Project report

Day of the Organ in the church on Schubertplatz

On 08.09.2024 Cantor Gregor Schwarz, Maria Kallionpää and Axel Berndt organized the Day of the Organ in the Heilig Kreuz Church in Detmold.

Parish of Heilig Kreuz and the KIO invited you

At the beginning, a classical organ piece was played by cantor Gregor Schwarz. That's how we know the organ. In the Church of the Holy Cross in Detmold there are actually two, one at the front and one at the back of the nave. After a few introductory words about the instruments, we took our first steps into less familiar territory. Have you ever noticed that both organs can be played from a freely movable console? This is not mechanically connected to the instruments, but sends out electronic control signals - sound on, sound off, stop on, stop off, etc. Together with Gregor Schwarz, Axel Berndt next explains why there is a laptop next to the organ console.

Visitors were able to operate the organ pipes themselves using the controls

The electronic control signals are not sent directly to the organ but first to the laptop. This device processes them in a variety of ways before finally forwarding them to the organ. In this way, human playing can be expanded and enriched. New expressive playing techniques become possible, an organist with three hands, new mixtures, rapid tone sequences beyond what is possible in human nature. The highlight of the event was the world premiere of a composition by Maria Kallionpää for organ and arpeggiator, “When the Masks Have Fallen”, which Axel Berndt and Gregor Schwarz performed together.