Space of Freedom

Space of Freedom was a concert performed by French musician Jean Michel Jarre in Poland, at the Gdańsk Shipyard, on August 26, 2005, to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the Solidarity trade union's foundation.^[1] Jarre was invited by Lech Wałęsa to hold this concert,^[2] which was watched by an audience of more than 170,000 people who bought tickets,^[3] as well as many others who observed the event from outside the shipyard, in high buildings such as Zieleniak and the hills of Góra Gradowa.^{[citation needed]}

Lech Wałęsa, the union leader who led the strikes from 1980, and the current president of the city of Gdańsk, Paweł Adamowicz, attended the concert.^[1] Lech Wałęsa gave a speech on the meaning of Solidarity and on the non-violent upheaval of the political system.^{[citation needed]}

The concert was broadcast live on Polish Television and Polish Radio, as well as by satellite. It was reproduced in commemorative books, on audio CD and DVD.^[4]

Track listing

• "Waiting for Cousteau" (pre-concert warm-up)
• "Shipyard Overture" (originally "Industrial Revolution: Overture")
• "Oxygene 2" (with a new flute intro titled "Suite for Flute")
• "Chopin Memories" (new composition)
• "Aero"
• "Oxygene 4"
• "Souvenir" (originally "Souvenir of China")
• "Geometry of Love"
• "Equinoxe 4"
• "Space of Freedom" (originally "March 23")
• "Aerology"
• "Chronology 2" (with a new Theremin intro titled "Theremin Memories")
• Speech by Lech Wałęsa
• "Mury" (lit. "Walls") (composed by Jacek Kaczmarski)
• "Chronology 6"
• "Oxygene 8"
• "Light My Sky" (originally "Tout Est Bleu", new lyrics)
• "Tribute to Pope John Paul II" (originally "Akropolis")
• "Rendez-Vous 2" (version from the "Once upon a Time" performance, dedicated to Pope John Paul II)
• "Summer-Presto" (from The Four Seasons, composed by Vivaldi)
• "The Emigrant" (dedicated to Polonia)
• "Oxygene 12"
• "Rendez-Vous 4"
• "Solidarność" (originally "Oxygène 13", dedicated to the workers at the shipyard)
• "Aerology Remix" (encore)

Musicians

• Jean Michel Jarre (keyboards, mixing desk, laser harp, theremin, vocals)
• Francis Rimbert (keyboards, electronic percussions)
• Claude Samard (keyboards, guitars, musical coordinator)
• Patrick Rondat (electric guitar on "Chronology 2" and Vivaldi "Summer Presto")
• Baltic Philharmonic Orchestra
• Gdansk University Choir

Published media

• Book: Jarre, Jean Michel. Przestrzeń Wolności, 2005. ISBN 83-915166-9-5.
• Audio CD: Live From Gdańsk (Koncert w Stoczni) (2005, released exclusively in Central Europe).
• DVD: Jean-Michel Jarre: Solidarnosc Live (2005, NTSC, one disc, also released as a "Collector's Edition" with the audio CD).

References

This page was last edited on 3 July 2023, at 21:55