Saturday, January 12, 2008
'Requiem' a musical exploration of healing and loss
By Clayton Hardiman
chardiman@muskegonchronicle.com
Of course, David Takitaki and Mike Borgerding already knew that.
They knew it long before they began collaborating on their album "The Contemporary Requiem," a musical exploration of healing and loss.
They knew it even before they suffered the pair of near-paralyzing losses, hard upon the other -- Takitaki's mother and Borgerding's father -- that inspired the music on the album.
But in music, it would seem, there is no lesson so profound that the steely hard surface of experience cannot teach it to us again and again and again.
"The Contemporary Requiem" has only been released for a few short weeks. But it didn't take long for Takitaki and Borgerding -- two-thirds of the musical group Beyond Awaits that made the album -- to discover they had created something special.
"We realized quickly that it was a healing tool," Borgerding said.
Not only has it proved to be healing for the musicians, Borgerding said, but for many of the listeners as well.
"We had an inkling that it might be something that would touch people," Borgerding said. "But we didn't realize it would be as powerful and profound."
The group made the album in Juice Box, the studio in Borgerding's Muskegon home.
Takitaki provides lead vocals on the album. Describing Borgerding's contribution is somewhat more complicated. In effect, he is the orchestra, providing vocal harmonies, bass, guitars, mandolins, drums, assorted percussion, piano and keyboards.
They are joined by Ann Arbor's Karen Mike, who plays concert harp on the album.
Other performances include Matt Di Ricco on bass guitar, Dave Stuart O'Neil on bagpipe and Irish music legend Seamus Kennedy, who is among a host of additional voices on the traditional hymn "Amazing Grace."
Along with its musical vision, which ranges from soaring to inspirational and from hypnotic to melancholy, the album also serves two other purposes.
It is a tribute to the lost parents. It is also a fundraiser for Harbor Hospice of Muskegon, an organization that provides services to the terminally ill and their families.
Among the people Harbor Hospice has helped are Kathleen Barbrick and John Borgerding, to whom the album pays tribute.
Barbrick lost her life to cancer in April 2005. John Borgerding had a similar fate two months later.
Takitaki says his mother's persona and influence are easily heard in the album's music. "She was the Irish influence in my upbringing," he said. "She was also the classical music influence. I was raised on a combination of Pavarotti and the Beatles."
Likewise, Borgerding attributes his musical identity in part to his father. "We have a musical family," he said.
It goes all the way back to Borgerding's grandfather, a onetime bandmaster with the Salvation Army. His father, John, was also a versatile musician and band participant.
Music can be merely mathematical, Takitaki said. It can be perfunctory. But Takitaki says he looks for "something else," something more expressive.
He was looking for something like that in 2006 when he and Borgerding gathered in Borgerding's studio to record a couple of a cappella songs that had been running through Takitaki's head, songs he didn't want to lose.
The songs were the beginning of "The Contemporary Requiem."
"We noticed in those songs a fibrous connection that could tell a story," Takitaki said.
The two brought in Mike to work with them. The rest of it, including Kennedy's participation, was serendipity.
Takitaki remembers talking with the Irish music legend after a performance at the Michigan Irish Music Festival, an annual celebration of Celtic music and culture in Muskegon.
Late one night, Kennedy asked Takitaki if he would be at the festival the next day. Takitaki mentioned that he had a recording date. Takitaki said Kennedy was intrigued. He volunteered his voice.
Kennedy's is one of about two dozen voices singing on "Amazing Grace," a song with emotional significance for both Borgerding and Takitaki.
The partnership with Harbor Hospice seemed an obvious move. Takitaki said he and Borgerding talked about it. "We wanted to provide some comfort to people," Takitaki said, "But we also said, 'Why not do something more tangible?'
"The minute we brought it up, we looked at each other and something clicked."
The group name, Beyond Awaits, was inspired by a poem about death, written by Takitaki's mother a few years before her own passing.
Takitaki is an instructor at Muskegon Community College. He is also the host of TV98's "A Novel Conversation" and "Essentials of Democracy." He is a Ph.D. candidate at Western Michigan University.
Borgerding is a technician at Herman Miller and has been featured in several award-winning performing groups. He is the owner and operator of Juice Box recording studio.
Karen Mike works for the University of Michigan. Along with playing harp, she is a classically trained operatic soprano and a dancer.
Album: "The Contemporary Requiem"
Performed by: Beyond AwaitsA tribute to: John Borgerding, musician Mike Borgerding's father, who died Jan. 11, 2005; and Kathleen Barbrick, vocalist David Takitaki's mother, who died April 23, 2005.
Available: By contacting Beyond Awaits at the group's Web site at www.beyondawaits.com or at the musical Web sites Dig Station, Apple iTunes Music Store or CD Baby Store.
Beneficiary: Proceeds will be shared with Harbor Hospice of Muskegon. Prices vary, depending on where you buy.
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The Contemporary Requiem is now available!
contact Beyond Awaits or these locations! |
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| Recordings and More 917 W. Broadway, Muskegon, MI. 49441 Firehouse Guitars Big Apple Bagels |
Big Apple Bagels 1970 E. Apple Ave. Muskegon, MI. 49442 Birds Music Schuler Books and Music |
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