"It is impossible not to be drawn upward, whether towards the spire of the church or cathedral or to the huge and daunting forest of pipes themselves. The organ dwarfs all comers ..." – Mike Harding of Touch
To conclude the Festival and celebrate its own thirtieth anniversary, British label Touch invites us to one of its Spire events, which are centered on the sonic power of the organ. Almost no other instrument can trace a vector from the deep time of technology through to the present, and thus equal the several thousand-year history of the organ.
Consequently, the curators of Touch are just as interested in transferring this instrumental concept to modern technology (the organ as a forerunner of the synthesizer), as they are in the psycho-physical impact of its sound, in the history of the political instrumentalisation of the organ, and in the first experience and ritual appropriation of its underlying principles in prehistoric times – namely of wind, whistling through natural cavities and chimneys.
As a deep-listening event with works by Giacinto Scelsi, Jana Winderen, Olivier Messiaen, Marcus Davidson, György Ligeti, Hildur Guðnadóttir, Frank Martin, Charles Camilleri, Stephen Montague, Arvo Pärt, Eleh, Diana Burrell, The Eternal Chord, and a group improv session, Spire makes manifest the metaphysical focus that has permeated the Touch label program since its inception.
› touchmusic.org.ukProgram:
› Giacinto Scelsi: In Nomine Lucis (Charles Matthews, organ)
› Jana Winderen (solo)
› Olivier Messiaen: Chants d'Oiseaux (Charles Matthews, organ)
Interval (short)
› Marcus Davidson: Sacred Space (Marcus Davidson, laptop/Charles Matthews, organ)
› Gyorgy Ligeti: Coulée (Charles Matthews, organ)
› Hildur Gudnadottir (solo)
› Frank Martin: Passacaille (Charles Matthews, organ)
Interval (long)
› Charles Camilleri: Lento (from Sonata semplice) (Charles Matthews, piano)
› Marcus Davidson: The Passing (Marcus Davidson, organ and tape)
› Stephen Montague: Paramell III (Charles Matthews, organ)
› The Eternal Chord (Anon, organ)
Interval (short)
› Diana Burrell: Lauds (Charles Matthews, organ/Marcus Davidson, CD)
› Eleh (solo)
› Arvo Pärt: Pari Intervallo (Charles Matthews, organ)
› Encore: Organology (Ensemble piece – organ and all soloists)
Eleh - Observation Wheel by Liunatic
Hildur Gudnadottir - Without Sinking (album preview) by experimedia
