Renowned Organist Gail Archer Performs A Slavic Celebration: A Trio Of New York City Concerts Of Contemporary Organ Music

Internationally acclaimed organist and recording artist Gail Archer today announced a trifecta of Manhattan concerts scheduled for early 2021. Known for enthralling listeners with her musicality, sensitivity, and visceral quality, Archer introduces audiences to rarely performed works by 19th-21st century Slavic composers. Co-sponsored by Columbia University's Harriman Institute, this unique program showcases the little-known organ literature of Eastern Europe. (Scroll below for concert details.)

Archer has had a long-time interest in the vibrant organ culture of Eastern Europe. Since 2011, Archer has performed each year in Eastern Europe resulting in her election as a faculty member at Columbia University's Harriman Institute. She is scheduled to release the final album (Polish works) in her trilogy of recordings of contemporary organ literature from Eastern Europe later this year. The first was A Russian Journey (2017, Meyer Media), that included music from the 19th-21st centuries by Russian composers Glasunow, Cui, Ljapunow, Slonimski, Shaversashvili and Mussorgsky.

"The superb musicianship, masterly technique and programming savvy informing the American organist Gail Archer's previous Meyer Media releases prevail throughout 'A Russian Journey'." (Gramophone) The second was Chernivtsi: Contemporary Ukrainian Organ Music (2020, Meyer Media) which was hailed by Textura for "exemplifying all of the musicality for which she's become known. In presenting Eastern European organ works, Archer, a choral conductor and educator as well as organist, performs a valuable service to both composers and listeners. Yet while that is the case, the fifty-four-minute album is more than an educational exercise: it satisfies on purely musical grounds with the visceral impact of its compositions and treatments."