Seven years after the last edition, ‘Pimp My Organ’ returns. The focus is entirely on musically ‘pimping’ and expanding the Fokker organ in order to make it sound different in an original way. Since the overhaul of the Fokker organ in 2009, when the acoustic organ was equipped with the latest computer technology, the instrument can also be controlled via a laptop. Later, loudspeakers were installed close to the organ pipes, allowing additional sound sources—such as other electronic instruments or pre-recorded sounds—to be added to the sound of the organ. This makes the Fokker organ an almost unlimited sound machine.
More than in the other concerts in the series, this season finale is centred around experimentation. For ‘Pimp My Organ V’, young and more established composers from various countries will exploit the endless possibilities of the Fokker organ to elicit the most fantastic sounds from it. The instrument will be both controlled via laptop, complemented by live electronics, and played by organist Ere Lievonen. Fie Schouten and Giuseppe Doronzo will support and expand the sound of the organ with their bass clarinet and baritone saxophone.
Marc Sabat (DE/CA) and Steffen Krebber (DE) use the laptop as a modern variant of the player piano; a player piano that does not suffer from the physical limitations of a human performer, such as having only ten fingers and limited dexterity. But that is the only similarity between their distinctive pieces. For as strictly as Sabat’s work is composed—he generates an overwhelming accumulation of note avalanches through computer algorithms—so intuitive is Krebber’s piece zimzum: a short, unsettling work in 31-tone tuning. Prepare yourself for a surprising morning full of premieres.