Veranstaltungs-Detailseite - Staatliches Institut für Musikforschung - Preußischer Kulturbesitz

Since the organ’s invention in Antiquity, the instrument has been at the forefront of musical, visual, and technological innovation. Its historiography has generally been framed in terms of European national styles and traditions; departing from this approach, we explore the idea of a new history of this complex cultural object. From the theories of 17th-century polymath Athanasius Kircher to the music of 20^th-century absurdist composer Mauricio Kagel, from the extravagant American Wanamaker organ of the early 20th century to the 21^st-century global, hyperorgan, from 17^th- and 18^th-century colonial transmission across the globe to the ‘organ race’ in South East Asia today, the history of the organ is marked by the imbrication of technology, environment, and aesthetics. Annette Richards and David Yearsley have just begun work on a History of the Organ for Cambridge University Press. How, they ask, might one write anew the history of this instrument, with its vast geographic, musical, technological, and temporal reach?

Start 3 p.m.
Duration 60 minutes
Free admission

The event is open to the public. Registration is not required.

Access to the seminar room via the gate of the State Institute for Music Research. Link to Open Street Map

Related Links

• Prof. Dr. David Yearsley, Department of Music, Cornell University
• Prof. Dr. Annette Richards, Department of Music, Cornel University
• SIM-Forschungskolloquium