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| | Arts Calendar / September 26 / Concerts |
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20:30 | Alexei Schmitov: Widor, Bach |
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Winner of the international competition Alexei Schmitov (organ) presents an organ evening to the 170th anniversary of the Widor. The program includes compositions by Widor and Bach. Charles-Marie Jean Albert Widor was a French organist, composer and teacher. Widor was born in Lyon, to a family of organ builders, and initially studied music there with his father, Francois-Charles Widor, titular organist of Saint-Francois-de-Sales from 1838 to 1889. The French organ builder Aristide Cavaille-Coll, reviver of the art of organ building, was a friend of the Widor family; he arranged for the talented young organist to study in Brussels in 1863 with Jacques-Nicolas Lemmens for organ technique and with the elderly Francois-Joseph Fetis, director of the Brussels Conservatoire, for composition. After this term of study Widor moved to Paris, where he would make his home for the rest of his life. At the age of 24 he was appointed assistant to Camille Saint-Saëns at Eglise de la Madeleine. In January 1870, with the combined lobbying of Cavaille-Coll, Saint-Saens, and Charles Gounod, the 25-year-old Widor was appointed as "provisional" organist of Saint-Sulpice in Paris, the most prominent position for a French organist. The organ at St-Sulpice was Cavaille-Coll's masterwork; the instrument's spectacular capabilities proved an inspiration to Widor. Despite his job's ostensibly "provisional" nature, Widor remained as organist at St-Sulpice for nearly 64 years, until the end of 1933. He was succeeded in 1934 by his former student and assistant, Marcel Dupre. In 1890, upon the death of Cesar Franck, Widor succeeded him as organ professor at the Paris Conservatoire. The class he inherited was initially stunned by this new teacher, who suddenly demanded a formidable technique and a knowledge of J.S. Bach's organ works as prerequisites to effective improvisation. Later (1896), he gave up this post to become composition professor at the same institution. Among the leading organ recitalists of his time, Widor visited in this capacity many different nations, including Russia, England, Germany, the Netherlands, Portugal, Italy, Poland and Switzerland. In addition he participated in the inaugural concerts of many of Cavaille-Coll's greatest instruments, notably Notre-Dame de Paris, Saint-Germain-des-Près, the Trocadero and Saint-Ouen de Rouen. Well known as a man of great culture and learning, Widor was made a chevalier of the Legion d'Honneur in 1892, named to the Institut de France in 1910, and was elected "Secretaire perpetuel" (permanent secretary) of the Academie des Beaux-Arts on 18 July 1914, succeeding Henry Roujon. In 1921, Widor founded the American Conservatory at Fontainebleau with Francis-Louis Casadesus.
Roman Catholic Cathedral of Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary  |
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19:00 | Clan of Xymox (Holland), NamNamBulu (Switzerland) |
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 The best soundtrack for the fall is the music of distinguished Goths Clan of Xymox and the melancholic synth pop of NamNamBulu. Since their formation in their native Holland their music has been constantly changing, always challenging and often quite breathtaking. Some of us have always been of the opinion that Xymox are something special. A band fired by electronic music but determined, always, to make something that is very much their own. They are unique. First there was Clan of Xymox, formed in Amsterdam but signed to leading English independent label 4-AD, home at one time or another to Bauhaus,the Cocteau Twins, Dead Can Dance and Pixies among others. 1985 saw the release of the band's self-titled debut album. Recorded at Edinburgh's famed Palladium Studios and co-produced with 4-AD supremo Ivo, it was a record full of tumbling electro beats, throbbing sequencers and moody vocals. 1987 saw the band provide a track for Lonely is An Eyesore, a fascinating compilation album highlighting the diversity of talent on the 4-AD roster. Ronny's "Muscoviet Musquito", sandwiched between Dif Juz and Dead Can Dance, showed a more confident side to the band. Album number two was a very different beast. 1987's Medusa was mostly a dark record, in places a chilling exercise in atmospherics and modern pop dynamics, 1989's Twist of Shadows was in many ways a bold record and it showed that being signed to a major concern wasn't going to stifle a natural sense of musical adventure, it had sold in excess of 300,000 copies. For years Xymox had enjoyed cult status across Europe but were now beginning to cause a stir in America. The bands fourth album Phoenix (1991) was their last album on the disbanded label Wing, a division of PolyGram. It had ecstatic reviews but sold not as much as their predecessor despite of their loyal U.S. fan base. Metamorphosis and Headclouds are the latest two albums, released on Zok Records, an independent label, solely working for Xymox. Here, in addition to their trademark choral sounds and hypnotic electro rhythms, are albums taking a whole range of styles and influences, taking Xymox into the '90s dance era, it's the work of a band who are never afraid to take chances. In 1997 and 1998 Clan of Xymox were touring their album Hidden Faces and played also their favourite songs from the 4-AD era of which the reactions and reviews have been ecstatic. They played already in the USA, South America and most countries of Europe, headlining festivals with high lights such as the Gothic Wave Festival in Leipzig and the Zillo Festival, performing in front of 25.000 people and keep on intrigue and bedazzling people all over the world with their live show. 1999 saw the release of their darkest album ever, named Creatures, again beautifully mixed by John A. Rivers and Ronny. In the year 2000 Clan of Xymox concentrated also on a tour and promotion in Europe, East Europe the USA/Canada and Latin America and continued to play a great number of festivals during the summer in Europe with a personal highlight for the band being the former Olympic Stadium Palacio d' Deportes in Mexico City where 20.000 people attended their concert. September 2001 saw the release of Notes From The Underground, acclaimed by critics as their best work ever. The album ranked already # 1 in the USA's Musicfolio chart as the best album of 2001 and reached # 2 in the well known DAC charts plus numerous chart positions around the globe. The album In Love We Trustcame out worldwide August the 18th, 2009 and reached # 1 in the DUC & DAC # 4 to name a few. In Love We Trust is now already considered another great classic release of the band. A brand new studio album release is announced for Valentines Day 2014 named Matters Of Mind, Body And Soul, which explores its signature, melancholic sound. Matters of Mind, Body and Soul is a coherent, harmonious, passionate album that would have become one of the genre's biggest milestones 20 years ago. NamNamBulu is a synthpop/futurepop band consisting of Henrik Iversen (lyrics and vocals) and Vasi Vallis (songwriting and arrangement). After several charting albums, their 2005 release Alone reached # 53 on the Deutsche Alternative Charts. The band split up in June 2005. NamNamBulu re-united in 2013 and for the 10-year jubilee of their extremely successful debut album Distances, NamNamBulu has decided to play a few hand-picked and exclusive anniversary shows in 2013 - with both the original members Henrik and Vasi. If you have not yet had the chance to hear their hits like "Memories", "Now or Never" or "Alone" in a live performance, then this could be your chance to get caught by Henrik's emotional and unique voice. For these 10-year anniversary shows, NamNamBulu will perform their songs in the original live version - surprises cannot be excluded.
More info
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