Tomáš Pfeiffer will play the Aquarius Bell in Světlá

A concert associated with an unsual artistic visualization is taking place within the ninth year of the nationwide cycle entitled The Common Interest. We talked to Tomáš Pfeiffer directly about the instrument and concerts.

What makes the Aquarius Bell so unique?
Beside the sound there are, for instance, also its components. The Bell is made of seven metals which are harmonized in such a way as to resonate properly with one another. The shape of the instrument is exceptional too – along the side there are two handles opposite each other which make the Bell resonate, and the water inside is of significant importance for the performance. It is interesting to note that thanks to the wide aliquots scale it is also possible to retune the Bell. The Bell´s origin apparently dates back to the ancient past. It was exclusively used for spiritual purposes and for helping people. Its tones pervade us and, as the tradition says, they attune us. I could talk about it for ages but it would still be only a description through mere words, for everyone perceives each sound a bit differently. I leave it up to the audience to make their own opinion.

The concert is entitled The Common Interest. Why did you pick this title?
I did not choose the title just by myself. When my teacher Josef Zezulka was leaving for a journey from where there is no return, he said that he was handing “our common interest” over to me and that I should carry it onwards. Not for myself, but for others. At that time I was far from being aware of the form in which his words would be coming true. Never in my life did I imagine myself standing on a concert stage. Hence, The Common Interest project is not just an ordinary concert. It brings together the mystical sound of the instrument from the ancient past and the visual technique from the present period; it focuses on a harmony between the instrument, player and audience. You know, the older I get, the more I realize how important it is to search for what unites us. Our present civilization sets a competitive model, the “me or you” fight. Therefore, I am trying to be a little stone on a pathway that shows possibilities of cooperation, mutual understanding, humanity and solidarity. Only this can create a world where one is able to live.

The film footage includes humour, beauty but also the reverse side of life; still, they are interconnected. Could you say a few words about the visual accompaniment?
At the time when the idea of concerts arose, I felt that I would like to present the potential audience with the world in its mutuality, diversity and interconnection. I had set off on a journey and visited well known and less well known places. Places where extraordinary people lived – such as Padre Pio. Furthermore, the final composition includes exceptional shots of the universe, some of which were obtained in cooperation with NASA. And the result? I leave it again up to the visitors to make an opinion. I take the liberty to invite them to see the composition titled Rezonantia Temporum in which the Aquarius Bell tones join the tones of the bell at the St. Vitus Cathedral in Prague. One of the other compositions focuses on mathematics – fractals – pictures that correspond with chaos theory, or rather, we should use the word order. There is a personal invitation to the mountains, glaciers or solitude, which is connected to another composition titled Searching for God; it is about the places where people were searching for God, and about the miraculous gifts from people who devoted their lives to those in need. Homo sapiens is modified into homo zabiens [see above] and is inspired by perhaps the best known anti-war sculpture dedicated to the children victims of war. The concert culminates with the composition called Patria Deum, pertaining to the already mentioned theme of the universe.

So the good life also involves an inner tuning. Can this be achieved by the Aquarius Bell at your concert?
Those who come will make their own opinion. The concert enables you to stop for a while during a busy day, and presents food for thought: topics which we were not taught about in school. For example, who knew before that as a matter of fact there are people who neither eat nor drink and yet live? Who of us thought about the colourfulness of mathematics or about an immense cosmic space and its beauty? When we encounter such topics, we can open up a new point of view and we may start thinking about life in more depth. With this, our change starts. It only depends on us.

Author: Miroslav Uličný, published in the journal entitled Havlíčkobrodský deník on 28 April 2015