Serenade for a Factory Chimney
May 9th 2018
This May, and as part of the European Year of Cultural Heritage 2018, factory chimneys will be celebrated to advocate the preservation and restoration of these landmarks.
Factory chimneys are an endangered species; acting as a visible symbol of the places where people once worked and determined the social and economic development of a region.
Of the hundreds that once made up the image of an industrial city or region, now only a handful are remaining.
To raise awareness, EFAITH, the European Federation of Associations of Industrial and Technical Heritage has decided to organise a ‘Serenade for a Factory Chimney’ on the 9th of May.
This action is in line with the call launched by Placido Domingo and Europa Nostra, the #Ode2Joy Challenge. One 9 May, Day of Europe, they ask everybody to perform in a creative way the “Ode an die Freude” from the 9th Symphony by Ludwig van Beethoven in front of or in a historical monument or site.
EFAITH translates this call into a campaign to call attention to the factory chimneys, and asks everyone to have on the 9th of May this famous piece of music performed near a chimney, by (a) musician(s) or (a) singer(s) .
Incidentally, you do not have to hire a symphonic orchestra for this. It can be done with the students of the local music academy or the local harmony or brass band, a choir of school children, or one instrumentalist (playing whatever instrument, from saxophone to bagpipe and from cello to ukulele, …). Be creative, and do something fun and attractive that makes the neighbourhood to look to and becoming interested for the saving of the chimney.
Register the event on film or take a series of photos of it. Share these via social media. Send the video or the photos to the EFAITH secretariat, which will process all these and produce a general overview. If you announce the event in advance, your initiative will also be mentioned on the central web page of the chimney campaign
Various versions of the sheet music can be downloaded here: http://en.cantorion.org/music/119/Symphony-nr.-9-(Symphony-No.-9)-Ode-an-die-Freude-(Ode -To-Joy)
But of course, all other creative ideas and actions that contribute to the ‘in the picture’ of the remaining factory chimneys are possible and are eligible for the official logo of the European Year of Cultural Heritage.
Various activities are being organized in the European countries to advocate the preservation and restoration of these landmarks in the urban landscape and in the countryside.
