Recent reviews

Čikāgas piecīši returns to Rīga for a concert from the heart

Compilation honors career of the other Fomins

CD release helps assure composer Ivanovs’ legacy

‘The Soviet Story’: To be continued?

Ēnas will sweep you away, but not completely

Album reveals beauty of Latvian folk songs

Iļģi serves up 11 fun varieties of pancakes

Prāta vētra takes risk, but result is baffling

‘Tumšie briežie’ follows tradition of doom, gloom

Pete Anderson plays good old rock-and-roll

Voice, saxophone combine on unusual recording

Article tools

E-mail article

Printer-friendly format

Duende

Sergejs Jēgers and Artis Gāga

Upe tuviem un tāliem, 2007

UPE TT 030

For more information

Artis Gāga

Hear samples of Artis Gāga’s music, read about his life, learn about his concerts and recordings on this official Web site. EN LV

Kontrtenors Sergejs Jēgers

Sergejs Jēgers’ Web site includes his biography and information about his repertoire, recordings and foundation. LV

Egils Kaljo

March 24, 2008

Continuing to showcase talented young artists, in 2007 record label Upe tuviem un tāliem released Duende, a collection of duets between countertenor Sergejs Jēgers and saxophonist Artis Gāga. The collaboration is unusual as it is just voice and saxophone—no orchestra, no piano, nothing besides the two musicians themselves (though one song does feature a tambourine). Can just two musicians, who are limited to playing one note at any given time (so there are not even any chords on this compact disc), engage the listener throughout the length of the album?

Jēgers has achieved much in a very short period of time. According to his Web site, he has given solo performances at the Latvian National Opera and has performed the role of the Angel in A. Rubinstein’s opera “The Demon,” as well as roles in other operas. His first solo CD, Ave Musica (2006), was a collection of sacred baroque songs. The album won the 2006 Latvian Music Recording Award for Best Debut.

Saxophonist, composer and arranger Gāga has performed with many different ensembles in a variety of styles. He has given concerts with various orchestras, including the Latvian National Symphony Orchestra, the Latvian National Opera Orchestra and other orchestras internationally. He has also performed with New Age group Kopējā izteiksme on its 2000 CD Putni maina virzienu. Earlier this year, he picked up three Latvian Music Recording Awards for 2007, including Best Debut Album and Best Instrumental, Film, or Theater Music Album for his solo CD, Mūzikālās impresijas: Zīmējumi debesīs.

Duende was recorded at the Sesava Lutheran Church, which, as the liner notes indicate, has excellent acoustics (proven admirably by this recording). Most of the songs on Duende are by French composers and, much like the songs on Ave Musica, are of a sacred nature. We get a performance of “Pie Jesu” from Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem.” There are also two “Ave Marias” by Camille Saint-Saëns, not to mention “Amarilli, Mia Bella” by early Italian baroque composer Giulio Caccini. The CD also features the duo’s interpretation of the old French standard “Placer D’Amor” (elsewhere titled as “Plaisir d’amour") by Jean Paul Martini.

The booklet features plenty of photos of the artists, as well as some philosophical musings by Latvian writers, and we also discover that the term “duende” is taken from Spanish poet Federico Garcia Lorca. I would not have minded if the recording company had dropped some of the deep thoughts and replaced them with perhaps a bit more information about how these two artists came to collaborate and their own thoughts on the collaboration. The liner notes are in Latvian and in English.

Though an unusual pair, the countertenor Jēgers and saxophonist Gāga have made one of the most interesting and absorbing recordings in recent memory. To answer the question from before, yes, these two artists, with just voice and saxophone, make for compelling listening. The melodies effortlessly flow between voice and saxophone, complementing each other with beautiful textures and deep emotions. The jury of the Latvian Music Recording Awards agreed and awarded the CD the Best Academic Music Award of 2007, acknowledging and rewarding the performance and talents of these two exceptional musicians.

Egils Kaljo is an American-born Latvian from the New York area who lives in Rīga, Latvia. When not working in the information technology field, he plays the guitar, sings in the University of Latvia Choir Juventus and does translation work for the Latvian Music Information Centre. Kaljo began listening to Latvian music as soon as he was able to put a record on a record player, and still has old Bellacord 78 rpm records lying around somewhere.

Post a comment about this article

Comments are limited to 2,500 characters. Avoid foul language and libelous statements. Don't post commercial messages or material copyrighted by others. Comments are moderated and will be posted after review. Those deemed inappropriate or off-topic will be deleted without notification. For questions or queries, contact us.

Name (required):

E-mail (required, but not published):

Comment:

Enter the word you see in the image above: