ORGAN SYMPOSIUM: Situational Musicking [Day 1]

Today the Orgelpark introduces an innovation: a three-day artistic research symposium on 'situational musicking'. It focuses on the quite specific type of music-making Ellen Arkbro, Kali Malone, Maria W Horn, Claire M Singer, and the many other artists they happen to inspire, have developed over the past decade.  

Typical for this type of music-making is that sounds often seem to last endlessly; yet exactly that feature gives access to the many small movements that actually shape these sounds. It is no surprise that artists who are fascinated by that effect turn to the organ: no pipe ever sounds the same twice, and as soon as two or more pipes sound together, the instability and hence dynamics of the resulting sound represent nothing less than the core of the organ's sonic identity.

 

De linking pin connecting the music to be presented during the symposium indeed is its 'situationality': its identity depends on the specific situation the music is made in. Hence the title of the symposium: Situational Musicking. 

The idea to replace the noun 'music' with the verb 'to music' dates back more than a quarter of a century: Christopher Small suggested it in 1998, simply because music exists when it sounds – and therefore never is static, something the word 'music' nonetheless suggests.

 

The Orgelpark presents the Situational Musicking Symposium in close cooperation with 4D Sound, established in Amsterdam, but also active in Berlin and London. 

The reason is that the musicking style introduced by Arkbro happens to follow a second track, next to the pipe organ one: the artists appear inspired to work with multiple speaker systems as well. The system 4D Sound developed is comprised of a huge number – several dozens – of omni-speakers (speakers that speak in all direction instead of just firing forward). Just like pipes, they are able, by being so many, to immerse audiences, and, again just like pipes, they also unveil captivating micro-differences when sounds are allowed to stay for a while. The 4D Sound system will sound solo but also in combination with the organs at the Orgelpark. A promising exploration of the rabbit holes this combination may give access to, will be experiencable on Friday night when turntablist NikNak presents a set – not least as she will spin traditional organ-LP's next to discs from her own collection.

 

The Situational Musicking Symposium is an 'artistic research' symposium because it is not in the first place about lectures and arguments. Instead, there will be ample time to listen to music – the other way to generate knowledge about it. The Saturday afternoon will be dedicated to what we listened to on the days before. That way the academic follows the artistic – just like it should.

 

 

 

P R O G R A M M E

 

THURSDAY JUNE 4TH

16.00 WELCOME & MUSIC: Richard Thomas / Hans Fidom & Jasmine Karimova

16.15 MUSICAL LECTURE: On Musicking / Jakob Lkk

16.45 MUSIC: Organ & voice / Amarante Nat

17.15 MUSIC: 4D sound / Robert Curgenven

20.15 MUSIC: Maria W Horn and Sarah Davachi

 

FRIDAY JUNE 5TH

10.30 4D Sound Masterclass: Poul Holleman

16.00 MUSIC: 4D sound / Casimir Geelhoed

16.45 MUSIC: Organ / Claire M Singer

20.15 MUSIC: 4D Sound / Claire M Singer

21.00 ROUND TABLE / With Richard Thomas

22.00 MUSIC: Turntabling / NikNak

 

SATURDAY JUNE 6TH

14.15 LECTURES & DISCUSSIONS

• MUSICAL LECTURE / Sound Rebellion + Jürgen Scriba

• KEYNOTE: Organcore / Annie Garlid

• MUSICAL LECTURE: Composing for organ / Kara-Lis Coverdale

• MUSICAL LECTURE: Loving the Van Straten Organ / Sarah Davachi

• HAMEL FOUNDATION ADDRESS: Anja Bien

• MUSICAL LECTURE: 4D & Composing / Casimir Geelhoed

• LOOKING BACK & WRAPPING UP: Benjamin Tassie

20.15 MUSIC: Kara-Lis Coverdale

 

 

The traditional International Orgelpark Symposium – lectures, discussions, presentations, workshops, musics – will from now on take place in Februari: the next one is scheduled on Februari 18th, 19th and 20th 2027.