American organist and composer Cameron Carpenter‘s International Touring Organ is a pipe organ without any pipes. It’s digital, a one-of-a-kind portable instrument that “contains samples from 34 great American pipe organs, including three organs from Cameron Carpenter’s childhood.” From AZ Central:
“Every note of every stop that you hear is an extremely long, complicated recording, using a number of microphones, of different parts in and around an organ pipe, which is then reassembled instantaneously and sent to the speaker when you press a key, depending on what you have selected,” Carpenter explains.
Those keys are played with both hands and feet. It was mostly designed by Carpenter and constructed by Marshall & Ogletree Organ Builders. More from SFJazz:
The ITO travels in 18 large road cases and is transported in a dedicated truck. Seven cases contain the modular organ console, three hold the computer and amplifier sections, and 10 cases are devoted to the extensive speaker system. Eight wheeled subwoofer units complete the speaker section and provide incredible low-end presence extending to 12Hz. The organ also contains an internal LED lighting system that can be wirelessly controlled by the venue lighting technician.
In the 2016 clip above, from Sony Classical Deutschland, Carpetner plays Johann Sebastian Bach‘s French Suite No. 5 in G Major, BWV 816 – Gigue.
Watch these pipe organ videos next:
• How The Met reassembled the Appleton Pipe Organ
• The Great Stalacpipe Organ deep in Luray Caverns
• The Wanamaker Organ, the world’s largest musical instrument
• Cardboard and paper organ 2.0
• Morske Orgulje, the Sea Organ in Zadar, Croatia
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