Around the world with 3 organs and 2 saxophones
For saxophonist Gert Anklam, the performance is a very special moment: exactly 25 years ago, he was already on stage in Anklam - back then in the Nikolai Church, together with the Rundfunkchor Berlin and the Chinese master musician Wu Wei. Now he returns to create a musical journey across continents and centuries with organist Volker Jaekel.
Volker Jaekel: organ, portative (portable, medieval organ)
Gert Anklam: saxophones, sheng (Chinese mouth organ)
Rousing rhythms meet old chorales and new melodies. Classical music, tangos and jazz merge into a hymn to life, light and hope.
The musicians span a wide range from early music to jazz, combining the most diverse influences. They perform unusual arrangements of old chorales, their own compositions inspired by their collaboration with musicians from other cultures, orchestral soundscapes on the organ, tangos and soulful improvisations.
Organist Volker Jaekel elicits unusual sounds and earthy rhythms from the organ. These enter into a musical dialog with the sonorous and poetic saxophone of Gert Anklam. The concert also features two small and rare organs: the Chinese Sheng mouth organ and the medieval portative. The repertoire includes arrangements of works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Edvard Grieg, Felix Mendelssohn Bartholdy, Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina, Astor Piazzolla, Steve Lacy and others.
The entertaining concert will be personally presented by the two Berlin musicians - lively, unexpected and surprising. An exciting musical journey far removed from the usual organ clichés!
