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The Sandpipers Symphony (3CD)
Repackaged set includes Solitary Sandpiper Journey and Lost Symphony as well as a bonus CD of unreleased demos and live tracks.
"Another quality compilation offering from Antony Kalugin, this deluxe release not only includes the magical Lost Symphony and Solitary Sandpiper Journey albums but also includes a third disc with over 75 minutes of new, demo and live recordings that show his musical excellence to the full.
" Karfagen from Ukraine is one of the best and most intresting bands I've ever heared in last years. Formed in 2002 by the prolific musician Antony Kalugin, Karfagen soon turned to be a real force in prog rock world, with 6 albums released so far. Solitary sandpiper journey from 2010 is a real gem of an album, here we have every ingredients to be a fairly solid and damn catchy album from first note to last. Antony Kalugin is a competend musician who really knew to compose an unforgetable release to my ears and I was very very pleasent surprised by this band when I've discovered them some years back through another bands where Antony Kalugin was involved Hoggwash and Sunchild. Karfagen music is quite complex with many instrumental passages going from symphonic prog with celtic elements thrown in to eclectic parts to jazzy interplayes and folky arranements all wraped in superb final product. Here we have lots of invited musicians, I guess around 20 , each one bringing a special mark to the album. Violins, cello, flute combined with traditional instruments, the result is impressive. Very good the vocal parts, while are not many, are very strong, Marina Zacharova is a very fine and smooth vocalist who fiting here like a glove in the music. All pieces are strong , no weak moments here, captivating instrumental sections, very original and intresting that only few bands are capable to offer in last years. For example ending track Mystery clocking around 23 min is killer, not else, Antony Kalugin is a genius and one important musicin in prog rock world in last years. The atmosphere and overall mood is brilliant.To me 4 stars easy and recommended, truly excellent album, from excellent art work to the music this is a gem." - ProgArchives
"Lost Symphony is a huge step forward for the Ukrainian project Karfagen, led by the brilliant Antony Kalugin. The album is completely instrumental and practically every composition on the album is a highlight. You might expect a bombastic and heavy symphonic sound with a title like this, but what you get is a symphony of subtleties.
You will have to listen to the album a couple of times carefully before you get to the structure of it. All compositions flow into each other. But once you have acquired the taste, you just can't stop listening to it. Every time you listen, you will discover new things, new sounds in the background, or little details you hadn't noticed before in the arrangements, which are all meticulously worked out.
To achieve this varied sound, mister Kalugin has once more surrounded himself with a small orchestra of excellent musicians. Apart from the standard band line up, consisting of guitars, keyboards, bass & drums, there can be a enjoyed a small string section and a lavish woodwind section, consisting of a flute, a oboe and a bassoon. As an extra folk element, a bayan, a Russian/Ukrainian sort of accordion is added to the line up. As mentioned, there are no vocals on this album, or it should be the sporadic text less vocal interventions in some of the compositions. I don't think words would have been necessary on this album. The eloquence is in the music.
The sound of Karfagen has always been firmly rooted in Ukrainian folk music, which gives the band a very characteristic sound. The music is very melodious and mixes in a beautiful way jazz, classic, folk and symphonic rock into a beautiful fairy tale-like musical landscape.
Practically all compositions on Lost Symphony are written by keyboard-player Antony Kalugin, with the exception of an acoustic guitar gem by guitarist Alexandr Pavlov, who may be held responsible for most guitar parts on the album and another one by Roman Gorielov, who makes a guest appearance only in that particular piece.
After a short keyboard introduction the music evolves in the up tempo and solid "Salvatore", a very attractive composition, displaying right away the many musical aspects Karfagen has to offer.
The short organ intermezzo "Orgaria" leads to the beautiful symphonic "Cosmic Frog & The Beast". Both the electric and acoustic guitar parts by Alexandr Pavlov are worth mentioning. The gentle melodies played by the bassoon made me unconsciously think of "Papillon" by the Italian band Latte e Miele. It's a miracle that so many fluent and attractive melodies fit in such a short time space. The well chosen keyboard sounds are never intrusive and connect all sections of this modern classical composition, that ends with a smooth chord played by the winds.
I liked a lot the "Journey Through The Looking Glass", a huge musical adventure with lots of tempo and character changes. The subtle acoustic melodies are often alternated by solid band interventions, supported by a very effective rhythm section. The excellent flute playing by Vasya Ivanov reminded me a lot of the Hungarian band Solaris on "The Martian Chronicles" and I certainly think that fans of that band will be pleased with this Karfagen album as well. The bayan carefully placed in the arrangements gives this composition just its necessary uniqueness. Again the subtle keyboard sounds of Antony Kalugin are closely intertwined with the several woodwinds, violins & cello.
The Symphony Of Sound (a bit of a pleonasm there), added as a bonus track (I wonder why) is another great composition, that according to the story in the booklet almost was lost, because the bulk of the arrangement had been erased, but luckily the track could be reconstructed thanks to a raw audio mix. It's a solid piece of music with some remarkable keyboard playing.
The recording is well done, the sound has a great transparency, thus highlighting all details of the arrangements. The beautiful paintings in the booklet by Alla Navrotskaya add a lot to the folk character of the album and fit in with the music perfectly.
I think that mister Kalugin has achieved with his "Lost Symphony" an album that will appeal to everyone who takes the time to listen to details and I would recommend this album in particular to fans of artists like Pekka Pohjola, Solaris, Mike Oldfield and Latte & Miele or simply to those who really love great music.
An album with so many highlights, which provided me with so many happy hours, can only be rewarded with five stars !" - ProgArchives