DANCING QUEEN - lautten compagney Berlin & Asya Fateyeva, Saxophone

Jean-Philippe Rameau (1683-1764) and ABBA (1972) - a combination that sounds daring. Yet listen more closely and you'll discover surprising similarities: the originality and memorability of melodies, rhythmic lightness, and boundless popularity on both sides.

Under the title "Dancing Queen", the Berlin ensemble lautten compagney builds a bridge from the present to an era when Kings rather than Queens ruled the dance floor. ABBA's music - as in other cross-era projects by this Berlin ensemble - is rearranged and performed on Baroque instruments. Rameau's music not only accompanies it, but sometimes merges with it so completely that it becomes hard to tell what came from the pen of the high-Baroque French composer and what from the workshop of the Swedish pop quartet.

Saxophonist Asya Fateyeva's solo part dances between worlds: with great virtuosity she draws from her instrument rapid-fire passages and the finest lyrical arias, commands a rich palette of sounds, and improvises with ease over a rocky riff - whether from Rameau or from ABBA. In 2021, she released the acclaimed CD "Time Travel" together with lautten compagney, featuring works by Purcell and The Beatles.

Lautten Compagney Berlin (12 musicians)
Asya Fateyeva, saxophone
Arrangements: Bo Wiget
Conductor: Wolfgang Katschner