In a plea for opening the concert halls, the internationally acclaimed Dutch reed quintet Calefax released a video in which they perform their national anthem ‘Wilhelmus’ while omitting all the notes G – referring to the level of protection audience members need for their COVID Pass. (In Dutch the words Vaccinated, Cured and Tested all start with the letter G.)
Bassoonist Alban Wesly: “We expect that all concert halls in our country will soon be able to allow a full audience again, especially since we see now how well this works in neighbouring countries. But with Calefax we look further ahead, to the time when we can also say goodbye to any form of selection at the door. Today we play the national anthem without the note G because as long as there are still so many Gs in the audience (COVID Passes), we can’t play them!”
Calefax have been complying to all measures in the past two years, and wholeheartedly so. They stayed home instead of touring the US, New Zealand, South-East Asia and Europe, missed their audiences dearly, and are all vaccinated and boosted. “But as soon as safety allows,” Wesly continues, “we think it is also time to revive the concert life as we knew it; united. This G-less performance of our anthem is to remind us where we want to go: a full house where people of all walks of life sit shoulder to shoulder – to experience the vibes of live music together. Concert halls and theatres are the ultimate spot for people to reconnect, a much needed meeting point in today’s society. We are counting down to the moment when the halls are completely open again, for everyone.”
