Sei gelobt, du Baum

In 1962, during the construction of a well at the Tschäpperli vineyard owned by the Blarer family in Aesch, Switzerland, the trunk of an old white fir tree was dug out of the ground from a depth of 2‒3 metres. In 2006, the age of this tree was analysed, and it turned out that this 200 years old trunk it had been in the ground from 314–234 years BC. Presumably, the tree cracked as a result of a landslide and was covered with clay and mud, providing extremely good conditions for its preservation. Two musical instruments were made from this over 2000 years old tree – the idea to make a baroque violin came from the Blarer family; the other part of the tree was donated to the Willisau collection of musical instruments, at whose initiative a quintern was made.

A quintern is a relati…

In 1962, during the construction of a well at the Tschäpperli vineyard owned by the Blarer family in Aesch, Switzerland, the trunk of an old white fir tree was dug out of the ground from a depth of 2‒3 metres. In 2006, the age of this tree was analysed, and it turned out that this 200 years old trunk it had been in the ground from 314–234 years BC. Presumably, the tree cracked as a result of a landslide and was covered with clay and mud, providing extremely good conditions for its preservation. Two musical instruments were made from this over 2000 years old tree – the idea to make a baroque violin came from the Blarer family; the other part of the tree was donated to the Willisau collection of musical instruments, at whose initiative a quintern was made.

A quintern is a relatively small lute-like string instrument, with gut strings and a round body from behind, mostly played with a plectrum and used in Western Europe, with the earliest records originating from the 13th century. It is considered to be a forerunner of the guitar.

When Arvo Pärt heard that story from the poet Viivi Luik, who was the first to be awarded the scholarship of the Stadtmühle Willisau Foundation, he decided to compose a piece for these two instruments made from that old tree. The text was created by Viivi Luik. The musical style of the piece reveals contact between time and timelessness, a connection with the thousands of years that we are now in touch with through the instruments made from a that tree.

The resulting piece premiered in Willisau Church on 27 February 2009 by Derek Lee Ragin (baritone), Maya Homburger (violin), Peter Croton (quintern) and Barry Guy (double bass). Quintern part can be played also by a lute or a mandolin.