s coordinator.
As we progress we come to understand that this small music band is actually a close-knit group of family and friends. Asked how the band was formed, Guenter says, “I am a music teacher and Monica is my sister-in-law. One day when I told her about my interest to begin a traditional music band she readily agreed. My wife then asked her good friend Sandra who in turn asked her friend Elvira and together we set out to form a band exactly around ten years back.”
The band has Guenter playing the Hackbrett and Accordion, Monika on Dulcimer and Block Flutes, Sandra on the Zither and Elvira on the Guitar. Full of goodness and simplicity of the Bavarian people the group aims at cultural exchange. Their primary aim is to introduce the city folks to their culture, dresses, customs, traditions, instruments and the like.
Asked if all of them are professional musicians Elvira exclaims, “No, expect for Guenter who is a music teacher none of us are actually trained musicians. In fact in Bavaria it is a common practice to teach the young children a musical instrument right from when they are quite young. So that is how we all know some instrument or the other.”
Sandra and Elvira are into finance and tax related jobs, whereas Monica is a homemaker and does small time jobs. Elvira even has her own farm back home in Bavaria. With full-time jobs, family and children to look after they still make it a point to come together every fortnight to practice. “It does not bother us, as this is something we truly love,” says Sandra.
The members who have a faint idea of Bollywood are not used to the Indian music scenario. But they seemed very excited about their fusion with Indian artists on tabla, violin and santoor. “Our instruments are very different from the Indian instruments and we are eagerly looking forward to the concert to see how it will pan out. We are always open to experiments,” says Guenter.
Asked if their music has lot of takers back home, especially with the young generation preferring modern and pop music bands, Elvira says, “It is actually funny because when we play in villages we are playing before an audience who knows our music which has been around for decades. They are familiar with the instruments hence they are not excited. But on the contrary when we play in the town the young people there are very eager because the instruments and the music are rather new to them. So they come up to us expressing huge interest in our instruments and music.”
The group tells that their land has songs for each season, spring, winter and autumn. Their songs are very popular during Christmas says Guenter. He says their music was actually dance music and over the years they have been recreated to suit to singing as well. He adds that they use string instruments unlike in the dance where trumpets and trombones and the like are used. The group who is open to all kinds of music also takes inspiration from the music of other countries.