BY CUTCOMMON
In 2017, Michael Bakrnčev wrote a piece of music as a gift for his wife Emily, which was performed on their wedding day. Called Calm, it encapsulated a side of her nature through three of her favourite instruments.
In 2022, the Australian composer releases this music to the world — but it has grown alongside his marriage, and now holds a new shape. Calm is today reimagined within the context of our climate emergency. Its new music video juxtaposes Michael’s beautiful music for flute, harp, and violin against imagery that shows an environment on the brink of collapse.
Read the interview with composer Michael Bakrnčev, then watch the official premiere of his new music video Calm.
Michael, tell us where Calm came from. When you first reached out to CutCommon about this piece, you said it was “one of the first compositions I wrote that was outside of the walls of any institution”. What does it feel like as a composer to break free of external input, and simply compose, after many years of guidance and rules?
It was liberating in the sense that it wasn’t for a competition, or portfolio, or any particular move to develop my career further. It was writing a piece of music for the sake of writing music, really going back to basics, which is useful when things become overwhelming.
This piece of music, which you wrote on your own, was a wedding gift to your wife Emily. How did you choose the magical instrumentation of flute, violin, and harp when crafting this soundworld for her?
I asked her once what her favourite classical instruments were, to which she replied with the three most common instruments that I would suggest most non-classical folk would be familiar with, being the flute, violin, and harp. They are all really prominent individual sounds, and are often showcased as solo instruments, so to bring the three of them together presented a great challenge.
How does the “calm” nature of this music reflect the message or atmosphere you wanted to share with your new wife?
Emily is a country girl, so she brings a laid-back sense of genuine down-to-earthiness to our relationship, which is something I truly appreciate and value. She has a naturally calm disposition, and that is simply something I do not possess — although I’m working on it!
Why have you decided to release this music video now?
I have decided to release a large body of my original works, and feel that for the most part, a visual aid has merit in providing an enhanced and deeper meaning in the work itself. This work is the first of a long list of works that I will be releasing.
While it may have started as a dedication of love, the music video honours a very different subject. Why did you decide to recontextualise this music and set it against visuals that highlight environmental crises?
Emily and I are both advocates for a better future, to us that looks like protecting and respecting our planet so that our daughters — and all future generations — can benefit in the absolute breathtaking beauty that we are lucky enough to call home.
How do you feel about the juxtaposition that you’ve created between beautifully peaceful music and an environment coming undone?
Juxtaposition can be a very powerful tool; I think it works well in this instance. I deliberately chose to insert the devastating footage of the continued negative impact we have caused to our environment, at the most beautiful and climactic moment in the piece, in an attempt to really drive the message home: as a species, we can do better.
What do you hope viewers — including Emily! — take away from this video premiere?
I hope the video leaves a lasting impression on people. I hope teachers share it with their students, and parents with their children, until such time that videos like these are merely distant memories of how we used to wish for a better world.
Watch the world premiere of Michael Bakrnčev’s music video Calm right here on CutCommon.
Keep up to date with Michael’s music and learn more about the composer on his website.
Images supplied.
