Baltic Archives

Friedrich Wilhelm MARKULL: Organ Works Vol. 1 – Andrzej Szadejko – MDG

by Audiophile Audition | May 13, 2017 | Classical CD Reviews, SACD & Other Hi-Res Reviews

Friedrich Wilhelm MARKULL: Musica Baltica 2 – Organ Works Vol. 1 – Organist: Andrzej Szadejko – MDG Multichannel (5.1) SACD cat. # MDG 906 1990-6 TT: 61:34 (2/24/17) **** A fine organ recital richly recorded When Friedrich Wilhelm Markull died at the age of seventy-one in 1887, posthumous tributes honored him as a “most highly knowledgeable musician and a most highly outstanding organist and composer for the church, school, and salon and of classical orchestral works.” For more than fifty years Markull had played a significant role in Danzig’s music culture. Markull also enjoyed a reputation as a pianist, and had given excellent concerts of chamber music. He composed operas, oratorios, and two symphonies, as well as and many works for the organ, which is the program for this disc. In this new release from MDG organist Andrzej Szadejko has chosen an attractive selection from Markull’s multitude of organ compositions and recorded these works on the historic Bucholz organ at the Church of St. Nicholas in Stralsund, as part of the MDG Musica Baltic series. The disc contains a few short works followed by three extended compositions by Markull. The organ is a large one, and the recording reflects its […]

Slavic Soul Party! – Plays Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite – Ropeadope

by Audiophile Audition | Nov 7, 2016 | Jazz CD Reviews

Ellington as you’ve never heard Ellington: let the party begin. Slavic Soul Party! – Plays Duke Ellington’s Far East Suite [TrackList follows] – Ropeadope RAD-314, 52:14 [9/16/16] ****1/2: (John Carlson, Kenny Warren – trumpet; Peter Hess – saxophone, clarinet; Peter Stan – accordion; Matt Musselman, Tim Vaughn – trombone; Ron Caswell – tuba; Chris Stromquist – snare drum, percussion; Matt Moran – tapan, goč, bubanj) East meets West? Simply going by the title of this ensemble’s name, Slavic Soul Party!, you might assume this is an Eastern European band performing western jazz. Think again. This is actually East Coast meets Far East. The nine-member Slavic Soul Party! [they like to use an exclamation point] is a New York City-based group who put a fresh spin on Duke Ellington’s celebrated Far East Suite, issued 50 years ago in 1966. Percussionist Matt Moran (part of the Claudia Quartet, and who has backed Sufjan Stevens and others) formed Slavic Soul Party! in the late ‘90s, and over the years has presented music bursting with bouncy brass and has melded different musical viewpoints into a beguiling brew. Slavic Soul Party! is nearly all brass: two trumpets, two trombones, sax, clarinet and tuba, along with […]