organistrum:prototype by ben grossman
organistrum:prototype
by Ben Grossman
Presented in Guelph Ontario 11-15th April 2018 as part of Kazoo! Fest
organistrum:prototype is a long-string sound installation that is bowed by rosined, rotating wheels: a principal borrowed from the vielle à roue (hurdy gurdy/Drehleier/zanfoña/ghironda/etc). The piece is notional and is intended to be adaptable to different installation environments. Therefore it will always be a prototype.
In this iteration, six strings of between 20 and 32 metres (about 65-105 feet) in length are activated by rosined wheels under computer control. They are amplified by a resonator made of a large arch of fibreglass. Strings of such lengths behave in many unusual ways and the sound you are hearing is completely acoustic and untreated.
This recording is a 63 minute unedited recording from the installation in Guelph.
Nick Loess made a lovely short film documenting the piece: https://vimeo.com/351726899
Your contributions are most welcome in these days of cancelled gigs, but if things are tight for you too, please take this with my compliments and best wishes for your health, safety, and sanity.
Tracklist
| 1. | organistrum: prototype | 63:24 |
Credits
Research and creation of organistrum:prototype was graciously supported by the Ontario Arts Council, and to them I am very grateful. Presentation and promotion was by Ed Video Media Arts Centre and Kazoo! Fest, and my deep gratitude is due to Scott McGovern for his advice, help, and support. Thanks to Alexandra Gelis, Diyode Community Workshop, Alanna Gurr, Chandra Boon, Fron Reilly, and Wolfgang Weichselbaumer for support, advice and encouragement. Cover image is a still from the video by Nick Loess - thanks Nick!
Thanks to my inspirations for this piece, Ellen Fullman, Gordon Monahan, and Alvin Lucier
License
CC BY-NC-SA 3.0. See the Creative Commons website for details.Tags
Ben Grossman is a busy musician: improviser, studio musician, composer, and sound artist. He works in many fields, having played on scores of CDs, soundtracks for film and television, sound design for theatre, installations, work designed for radio transmission, and live performances spanning early medieval music to experimental electronica.