Orgelnatt (Organ Night) is my personal, experimental playground. It happens twice a year in Stavanger konserthus, sometimes elsewhere, it's different each time - apart from this basic condition: It's long.
So what is this about, basically?
For the audience, Orgelnatt is a long concert "where you can be sure to find at least one thing you don't like". In Stavanger konserthus we invited dance companies, folk musicians, collaborated with literature and video festivals, involved student milieus. Almost every time there are elements of vocals and electronics. At times we extended the event into the foyer and put up artist talks, pop-up performances or DJ's.
For me, Nils Henrik Asheim, it started in 2010 (before the konserthus epoch) when I was ready to transfer my experience with improvising musicians and cross-disciplinary work from the arena of Tou Scene (arts factory in Stavanger) to the church organ sphere.
I gathered some people with whom I had performed in duo: Frode Gjerstad, Paal Nilssen-Love, Elisabeth Vatn and Lasse Marhaug. We devised a programme of 2 hours alternating between duos and ensemble sessions and presented this in churches in Stavanger, Trondheim and Oslo.
Let's say this was the beginning, a first exploration of the format. Later on, Stavanger konserthus has been the arena, in addition to a couple of appearences in Bodø. The time should be ready for creating Organ Nights in many places! You hit me!
Here is the Dogma: The Pipe organ is at the center of the event, but it is also only a hub. Organ Night is not Organ Concert. It has to involve electronics, preferably also vocals, and it has to go on for a long time. It is a situation just as much as a concert.
Below are a few videos: