Éliane Radigue’s very first organ piece, Occam XXV, is to be released this March.
The work has its roots in a commission from the Organ Reframed festival, which enlisted Radigue to compose her first piece for organ for its 2018 edition. Radigue, who celebrates her 90th birthday later this month, worked closely on the piece with organist Frédéric Blondy at the Église Saint Merry in Paris before transferring it to London’s Union Chapel for the premiere. The recording that appears on this new release was performed by Blondy at a private session at Union Chapel on January 8, 2020.
Occam XXV is being released to inaugurate a new series of records featuring works exclusively commissioned by Organ Reframed, the organ-only festival which is curated by Scottish composer/performer and Union Chapel organ music director Claire M Singer.
Speaking in a statement about the event, Singer said: "The idea of Organ Reframed dates back to 2006 when I was commissioned to write my first organ piece. At the time I was mostly composing in the studio and was struck by the vast breadth of the instrument and how capable it was of creating timbres that were similar to what I was working with electronically. The lush acoustic quality of the sound resonating in the space was incredible and the sonic possibilities seemed endless."
Organ Reframed will release Occam XXV on March 4, 2022.
