In spring of 2023 I along with my friend and collaborator Semyon joined a student organization in Basel as a means to break into a network, discover new experiences, and to anchor ourselves in Switzerland in some way. One of the most important elements to this type of group is song. Despite some of these texts and melodies being over 200 years old, these songs encapsulate a lot of universal themes that still define student life to this day. There’s songs of romance, songs for drinking, and songs to express the wonder that is this middle period in our lives between childhood and adulthood. These 19th century students found themselves pondering this crossroads between innocence and independence- a relatively new, and privileged concept for most during this time: a concept that I believe has grown to be more relevant now than ever.
As part of my studies here in Basel I was tasked with presenting a thesis project about classical or romantic era songs (18th-19th centuries). I decided to do something unique with these special songs, as they are seemingly unknown, and I believed suited the project perfectly.
