Inauguration of the Dubois organ of Wissembourg

The inauguration of »L’Orgue Dubois de l’abbatiale Sts. Pierre et Paul en Wissembourg« is over. There was an excellent presentation of the timbres of the instrument followed by a concert with pieces of Nicolas de Grigny (Veni Creator), Johann Sebastian Bach (Deux chorals de Leipzig), Georg Böhm (Partita sur le choral »Wer nur den lieben Gott lässt walten«) et Pierre Dumage (Suite du 1er Ton). Screens have been used so that the attendees could directly see what is happening at the organ’s console.

Once again I was completely overwhelmed by the sound of the instrument. And once again I noticed that the sound of famous instruments gains its living and breathing from little imperfections. Individual pipes have an individual chiff, some pipes rattle a bit when being played (especially lingual pipes), others are not tuned perfectly.

The presentation will be available as a recording in CD respectively DVD formats. The visitors got a nice printed handout (available both in french and german language) which provides valuable information of the history and restoration of the instrument.

From 2012-05-27 through 2012-09-30 each sunday free concerts will be provided between 5:00PM and 5:45PM. Obviously I’ll revive a hobby of mine and choose Wissembourg as the favorite destination of my sunday biking trips :) .

The Pipe Organ of St. Konrad, Aschaffenburg-Strietwald, Germany

On saturday I had the occasion (but not the time) to play the instrument depicted above. Unfortunately I forgot to take a picture of its console with traditional stops on either side, as I was in a hurry.

It’s quite an interesting instrument, built in 2007 by Freiburger Orgelbau. The disposition of the stops qualifies the instrument for authentic playing of both baroque and romantic organ music:

I. Main (C–g3)

1. Bordon 16’
2. Prinzipal 8’
3. Gedeckt 8’
4. Flute harmonique 8’
5. Viola da Gamba 8’
6. Octave 4’
7. Gemshorn 4’
8. Superoctave 2′
9. Mixtur 4-5fach 1 1/’3’
10. Trompete 8’

Tremulant

II. Swell (C–g3)
11. Geigenprizipal 8′
12. Rohrgedeckt 8’
13. Salicional 8’
14. Vox coelestis 8’
15. Octav 4’
16. Traversflöte 4’
17. Nasard 2 2/’3’
18. Octavin 2’
19. Terz 1 3/’5’
20. Piccolo 1’
21. Trompette harmonique 8’
22. Hautbois 8’

Tremulant

Pedal (C–f1)
23. Prinzipalbass 16′
24. Subbass 16’
25. Octavbass 8’
26. Gedacktbass 8’
27. Octav 4’
28. Bombarde 16’
29. Trompete 8’

Obviously it is dominated by 8’ stops. Its timbre is rather full and warm instead of brilliant. I hope there will be a second chance for playing it. Here are the stops I’m most interested in:

  • Prinzipal 8’ – full and warm
  • Flute harmonique 8’ – one of my all time favorite stops. The length of those pipes is twice the length necessary, while a small drilling in the middle of the length ensures the pipe’s pitch is correct.
  • Trompete 8’ – not a bawler at all
  • Vox coelestis 8’ – if you like programming pads with two detuned oscillators on synthesizers, this stop is for you. You will ask “How can I create such a sound on a synth?!?”
  • Terz 1 3/’5’ – a third. A unique stop. I had absolutely no luck programming it on a synthesizer.
  • Hautbois 8’ – another lingual stop. Another sound you won’t be able to program on a synth.
  • Bombarde 16’ – nomen est omen. The right pedal stop for bombastic pieces. Grand Jeux comes to my mind :)

Klangwelten celebrating its 25th birthday

Klangwelten, Tollhaus, Karlsruhe

Klangwelten, Tollhaus, Karlsruhe

Klangwelten is celebrating its 25th birthday, and we just attended the concert at the Tollhaus in Karlsruhe, where I already heard them two years ago. The event was just marvellous. Park Stickney’s instrument sounded more like a guitar than a harp, the singing of Katajaq (Inuuk) was more than impressive, Enkh Jargal’s singing and playing was just outstanding, Augus Wahyu Rhythm Explosion added liveliness (not to mention the great acoustic bass), and Terrence Ngassa really knows how to treat the trumpet.

There are several further tour dates. In case you have a chance to attend, do not hesitate – you won’t regret. And hurry up – Tollhaus was well crowded, and some of the concerts are already sold out!

Lineup:

  • Rüdiger Oppermann (Europe) – Harps, Morin Khoor
  • Katajaq Duo (Canada) – Inuit singing
  • Enkh Jargal Dandarvaanchig (Mongolia): Dinging, Violin
  • Park Stickney (New York): Harp
  • Terrence Ngassa (Cameroon ) – Jazz Trumpet
  • Agus/Wahyu Rhythm Explosion (Java) – Gendang drums
  • Jatinder Thakur (INdia) – Tablas

Once again, thanks guys and girls for an enjoyable evening.

—-

Edit: A couple of samples are available online:
www.klangwelten.com/festival/2011/2011_ton.html

200th Birthday of Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt by Pierre Petit, via Wikipedia, Public Domain

Franz Liszt by Pierre Petit, via Wikipedia, Public Domain

Yesterday we celebrated the 200th birthday of Franz Liszt. Countless concerts took place all around the globe, and I noticed contributions in radio broadcastings. His main instrument was the grand piano, but he also composed about a dozen pieces for the pipe organ. Organ players may remember »Praeludium und Fuge über B-A-C-H«, a piece quite difficult to play, which exposes the capabilities of the instrument in an excellent manner.

In case Jazz did not exist, I guess he was one of my preferred musicians :) .

Lyambiko@Tollhaus once again

Like last year, Lyambiko once again was on stage at the Tollhaus. The musicians were the same as last year, as was the acoustical sound. Frankly, I’d enjoy some electric bass, guitar or keyboard sound every now and then, so it’s not exactly the music I’d listen to at home. But the live experience was just marvellous.

Thanks guys and girl :) .

Herbie Hancock live @ Festspielhaus Baden-Baden

After Lee Ritenour the next master did me a favour and came close enough to make me spend some money. His works do not exactly fit my taste, so I mainly know his most popular works. He has always been a very progressive musician (remember »Future Shock«?) and he played with some of my favorite artists like Joe Zawinul and Chick Corea. Baden-Baden is just about 40km south, and as the synth addict and fusion enthusiast I am, attending the concert was a must.

The lineup consisted of Herbie Hancock (grand piano, Korg Oasys), Kristina Train (vocals, violin), James Genus (bass), Trevor Lawrence (drums), Lionel Loueke (guitar) and Greg Phillinganes (Korg Oasys, Korg Triton, vocals). His current project is called »The Imagine Project«, but of course he could not resist to play some of the hits (like Cantaloupe Island) that made him popular. The way he puts different influences and styles together is pretty interesting. Plus it is a great joy to see how he treats the piano and his synthesizers. He also used a Roland AX-Synth twice, really excessively during the last tune.

A great concert indeed. There are some further tour dates nearby during the next couple of days, so don’t miss your chance.

Lee Ritenour @ Tollhaus

Lee Ritenour @ Tollhaus

Lee Ritenour @ Tollhaus

This was a concert I visited on spec. I never heard a lot of music of Lee. I only knew he’s a well known guitarist. But a price tag of 22€ left no room for any excuse. Visiting the concert really was a good idea.

The lineup consisted of Lee Ritenour (guitar), Patrice Rushen (Bechstein grand piano, Yamaha Motif ES6, Yamaha S90), Melvin Davis (seven (sic!) strring Bass and vocals) and Will Kennedy (drums). Patrice mainly used sampled standard sounds (like Rhodes, Organ, and Clavinet) and there was no synth solo. A prejudice of mine seems to materialize. Men use the upper dynamic range of an instrument, while women are more familiar with the lower range.

The whole combo did an excellent job. I was surprised that I actually enjoyed the music, though it was a bit too straightforward for my taste. Great to see real pros at work, where everyone knows his job. I’m tempted to buy a semi acoustic guitar, as I really liked Lee’s sound.

A very nice concert, well worth the bucks. Herbie Hancock, next week in Heidelberg, won’t be that »cheap« :) .

Biréli Lagrène live in Herxheim

Biréli Lagrène live in Herxheim

Biréli Lagrène live in Herxheim

I’ve just been at a open air concert of Biréli Lagrène in Herxheim. It was a perfect warm summer evening at a perfect location. They locked the main street and put the stage directly on the street:

The first set was merely like a traditional jam session. The second set, however, was exactly my taste. Biréli playing the guitar is pure fun to listen, and the rest of the band also did a very good job. My only complaint is that the keyboards have been a bit too low, so it was difficult to follow the playing of Michael Lecoq. He played a Nord Stage, a Nord Lead 2 and a Korg Triton Extreme. I’ve played the Nord Stage every now and then at the local trumpet store. It sounds marvellous, but I’m not comfortable yet with its user interface.

The band:

  • Guitar: Bireli Lagrene
  • Bass: Hadrien Feraud
  • Drums: Nicolas Viccaro
  • Keyboards: Michael Lecoq
  • Saxophone: Franck Wolf
  • DJ: Frederic Angarny

Thanks to HMK for the hint BTW.

Ausser Dienst

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I just finished reading the latest book of Helmut Schmidt, “Ausser Dienst”. It’s an autobiography, and due to his age and (political) experience, he has a lot of things to tell about domestic and foreign policy, about economies and the challenges we will face in the near future.

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Salif Keïta – amen

I’m just listening to »amen« (1991) of Salif Keïta (who seems to be related to Aly Keïta). While Salif wrote all of the songs, Joe Zawinul (the guy with the “very short fuse“) produced, arranged and orchestrated all tunes. Zawinul mentioned the recording in one of his interviews (german language) as a “must have”.

It’s a very colourful disk, uniting various styles of traditional music. Besides others, you might find caribbean, french and even greek elements, while the sound remains 100% Zawinul. I already knew »Yele n Na« and »Waraya« as played by the Zawinul Syndicate. The latter one was played at a lower beat than on My People (1996) and is an excellent take. I didn’t know any of the other tunes, but immediately liked »Tono« and »Lony«.

The recording gets spiced up by guest musicians like Carlos Santana, Wayne Shorter and Bill Summers. If you are looking for a disk of “world music” at prime quality, choose this one.

Auschwitz-Birkenau Panorama

Here’s a panorama picture I took in Auschwitz-Birkenau. It’s far from being perfect, as I only used the automatisms of Hugin without further interaction or editing. The camera position was approximately here, with camera movement from east over south to west (left to right):

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I took the images in auto mode, thus the variant exposures. I should have used the stitch assistant instead.

Anus Mundi

If you remember a little latin, you might know what »Anus Mundi« means (a vulgar german translation would read as »Arsch der Welt«). Still under the impression of my recent visit to O?wi?cim, Poland, I wanted to get a bit of a clue what life was like in those infamous german concentration camps.

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Concentration Camp Auschwitz-Birkenau (Auschwitz II)

The Birkenau extermination camp (aka Auschwitz II) was built a couple of months later than Auschwitz I. Both are sited in the delta between the rivers So?a and Wis?a. The area is completely flat. An information board provides details about the camp’s site (sorry for the snow flakes). The planned area on the right hand side was never completed, due to the end of the second world war:

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Concentration Camp Auschwitz I

On the first day of my stay in O?wi?cim, I visited the concentration camp Auschwitz I. Though it is wee small compared to the later built mass termination camp in Auschwitz-Birkenau, the main camp remained the administrative center of all Auschwitz camps for the five years the Auschwitz camps existed.

To get into the camp just cross the main entrance building. After a few meters, there’s the zynical »Arbeit macht frei« (»labour liberates«) gate to the camp’s entrance on the right hand side:

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