Maria Sławek, Marcin Zdunik ‎– Rejoice / Accord Audio CD 2019 / ACD 264-2

UPC 5902176502645

Two people that's all it takes to carry on an interesting and inspiring conversation. Two instruments constitute also the smallest possible ensemble the dialogue between them is inherently intimate and unique. This perception becomes even clearer, when a piece is being played by two string instruments, which although differing in timbre are inextricably intertwined. We had thought about recording a duet record for a long time, as we have been playing together for several years now, in various chamber formations from a duet to a string sextet. (...) The pieces on this record have a special link: each of the composers whose works we have recorded, refer in a certain way to Johann Sebastian Bach. In the case of Eugène Ysayë, it is a direct, thematic reference to Partita No. 3 in E major and to polyphonic voices in the following movements: Malinconia and Dance des ombres. Krzysztof Pendereckis Ciaccona corresponds with Bach not only through its form, but also through the reference to religious content expressed in the title. Sofia Gubaidulina is connected to the master from Leipzig through an openly expressed complete devotion to God (in a sense, all my compositions can be summarized as sacred music, says the composer in an interview given to Vera Lukomska), mystical content hidden in sounds, and fascination with perfect, mathematical order and proportions. (Maria Slawek)