A Trumpet, a Cathedral, and a City I Never Meant to Love
How a concert became a journey through memory, art, and the quiet beauty of second chances
This past week, I went to visit a city I have passed by many times, but never actually visited. Liège is a city along the Meuse river in the french-speaking part of Wallonia in Belgium. It is known to me since I was a child as we always passed it on our way to visit family in the Netherlands. I remember looking out the window at the grey tall buildings that were lining the streets and thinking “I would not want to live here.”
Later in my life, Liège always remained a city I would pass by on my way to somewhere else.
When I heard that Ibrahim Maalouf (an amazingly talented French-Lebanese trumpeter - his album Queen of Sheba in collaboration with Angelique Kidjo was nominated for a Grammy) was giving a concert there, I knew it was time to pay the city a proper visit.
Of course I had to add a museum or two to the list of things to explore and so I started with the exhibition ‘Imaginary Geographies’ of Hugo Pratt, an Italian comic book creator famous for his character Corto Maltese.
I just love discovering artists I didn't know and seeing how they translate stories into art and vice versa. Hugo Pratt is a novelist who illustrated his stories while dreaming of telling it all simply by drawing a line, and who, through his characters, explored the vast universe of the physical and mental voyage.1
I was surprised to learn that female characters in Hugo Pratt’s work, particularly in the Corto Maltese series, are known for being strong, independent, and adventurous, defying the traditional "damsel in distress" trope. They are often protagonists who share a love for freedom and a world view that challenges social conventions.2
I ventured on to visit Cathedral of Saint Paul, which was founded in the 10th century, was rebuilt from the 13th to the 15th century and restored in the mid-19th century. Reading about it reminded me of Ken Follet’s Pillars of the Earth and the struggles and natural disasters the builders and buildings had to suffer through to be the wonderful edifices we now can walk through.
That evening I went to the beautiful Forum de Liège, an art deco building founded in 1922 and designed by architect Jean Lejaer, which is officially classified as an "exceptional heritage" site in Wallonia. The outside is pretty nondescript, but inside I felt like Julia Roberts in Pretty Woman.
The concert was amazing and very participative as well as emotional. Ibrahim Maalouf is a born story teller and if he were not a trumpeter, he could easily be an actor or comedian. He was accompanied by the Trumpets of Michel-Ange, artists and musicians in their own right, creating such an amazing ensemble. Ibrahim plays a very special trumpet, which he calls the TOMA (Trumpet of Michel Ange), which has 4 pistons instead of the traditional 3 and allows him to play his world music and tell his stories. He also founded a TOMA academy, where musicians can learn to play this original instrument and during his concert, there were several students invited to play along for a song.
I went back to my studio rental with his musical stories ringing in my ear.
I invite you to listen to the emotion in his trumpet. We were all singing and humming along. I always get goosebumps at this song.
So another mini-trip / artist date that taught me that there is inspiration to be found in places we usually pass by.
I would like to invite you think about a place/city/location/area you usually just pass, ignore, or leave aside on your way to somewhere else.
Can you fit it in your schedule to stop next time to explore?
When I came back home, my dad celebrated his 87th birthday.
In case you missed it, I am a guest artist at this year’s Messy May, a free journaling challenge for imperfect creatives. Every day you get a prompt and a video from a different artist that lets you create along; without pressure, messily, imperfectly and fun!
My prompt and video are were posted on May 3rd!
Sign up here (it’s totally free) and follow me and other creatives as we make messy art.
Join me for some messy art!
You can also just follow me on Instagram to see what I make with each prompt during this month!
Happy creating!
That looks like an amazing visit all in all. There are surely places I pass by regularly and where a should stop next time! And happy birthday to your Dad 💐