Opus 4
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Presentation
With a passion for Gypsy song and Gypsy music, OPUS 4 came together in 1997 in the Midi in the South of France.
OPUS 4 is bringing back to life treasures from Russian, Romanian and Gypsy folklore, and, by borrowing some tried and true notions from jazz, are building cleverly constructed musical bridges connecting the two sides of the Atlantic.
“Inspired by their Slavic origins, in which there’s also a hint of Swing and a certain joie de vivre, the musicians invite audiences along on a voyage to the nomadic patrimony of the Gypsies . . . an exhilarating change of pace that just takes you away.”
Télérama
The Musicians
Serge Camps : guitarist, singer
Serge, whose father was a musician and whose mother was a Russian singer, began playing guitar at age 14. At age 15, he joined on with “La Grande Séverine” on the Balalaika contrabass with Marc de Loutchek, founder of the group “Balalaika ensemble.” In 1968 the group was engaged by Ivan Rebroff. Serge accompanied him for over 20 years. He performed at his side throughout the world, often in such prestigious places as Carnegie Hall, the Philharmonic in Berlin, and the Royal Albert Hall. . . . He recorded with Yul Brynner, his one and only album, and did records as well with Aliocha Diitievitch and many performers from the world of Gypsy performers. He was owner of the Paris cabaret “La Rose Fleurie,” a hotspot for Gypsy music and jazz from 1985 to 1990, where the likes of Raphael Fays and Angelo Debarre performed by his side. “La Roue Fleurie” was a meeting place of all the Gypsy musicians in Paris and from elsewhere. Such musicians as Boulou Ferre, Marc Fosset, and Patrick Saussois came there for jam sessions.
Piotr Sapieja : violin
Piotr started out at age 8 on the violin. He followed that up at age 12 with the viola. At 13 he began performing. At 16 he turned professional and played in the orchestra at the Gdansk Theater of music. At the same time, he played drums in various variety and dixieland bands. In 1982, he arrived in France and took the entrance exam for the National Orchestra of the theater of Tours, where he remained for four years. In 1984 he settled in Paris and has played there with a variety of performers, including Rachel des Bois and Mulator, among others. In 1994 he started working with the group Arbat, which he did for three years within the framework of France’s national youth forum for music performance (JM.F). This project took him all over France. In 1997 he joined the group OPUS 4.
Bruno Ossola : contrabass
Bruno began playing guitar at age 12. After his studies, he became a sales representative. At age 26 he went to the United States to study at the Berklee College in Boston. After graduating from Berklee, he accompanied the singer Djuri, who ran a music cabaret, from 1987 to 1992. In 1997 he joined up with OPUS 4 as bass player.
Pierre Procoudine-Gorsky : guitar
Pierre began on the guitar at age 12 by playing rock ‘n’ roll and learning “finger picking.” At age 19 he discovered the music of Central Europe and since then has been playing and recording with different Gypsy and Russian musicians who are well known to connoisseurs of this genre: the Gypsy singer Raya, the Gypsy balalaika player Petro Ivanovitch, the Russian singer Biélka, the Tzar the Magnificent Trio, with Nicolas Kedroff on balalaika and Oleg Ponomarenko singing, and the musical group and Jewish singer and klezmer Adama. He has also played with and recorded with the Polish singer Anna Prucnal as well as with the Flamenco guitarist Manel Delgado in the group Airé.
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