Warren Burt composed two pieces for the Fokker organ, which he will perform live from Australia via an internet connection, commissioned and conceived by artistic director Sander Germanus. During this concert, he will be the musical guest via Skype. Below is the programme note.

Three Movements for Fokker Organ and Fokker Organ Wren were written for the 31-tone per octave Fokker Organ in the Muziekgebouw in Amsterdam. During these pieces, I play the organ live, from my home in Daylesford, Victoria, AUstralia (100kms from Melbourne), and hear the results back via Skype. These are algorithmic pieces – I’m not performing on a keyboard, but am steering a midi composing program called ArtWonk through a series of changes and variations. The Midi signals produced by this program are then sent via the internet to the Muziekgebouw where they control the Fokker Organ.

Movement 1 uses a pattern generated by John Cage and Andrew Culver’s IC program – this pattern has a constantly changing series of probability distibutions, which are used here to produce harmonic variations in a semi-random context. Movement 2 uses an algorithm which produces a constantly changing series of “rows” of numbers, and makes chords with them. Guaranteed repetition free, or double your drachmas back, as the title says. Movement 3 extends the notion of randomly articulated chords even farther. Eight chords, each of which is an Euler-Fokker Genera created from 3 prime numbered harmonics, are moved between in a series of melodies that often have one note of the chord occurring much more than the others. Fokker Organ Wren uses protein patterns found in the DNA of the Brazilian Organ-Wren, or Uirapuru, as the sequences which determine pitch, and duration. So I’m using patterns found in the DNA of an Organ-Wren to control a microtonal organ. In all the sections, I have set up, on the computer screen, a series of controls – sliders, selection buttons, and the like, whereby I change the tempo, melodic range, length of notes etc of the music as it happens. So I’m improvising processes which control an organ half a planet away, which I then hear back in my house in Australia, with only a slight delay. Oh brave new world, that has such techne in it.

Many thanks to Pauline Oliveros, Doug van Nort, Tim Opie, Ere Lievonen, and Danny de Graan, all of whom contributed to the development of the software we’re using to send Midi from Australia to Amsterdam. Also thanks to Ere Lievonen for help with the technical aspects of the Fokker Organ. Finally, big thanks to John Dunn, Algorithmic Arts, who not only wrote ArtWonk, but found the Organ-Wren protein sequences for me.

9 November 2011

Warren Burt

Support

This programme was made possible with the support of: SNS REAAL Fonds – renamed Fonds 21 (renovation Fokker organ), Prins Bernhard Cultuurfonds (renovation Fokker organ), Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ and Huygens-Fokker Foundation.