Presenter: Alexander Bean
Faculty Mentor: Robert Kyr, Barbara Baird
Presentation Type: Creative Work 1 (GSH Great Room Stage) Primary
Research Area: Fine/Performance Arts
Major: Music Composition, Performance
The digital organ is a singularly unique instrument. The acoustic pipe organ is fixed in one location with a limited number of stops available to the organist. In contrast, the digital organ is mobile and when used in combination with a computer, offers the organist an infinite array of different stops. Unfortunately, composers and performers have hitherto ignored the unique capabilities of the digital organ. In my composition for digital organ, Spatia, I explore
the possibilities of composing specifically for digital organ. I designed a unique set of nine organ stops for each specific performance venue and date. Six of these stops feature sounds recorded from the performance. The three other stops feature the sound of the full organ altered by the resonant frequencies of the performance space (i.e. those pitches which sound the clearest in a particular room). One stop features the unaltered full organ sound, one stop features the full organ sound distorted by the resonant frequencies, and the final stop features the resonant frequencies without the full organ sound. In this presentation I will describe the methods used to create the digital organ stops and the compositional technique, followed by a performance of the composition with commentary about the structure of the piece. This composition explores the limitless potential of the digital organ, having implications for other composers and performers to embrace this instrument.