Today Vidas and I would like to share with you a video of our organ duet recital "Baltic Reverie" which we played last Monday, April 29, 2024 at Vilnius University St. John's church for the group of tourists from Sweden. "Baltic Reverie" is a captivating and harmonious organ duet recital project that weaves together the rich musical tapestries of composers hailing from the countries encircling the Baltic Sea. The program offers a delightful journey through the diverse cultural landscapes of Finland, Sweden, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Germany, and Denmark. This musical voyage celebrates the unique heritage and artistic expressions of these nations, showcasing solo organ pieces that reflect their individual traditions, styles, and histories. As we perform both solo and in duet, the audience was immersed in a mesmerizing blend of melodies, harmonies, and rhythms, evoking the spirit of the Baltic region. On the program: music by Gustaf Adolf Mankell (Sweden), Juozas Naujalis (Lithuania), Nils Wilhelm Gade (Denmark), Alfred Karindi (Estonia), Michal Kleofas Oginski (Poland), Nikolajs Alunans (Latvia), Vidas Pinkevičius (Lithuania), Jean Sibelius (Finland) and Johann Sebastian Bach (Germany). Hope you will enjoy it!
BALTIC REVERIE
VIDAS PINKEVIČIUS AND AUŠRA MOTŪZAITĖ-PINKEVIČIENĖ, Organists
PROGRAM
00:00 Gustaf Adolf Mankell (1812-1880) - Fantasie in C Minor for Organ Duet (Sweden)
Andante-Moderato-Fuga. Allegretto moderato
06:20 Juozas Naujalis (1869-1934) - Reverie, arranged for organ duet (Lithuania)
09:40 Nils Wilhelm Gade (1817-1890) - Moderato in F Major from 3 Pieces for Organ, Op. 22 (Denmark)
15:33 Alfred Karindi (1911-1969) Berceuse from Organ Sonata No. 3 (1944) (Estonia)
22:06 Michal Kleofas Oginski (1765-1833) Polonaise in A Minor “Farewell to Homeland” (Poland)
25:04 Nikolajs Alunans (1859-19190) Paraphrase on Robert Radecke’s Song “Aus der Jugendzeit” (Latvia)
29:29 Vidas Pinkevičius (b. 1976) Meditation on Ukrainian Song "Moonlight Night", Op. 85 (2022) (Lithuania)
Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/product-22259178.html?aff_id=454957
32:48 Jean Sibelius (1865-1957) - Andante Festivo (Finland)
37:26 Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750) - Brandenburg Concerto No. 6 in Bb Major, BWV 1051, arranged for organ duet (Vidas and Ausra) (Germany): III. Allegro
Score: https://www.sheetmusicplus.com/en/product/product-22659514.html?aff_id=454957
International concert organists, composers and bloggers Dr. Vidas Pinkevicius and Dr. Ausra Motuzaite-Pinkeviciene are creators of the Secrets of Organ Playing - a blog, YouTube channel, podcast, and training site for thousands of organists from 89 countries. Also they are Vilnius University organists and lead the university organ studio "Unda Maris". In 27 years together they have performed over 300 concerts in various countries of Europe and the USA. When not playing the organ, you will find them around old harmoniums and reed organs.
Today’s organ at Vilnius University St. John's church came from the Polotsk Jesuit Church. In the beginning, it was much smaller. It is believed that their author could have been a famous 18th century organ builder from Königsberg A.G. Casparini or the famous representative of the Vilnius organ school M. Janson. Later, masters T.Tiedemann and J.Radavičius expanded it. The organ of John's church surprised contemporaries. Even now, after many years of reconstruction work, this organ with 3 manuals and 64 registers is the largest in Lithuania built by the Vilnius organ workshop, (1983-2000). This instrument has been reconstructed based on the Casparini/Radavičius disposition and is most suitable for 18th-19th century performance. For the first time, this magnificent instrument was officially inaugurated in July 2000.
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