The organ of Palau Güell in Barcelona, owned by Diputacio of Barcelona, will perform without interruption, automatically and without human assistance, between Wednesday 15 and Sunday 19 June, from 10:00 to 20:00h, offering the public the chance to visit the space as never before.
Sónar brings a ‘Hyperorgan’ to Spain for the first time. It features one of the few instruments that are able to operate this technology: the organ of Palau Güell in Barcelona.
Berlin-based artists gamut inc., one of the world’s most renowned hyperorgan specialists, have created a special piece for the occasion, which will be played without interruption automatically between 15 and 19 June, allowing visitors to relive the essential avant-garde spirit of the building designed by Antoni Gaudí.
The experience allows the public to walk through the whole building. An experience that’s a walk through both music and architecture, with a path that ascends several levels of the Palau Güell to the rooftop, with the sound of the ‘Hyperorgan’ filling the entire space.
‘Hyperorgan’: a 21st Century organ
The 21st century has introduced a new concept to the organ: the hyperorgan. Based on the same instrument (the sound is produced by the same air that creates the sound of flutes and trumpets), the ‘Hyperorgan’ has been integrated with new digital technologies that allow the pipes to sound in a different way, considerably expanding the possibilities of its use.
On the one hand, the organist has more interpretative possibilities at his disposal, since they can create previously unheard sounds by combining the organ’s features. This is achieved by digitally modifying the airflow to the pipes with high-precision electronically controlled valves and an application that modifies altering all parameters.
On the other hand, the ‘Hyperorgan’ has a MIDI input, which allows the instrument to be played by artists who are not trained organists, using any electronic device, such as computers, tablets, etc.
With this configuration, it is also possible to produce numerous sound effects (endless arpeggios, high-speed plucking…) that cannot be achieved manually. The possibilities, both in performance and composition, are almost endless.
With a ‘Hyperorgan’, therefore, a new phase in the trajectory of the instrument has been opened, placing it once again at the forefront of musical creation, just as it was centuries ago. It is an expanded instrument which can be played by electronic artists, Artificial Intelligence and researchers, as well as classically trained organists.
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