Jörgen
Sundeqvist, the Swedish virtuoso and member of the Royal Academy
of Music, has toured America, Europe, Russia and New Zealand and
has been a soloist on radio and television on both sides of the
Atlantic.
He studied with Hans-Erik Naas in Stockholm and eventually went
to California to study for two years with Anthony Galla-Rini,
where he developed not only his brilliant technique but, also,
his open-minded approach to all kinds of music. This led to his
great knowledge of original accordion music from all over the
world. In addition, he continued his study of music theory, composition
and arranging.
His devotion
to develop the accordion as a chamber and solo instrument has
given him the opportunity not only to perform with major symphony
orchestra but, also, in innovative collaborations such as this
one with one of Swedens leading organists, Håkan Dahlén.
Dahlén
is one of the major forces in the cultural life in Mid-Sweden
and a much-appreciated soloist and chamber musician. He has appeared
in a wide range of successful performances with dancers, choirs,
and artists. Håkan is one of the founders of the Nordic
Organ Festival and is a co-founder of Courthouse Music. He is
the organist in Själevad church close to Örnsköldsvik.
Many of us have
performed the Concerto No. 1 in g minor by Anthony Galla-Rini
in many different ways such as soloist with full symphonic orchestra,
accordion orchestra, piano accompaniment and, even, as a duo with
another accordion soloist. But, until now, no one had envisioned
it being performed with organ! Thanks to the vision of these two
outstanding musicians, it has now been done and recorded for posterity.
Not only that, but it has been released in the year of the composers
birthday anniversary number 101 (January 18, 2005), a truly legendary
marker for an equally legendary American virtuoso accordionist,
arranger, teacher and composer.
The accordion and the organ blend extremely well together and,
surprisingly, undoubtedly due to the musical artistry of the two
performers, the organ does not overwhelm its much smaller sister,
the accordion. I found it an extremely interesting combination
of the various stops and switches available to the performers.
While some of the inner voices of the symphonic version might
be somewhat less apparent, they are not lost entirely. In this
day and age of having fewer full symphony orchestras readily available
and willing to spend much of their budget on rental of music,
it is indeed possible to hear this beautiful milestone in the
history of original accordion compositions performed in yet another
satisfying musical manner. Just be sure the organist is also a
virtuoso performer!
Another outstanding
performance on this recording is the Accordion Concerto by Eugene
Zador. While it has not been performed a great many times, probably
because the piano accompaniment does not give a true hearing experience
of the original string parts, it is nevertheless another of those
pieces we accordionists need to remember as a stepping stone in
our quest for creditable repertoire. Zadors reputation was
undeniably strong and it was another gift to the history of the
accordion to have Galla-Rini obtain this Concerto. The organ and
accordion, once again, prove to be a remarkable combination in
this performance. Some listeners may even prefer it to that with
the original string and timpani accompaniment! And Zador seems
to have several ideas of how to use the accordion in interesting
manners. I believe you will enjoy this performance very much.
And now we come
to the third and final selection on the CD. The Bubble Tune, a
previously unknown piece, to me at least, by Fredrik Högberg.
This is a real and genuine GEM in my opinion! It makes my imagination
soar with images of children holding the small toy that they dip
into soapy water. They wave it, letting the wind blow bubbles,
large and small, some perfect, others breaking before flight,
with the sun causing myriad colors of the rainbow to drift endlessly
throughout the sky until they either burst or return to earth.
The virtuoso runs for both organ and accordion go up and down,
up and down in technical displays smooth as silk. Then we are
introduced to a lovely melody wandering along before the runs
are introduced once again. While The Bubble Tune, was originally
written for organ and vibraphone, with a later version replacing
the vibraphone with a soprano saxophone, I cannot imagine any
more satisfying version than the one heard here with organ and
accordion! No wonder the composer is extremely successful, well
known and has earned many awards. Let us hope he will favor accordion
performers with more of his, as they say on the CD notes, music
always in a colorful way and not seldom with a warm sense
of irresistible humor attached to it.
I highly recommend
this CD. It was released by COURTHOUSE MUSIC (CMCD 010) and is
available through several sources, including: Petosa Accordions,
Schmulling, Akkordeonkiste (Thomas Assmus), or directly from Sundeqvist.
The cost is available from them.
Reviewed by Joan
Cochran Sommers
(May 2005)
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