The pilot edition of the festival was a showcase of the extreme versatility and endless possibilities offered by the accordion, an instrument that is played around the globe and applicable to all musical genres, from classical music to jazz and pop all the way to folk music from various regions.
The pilot edition of the “Gomirje Accordion Mundial 2019” was organised by the “Gomirje at Heart 1599” Association as part of the “27 Neighbourhoods” flagship of the Rijeka 2020 – European Capital of Culture (ECoC) project. During the last weekend, it briefly turned this Gorski Kotar settlement, where the musical instrument has for a long time formed an indispensable part of the community’s folk tradition, into the accordion capital of the world.
The magical surroundings of the courtyard of the Monastery and Church of St. John the Forerunner, which was built in the year 1600 and is the westernmost monastery of the Serbian Orthodox Church in Europe, hosted the performance of the young artist Ante Mamula on Friday. The audience, comprising inhabitants of Gomirje and its surroundings, along with numerous guests from Rijeka who arrived via a bus service, was thrilled by Mamula’s performance. It featured pieces by some of the greatest icons of a variety of genres of classical music such as Domenico Scarlatti, Gyorgy Ligeti, W.A. Mozart, Mauricio Kagel and Jean-Phillippe Rameau.
The next day, on Saturday, the accordion virtuoso Aleksander Ipavec held the first-ever accordion masterclass for young accordionists from Gomirje and its surroundings. Those interested in hearing the results of the masterclass were invited to enjoy the performance as part of the concert audience at Gomirje’s House of Culture. After that, maestro Ipavec was joined on stage by the Porto Etno Orchestra, conducted by Zoran Majstorović, who took the audience on a musical journey around the globe, with the accordion as its centrepiece. They covered a variety of musical genres ranging from the eastern Mediterranean (“Misirlou”) and the Arabian Peninsula, through the Balkans, all the way to the USA (swing) and Argentina (tango). As a wrap, they performed Ipavec’s original composition entitled “Balkan Blues”, which seamlessly connects Balkan folk music and its odd time signatures to the North American Blues genre. As an encore, they took the traditional Istrian song “Ča je more” and performed it with a curious ethno jazz twist.
During both festival days, the convivial atmosphere was filled with good vibes, making new acquaintances, mingling and off the cuff, offstage singing. To spice things up, visitors were invited to attend presentations of the community’s folklore and of indigenous food products from local family farms. The pilot edition of the festival, which will reach its true pinnacle next year, was a showcase of the extreme versatility and endless possibilities offered by the accordion, an instrument that is played around the globe and applicable to all musical genres, from classical music to jazz and pop all the way to folk music from various regions.
