Tragedy in the Middle East… Sarajevo Revisited

I wrote an essay about “Sarajevo,” a saxophone quartet composed by Guillermo Lago, a couple of years ago. I heard it performed again last week at a recital given by students at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. With the war now raging in the Middle East I think it deserves reposting, if for nothing else but to ask people to listen to this on YouTube. Here’s my warning. I cried at least as much this time as the first.

A posting based on the composition was in The Havok Journal on January 4, 2022. The musical composition was written as a memorial to the tragedy that resulted after Yugoslavia fell apart. I rewrote the original essay after Russia invaded the Ukraine. The music, a tribute to the suffering in Sarajevo, was also relevant to the horror show that unfolded in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021 when a mob after listening to the incendiary speech of an embittered and defeated President, stormed Congress almost destroying our democracy.

How much more so is it now after Hamas ran rampant in Israel beheading babies, killing or raping civilians, and abducting grandmothers. And the bombing of cities in Gaza adding to the pain as yet more civilians die. (I’ve no intention of debating the “right or wrong” of the combatants, just registering and bearing witness to the innocent that die).

When a country is destroyed, innocent lives are lost. Those who illegally attempt to wrest power and find easy gains do not profit in the long run. But the losers are the simple citizens; they are of all colors, all faiths, all genders, and are of different nationalities.

Words and even pictures may strive to capture the anguish of those that are trodden under hobnailed boots but more often than not, words and even pictures fall short. Occasionally, the tragedy can be captured with sounds. Sound being an almost universal language.

Willem van Merwijk (aka Guillermo Lago)  is a Dutch composer who was invited to reestablish saxophone classes at the Sarajevo Academy of Music at the turn of the 21^st century. The city was ravished by the Bosnian war during the previous decade. The devastation fell heavily on all the inhabitants and more than echoes remained when, with the help of his friend Adnan Cico and others in the “Musicians without Borders,” he founded Winds of Change, the first wind ensemble in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The composition, “Sarajevo,” was dedicated to his friends in that city. It is one of six city sketches for saxophone quartet that comprise his suite Ciudades. In it you can feel the pain that is caused by civil war. It moved me to tears every time I hear it played in live concerts. They say music can sooth the soul of the savage beast. Perhaps if people in power that start or continue these violent conflicts hear this music they will at least pause their destructive agendas and look for alternative ways to resolve conflicts.

These sounds are worth more than a thousand words. Divisiveness kills; hate destroys. And music can heal. Pray for peace and harmony.

You can find several performances on YouTube by searching: you tube Sarajevo saxophone quartet.

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Ken was a Professor of Mathematics, a ceramicist, a welder, and an IBMer until downsized in 2000. He taught yoga until COVID-19 decided otherwise. He continues writing, living with his wife and beagle in Shorewood, Wisconsin. He enjoys chamber music and mysteries. He’s a homebrewer and runs whitewater rivers. Ken is a writer and his literary works can be found at https://www.kmkbooks.com/

He welcomes feedback on his articles and can be reached at havokjournal@havokmedia.com.

As the Voice of the Veteran Community, The Havok Journal seeks to publish a variety of perspectives on a number of sensitive subjects. Unless specifically noted otherwise, nothing we publish is an official point of view of The Havok Journal or any part of the U.S. government.