{"id":1302,"date":"2014-09-30T10:57:27","date_gmt":"2014-09-30T10:57:27","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/waynesiegel.dk\/?page_id=1302"},"modified":"2024-12-13T15:14:38","modified_gmt":"2024-12-13T15:14:38","slug":"celebration-2014","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"http:\/\/waynesiegel.dk\/?page_id=1302","title":{"rendered":"Celebration"},"content":{"rendered":"

for robot-controlled pipe organ and weather satellite (2014)<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Hallgrumskirkja01\"<\/a>Celebration <\/em>(dur. 60 min.) was commissioned by Hallgrimskirkja in Reykjavik with financial support from the Danish Arts Foundation. The piece is composed and performed by a computer connected directly to the large Klais organ in the church without human intervention. The work is based on compositional ideas and techniques developed for my 12-hour composition Everyone Talks about the Weather<\/em><\/a> (2013) for robot-controlled pipe organ and weather satellite, which examined the possibility of controlling the organ directly from a computer \u2013 without an organist.<\/p>\n

\"Hallgrumskirkja_organ03\"<\/a>Pipe organs that can be controlled by a computer are relatively rare. However, some friends in Iceland pointed out that such an instrument existed at Hallgrimskirkja: Reykjavik\u2019s largest and most impressive church. The church is named after one of Iceland\u2019s most important poets: Hallgrimur Petursson (1614-1674). The church organist, H\u00f6r\u00f0ur \u00c1skelsson, was enthusiastic about the idea and he agreed to commission a new work to be premiered on October 25, 2014 in celebration of Hallgrimur\u2019s 400th birthday.<\/p>\n

In Celebration<\/em> the computer generates rhythms, melodies and harmonies according to a specially designed generative system. The computer is linked to the Meteosat-10 weather satellite, and data from the weather satellite influences the program. Each performance of the work is unique and dependent on the weather in a large area of northern Europe stretching from Poland to a point west of Iceland. The computer creates the music live, performing on the four manuals and pedals of the organ using several different generative techniques that intertwine with each other. In certain sections of the piece the computer creates variations on melodies from six different traditional Icelandic psalms that are often sung in church with texts by Hallgrimur.<\/p>\n

The organ is made to do things that no human being could make it do\u2014fantastic, spectacular, swirling torrents of sound that pour forth for long periods of time. Every now and then everything stops, and powerful, triadic chords are heard. There is counterpoint, but the lines are too complex to follow. Much is very loud, extremely cacophonous\u2014 but I loved all 60 minutes.<\/em><\/span>
\n B. Kilpatrick, American Record Guide, January\/February 2018<\/span><\/p>\n

Listen to an excerpt of Celebration<\/em> recorded at Hallgrimkirkja in October, 2014.<\/p>\n\nhttp:\/\/waynesiegel.dk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/09\/Celebration_excerpt1.mp3<\/a><\/audio>\n

 <\/p>\n

In 2017 a complete recording of Celebration <\/em>produced at Hallgrimskirkja was released as a CD and download by\u00a0 Dacapo Records<\/a><\/p>\n

This recording is also available for streaming on Apple Music<\/a> , YouTube Music<\/a> and\u00a0 Spotify<\/a><\/p>\n

Watch a short introduction video:<\/p>\n