The first composition of Haggard’s album “And Thou Shalt Trust The Seer” (released on the 15th of October 1997) tells the story of the many innocent people tortured and killed during the “epoch of the Inquisition”, one of humanity’s darkest chapters, when “too many, brothers and sisters have died” by the hands of those who used God’s name “as a pretext of deciding who’s allowed to live and who’s not”. The song depicts God Himself and the angels silently watching and grieving with deep sadness.
In today’s newsletter, we share some of our grieving with you. No deaths, fortunately, have been taken by the violent fire outburst of March 17th, yet our entire rehearsals space was burned down, swallowing our equipment and instruments and all we have carefully placed and stored in what we temporarily called the home of Coincidentia Oppositorum. An accident in the neighbouring building sent out fast flames along the entire roof, which collapsed and turned everything to ashes, all within less than 10 minutes. Yes, we too tend to say that fortunately we are alive and unharmed physically and that it is “just” material loss that seems replaceable. But because it took a lot of dedication and self-restraint in recent years to acquire this equipment and to organise our space exactly as we needed it to be, it is a deep and significant loss for us. These material goods were meaningful. Their value is not strictly monetary. They represent an emotional investment, an individual and group achievement, a dream slowly and patiently come true with such a short enjoyment period. The cranes videotaped collecting the remains of our little sanctuary displayed something of the gruesomeness of an autopsy.
We laughed, we danced, we cried and said our prayers in that room. We had long intimate talks in it. We made plans and we celebrated our achievements in it. It was a place of reuniting opposites, as the band names suggests. That is why we will start anew and we are glad to be able to count on you too with whatever it is that you can and feel like contributing. Our friends and friends of friends have already started sending support and we are wholeheartedly thankful for their being here for us in such challenging times. We can replace the equipment in time and we will. Our project will definitely rise from the ashes. This is the rise of grace!
Watch our one minute call for support.
“The Day as Heaven Wept” flows right into the second Chapter, called “Origin of a Crystal Soul”, as if to highlight a valuable birth of one “sent to foresee mankind’s death” and to remind us of our responsibilities facing our finitude: to live a good life that is worth living, to be there for one another in times of need, to challenge ourselves and each other to grow along a solid spiritual axis and to dare to love with all our hearts, even if we know that we’ll be grieving some day. The cycle of destruction and reconstruction is repetitive along human history. Therefore these two first chapters are concluded with a “Requiem in D-Minor” acknowledging a mature and compassionate closure to the successive losses and gains that account for life’s endless ups and downs.
Should you wish to provide a helping hand, if you have not done so already, here are a few details on what we need in the upcoming months and later this year.
🚩 FINANCIAL SUPPORT
You may contribute and help us find others who are willing to do the same, via sponsorship and equipment, by first sending us an email and asking for a sponsorship contract at: coincidentia.oppositorum.band@gmail.com. We remind everyone that sponsorship laws in Romania allow companies to direct up to 20% of their tax income towards different causes.
If you wish to donate any sum of money, please use the following IBAN accounts, mentioning “pentru Coincidentia Oppositorum”:
ASOCIATIA SFANTA MARIA MAGDALENA / Banca Transilvania
IBAN RON: RO05BTRLRONCRT0350336601
IBAN EUR: RO52BTRLEURCRT0350336601
Subscribe to this Newsletter with a monthly or yearly donation, share the link with your friends and let them know there are other payment links on the main page for choosing where to direct contributions: to rehearsals, concerts, the Symphonic Metal Echoes Festival, music gear and equipments, etc. Every little contribution counts!
Invite us for a concert in your area! The prospect of our two upcoming concerts in Baia Mare, Iași and Timișoara are a call for quick mobilisation to get back on our feet and continue to promote symphonic metal music as a philosophy of peace. The sooner we are able to get our essential gear back, the sooner we will be able to get back on stage and resume the fulfilment of our cultural mission.
Coincidentia Oppositorum is thankful for any gesture of support, small or big. Music unites people and we are confident that we will manage to overcome this challenge.
As for the best news of this year — our favorite symphonic metal band, whose compositions we’ve learned and performed throughout the last few years with great pleasure is coming to perform in Cluj-Napoca this November. Let us share our gratitude with the composers of our favorite music! Haggard consists of 13-16 talented musicians, forming a Baroque style chamber orchestra. What makes Haggard special in comparison with other symphonic metal bands is that the emphasis is on orchestral music, with metal elements, rather than the other way around, as common in the symphonic metal world. This year, Haggard celebrates 25 years of Awaking the Centuries. What is your favorite song on this album? Post it on this social media group!
May we celebrate Awaking the Centuries this year, within many more concerts soon!
