I learned a lot from Reinier Sijkpens. He generously hosted Begoodee (with me in) for 15 days in the Amsterdam area, in Soest. I rarely met a finer spirit than him. He told me that he never went to meet people to play his music. He slips silently under an empty bridge, he begins to play and lets the conquered hearts come to him. Thus, an encounter is possible, from heart to heart, between him and those for whom his music tells a story.
I thought that finally, I did the same with Joy for the Planet. I do not run after anyone, I do not seek any recognition or approval from outside. I let myself be guided by my values, I play my own score through my modest videos, my articles and my few chronicles here and there. I do my part, with my little bus, my dog, my pencils and my camera. Not to change the world but to tell him that I love him as he is and to offer my touch of color on the big universal canvas.
Reinier told me a pretty anecdote. A young man, accompanied by a group of friends, all a little drunk, had thrown a banknote from a bridge into the water, shouting “Chee! “. Reinier sailed around the ticket without taking it out of the water or playing. The young man, stung in his own love, threw a new ticket to the water by renewing his request, “Play! “. Reinier turned around the two tickets again without touching them. The young man furiously throws him a ticket which also landed around the little boat. Then Reinier went away in silence, leaving the three banknotes flowing behind him. In the end, it was the young man who had to dive to try to recover what he could still save! Because what was her dignity, she had flowed well!
At 62 years, Reinier hoists every morning and every night his small boat on the roof of his car to go to Amsterdam. Every day, summer and winter, he loads and unloads his organ of barbarism, and all the material he needs for his performance. “I only earn a few coins every day, but I am filled with joy and friendship. My salary is the love I give and receive, “he says.
If one day you go to Amsterdam, I give you a secret. Go to 12: 50 or 16h under one of the three church towers of the capital, and you will witness the magic of the duets between Reinier and the great carillonneur Boudelwin Zwart.
