The Fourgan

a modified Eminent Solina P200 electronic organ
by Dennis de Bel

The organ, a typical solo instrument and besides numerous 'one man shows' mainly used as solo instrument to lead a choir. The Fourgan consists of a typical home 'practice' organ divided in four sections aligned in a square cross. This way, group performances up to eight people are possible. Inspired by the minimal piano piece "Piano Phase" by Steve Reich from 1967 and the four piano setup of Simeon ten Holt's "Canto Ostinato" I composed a simple piece, to be played by four randomly picked persons form the audience. Each player will play 4 assigned notes, together at the same time. The performance will be spread over four movements. Each movement consists of 44 keystrokes, the players have to count these. A movement is completed when all players have completed playing the 44 keys of each movement. By counting they will adjust their rhythm to a certain notion of time, the total time and outcome of each movement will differ from the other, creating an ever evolving performance.