Organ Odyssey reveals inside of the pipe instrument
.jpg?w=728)
A concert guide live streams his experience inside the pipe organ while an organist performs on stage. / Courtesy of Lotte Concert Hall
By Yun Suh-young
Many of us have seen an organ and heard its sounds but not many of us really understand how it functions. What if a concert featured an organ performance with narration as well as a live streamed video tour on how the inside of an organ looks?
In Seoul, the Lotte Concert Hall is attempting to bring audiences closer to the unconventional instrument with a series of organ concerts, Organ Odyssey. The series is the most popular among its annual performances.
For this year, it renewed the existing Organ Odyssey and gave it three themes -- Organ in Baroque, Organ in Classics, and Organ in Romance. The consecutive series will feature music from the periods they are themed after.
During January and February, Organ in Baroque is offered. The Baroque period is when the largest amount of organ music was composed and the most number of organs were produced. It is known as the “Golden Age of Organ Music.” Performances will be held Jan. 28 and Feb. 25 at 11:30 a.m. The program includes Albright's "The King of Instruments," Grigny's "Recit de tierce en taille," J. Langlais' "Epilogue from Hommage a Frescobaldi -Pedal Solo," H. Purcell's "’Entree’, ‘Prelude et Ronde’ from Suite pour Trompette and Orgue," T. Albinoni's "Adagio in g minor" and Bach's "Toccata and Fugue in D minor."
From April to May, Organ in Classics will be offered on April 1, April 29, and May 13 at 11:30 a.m. The program is not yet disclosed. During July and August a "Summer Special" will take place and "Organ in Romance" will take over September and October. In December a "Christmas Special" is scheduled. Reflecting audiences’ requests for more performances on weekends, the concert hall increased Sunday performances.
A total of 11 Organ Odyssey concerts will be held this year including seasonal concerts scheduled for the summer vacation and the Christmas season.
Organ Odyssey is a specially curated performance where the audience can get closer to the pipe organ, an instrument usually distanced from the stage. During the performance, the organist will play the instrument on stage and add explanations to her pieces while a "concert guide" will go inside the pipes of the organ and live stream his experience on screen, to better explain to the audience how the instrument functions. The organ will be played by organist Ryu Ah-ra and the trumpeter Na Woong-joon will be the concert guide.
Depending on the dates, some performances will be collaborations with other instruments such as violin.
Ticket prices are 10,000 won and 20,000 won. All tickets come with free coffee in the lobby. For more information, call 1544-7744.