Dutch street organ promises barrel of fun at music event
ARARE street organ that’s been lovingly restored to its former glory will be a star attraction at a top music festival. New life has been breathed into the Dutch organ called Astrid by owner Francis Stapleton, from Bala, and it will be out and about on the streets of Bangor during the city’s two-day music festival.
The event, which takes place on Friday and Saturday, February 14 and 15, at Pontio in Bangor, will showcase Astrid’s talents as part of a collaboration between The Vale and Glamorgan Festival and Bangor Music Festival, led by Welsh composer David Roche.
The organ was originally built in 1957 in Rotterdam and has been painstakingly restored and modernised to expand her range and sound. Ten multiaward winning composers, including eight from Wales, were commissioned by the Vale of Glamorgan Festival to write short pieces for her in an exciting experiment and celebration of their artistry.
Astrid will be playing the new works during Saturday, February 15, first on Bangor
High Street and later at Pontio.
Guto Pryderi Puw, festival director and senior lecturer and head of composition at the School of Music and Media, Bangor University, said: “The organ will certainly create a buzz and that’s what we want to bring to the festival. The event is for people across the country to enjoy but also we’re trying to expand both our audiences and the nature of the music performed within it.
“I think it’s really interesting to see and hear the different approaches towards the organ from each composer. Some have gone down the traditional route, bordering on being a pastiche of the more traditional organ music.
“Others have experimented a bit more with a few delving into the mechanics of the organ and composed extremely complex music that would otherwise be impossible for a human being to play on a traditional organ.
“So, you will get a taste of what the instrument used to do and also what it can do today.”
Dutch street organs are equipped with multiple ranks of pipes and percussion and although smaller than fairground organs are capable of belting out an impressively loud sound.
Originally the organs played books of music - cardboard books full of holes which passed through key frames that read the music. However, many street organs, including Astrid, have been technologically modified to operate with a MIDI system which sees electromagnets opening the valves to produce the notes.
Visitors will have the opportunity to hear the creations of composers Mark David Boden, Graham Fitkin, Gareth Glyn, John Metcalf, Lynne Plowman, Steph Power, Guto Pryderi Puw, Claire Victoria Roberts, David Roche and Ben Wallace, who have all been involved in the project.
To find out more about the Bangor Music Festival or to order tickets visit the website: bangormusicfestival.org.uk