The Orgelpark Research Program aims to function as a platform for leading musicologists in organ music related musicology. To strengthen the international organ related musicology network, the Orgelpark Research Program cooperates regularly with other institutions.
2009, 4-5 July: Music & Media (language: English / cooperation with the International Musicological Society)
Launch of a new Study group under the auspices of the International Musicological Society (IMS, led by Prof Dr Emile Wennekes, Utrecht University), preceding the annual IMS congress in Amsterdam.
The International Musicological Society (IMS) was founded in 1927 in Basel, where it has its headquarters. It is a member of the Conseil International de la Philosophie et des Sciences Humaines (CIPSH), a branch organization of the UNESCO. Its purpose is the advancement of musicological research on the basis of international cooperation. Membership in IMS is open to all interested in musicological research, individuals as well as institutions, libraries and organisations.
The congress at the Orgelpark was attended by over 35 enthusiastic musicologists from all over the world; all continents - except of course Antarctica - were represented.
Music plays an important role in media, both in old and certainly in new media: commercials, games, films, ring tones and the like. The other way around, media play an increasing role in music. They have changed the compositional process and characteristics of style. Media severely influence performances, composing techniques, and the way of recording and visualizing music.
The field of Music and Media appeared to be very wide. James Deaville (Carleton University, Ottawa) showed in his presentation on 'Selling War: Television News Music and the Shaping of American Public Opinion' showed how intense the effect of music can be in tv-news; Michael Saffle (Virginia Tech.) presented the film 'One Hundred Men and a Girl' in order to document how, and in what way, music in films was more than merely a local and personal experience: music represented an important aspect of social life. Janny Pranger (Utrecht University) impressed with her well-balanced paper on the natural and the cultural in musical performance, including several references to current music philosophy. Young talent Melanie Fritsch (Bayreuth University) gave a concise overview of the history of videogame music.
The contributions (of course, there were much more than referred to here) to the congress made a positive impression on the board of the IMS, and it was quickly decided to indeed launch the new Study Group Music & Media. The Orgelpark will take part in this group as well. Themes to be investigated are the role of the organ in early films as a symbol of the dark sides of life; another interesting theme is the way organs and organists are presented on dvd's meant to stimulate general interest in organ art.
