Chamber music with organ? Yes, that's possible.
Chamber music with an organ? That sounds like a contradiction, after all, a chamber is generally thought to be so small that at most a hand organ, a rotary organ or a mouth organ will fit inside. Keyword: broom cupboard, storeroom, attic, junk room. And even if we point out that the term chamber music was once coined in contrast to church music and that the chamber referred to princely chambers, which were undoubtedly not ungenerous, the paradox is not resolved: For in the field of tension between the secular and the spiritual, the organ clearly belonged in the church.
And yet, chamber music with organ does exist. Our focus artist Iveta Apkalna has put together some examples for her next programme: Organ with flute, organ with cello, organ with small ensemble ... For her, it will not be about roaring and thundering, not about tonal splendour and overpowering, not about the state appearance of the "queen of instruments". It will be about using the possibilities of the organ in such a targeted and restrained way that a dialogue with instruments that could be hidden dozens or thousands of times inside it becomes possible.
Incidentally, three of the works are from Latvia, like the organist herself. Maija Einfelde, Pēteris Vasks and Ēriks Ešenvalds wrote them. And yes, you will hear that in addition to an organ, the Baltic expanse can also fit into a chamber.
Translated with DeepL.com
