2012
computer-controlled pipe organ or player piano, video
unlimited duration
Ascent was originally composed for the organ of Kunst-Station Sankt Peter in Cologne and video projection, using the computer interface of the organ to control its pipes. The visuals are computer-generated in real time and precisely synchronized to the musical sequence. The work can either be performed as a concert piece or as an installation.
Continuously varying colour gradients are linked to a tonal continuum consisting of chords or varying tonal patterns that constantly change their density and harmonic structure. These musical parameters, as well as the spatial structure of the colour gradients, are coordinated according to stringent algorithms. However, the path through the vast landscape of audiovisual combinatorics is not fixed. Musical and visual impressions are meant to reinforce each other – an attempt to unite maximum abstraction with utmost sensuality.
first performance: Cologne, November 16, 2012