Reveil turns grief into a thing to be celebrated
An event across Flanders and Brussels is transforming All Saints’ Day into a celebration of life through words, music and community
A tribute to the departed
Such was the initial reaction from some of Pieter Deknudt’s friends when they heard about his plan to stage a concert at a cemetery on All Saints’ Day in commemoration of Robbie Van Eeckhout, a musician and a friend who’d passed away in 2013. The concern was not lost on Deknudt, a singer in the five-piece brass-pop band Zinger.
The first of November, when families traditionally visit their loved ones in cemeteries, is observed with solemnity, not to mention in total silence. “When I felt the need to offer this tribute to Robbie, I was scared of hurting people’s feelings,” he admits.
But he stood his ground, and with good reason. “To me, singing the song that I had written for Robbie at his grave seemed like the most respectful thing I could imagine doing for him,” he explains, referring to his band’s debut single “Grace (Everybody’s Dying These Days)”.
Changing life for the living
And, he notes, “Up until the 1950s, many funeral processions were accompanied by the local brass band at the cemetery. You see, the idea of music at the cemetery is hardly new, let alone revolutionary.”
Strapping a guitar on in the early evening of 1 November 2014, he proceeded as planned. “It was only when I strummed my first G major chord that everything fell into place. And people sure did react. But in such a breathtakingly positive way.”
One of the people who gathered was a man named Milo. “He had lost his son 10 years earlier,” says Deknudt. “He said that that very moment had just changed his life. And he asked me whether he could join my team. I had never actually thought that I was going to need a team! So we decided that this could be an idea worth pursuing.”
A city should show that they are not forgetting their roots. Because remembering is not the same as just not forgetting
And that was essentially the first edition of what came to be known as Reveil (“revival” in Dutch), a non-profit project aimed at incorporating elements of music, stories and poetry into All Saints Day. From its humble beginnings in the small West Flemish town of Deerlijk, the event has grown and spread to several other locations in Flanders and Brussels, bringing together thousands of participants.
In fact, its contribution to the Flemish community has been seen as so significant that it earned Deknudt and his team an Ultima – the prestigious Flemish cultural prize – for intangible heritage last year.
Set to take place at 113 cemeteries this year, Reveil should see a larger turnout and an even more diverse range of artists. Highlights include pop band De Geest’s frontman Geert Vanloffelt performing in Peer and much-loved Flemish singer Dana Winner, who will take to the Kermt cemetery in her hometown of Hasselt.
The inclusion of these prominent names points towards Reveil’s increasing popularity, and, more significantly, drives home Deknudt’s unconventional view of cemeteries. “We don’t see cemeteries as cold, scary or dark places. We see them as hospitable gathering places where thousands of stories form the roots of a community. I think a city should show that they are not forgetting their roots. Because remembering is not the same as just not forgetting. So let’s grieve together.”
1 November, across Flanders
Photo courtesy lzsb.be
