Chair Organ Studies / Orgelpark
The Chair Organ Studies at VU University was established in 1987. University Organist and Bach expert Ewald Kooiman held the chair as an extraordinary professor until he passed away in January 2009. In May 2010 Foundation Het Orgelpark (www.orgelpark.nl) established the chair anew.
The mission of the Orgelpark is to integrate the organ in musical life by presenting it in new ways. Hans Fidom, also leader of the Orgelpark Research Program, holds the chair Organ Studies since 1 May 2010.
In 2019, the status of the chair changed: it now is an ordinary one, sponsored by Foundation Het Orgelpark.
The Orgelpark functions as the chair's laboratory.
- Orgelpark Amsterdam | Concert Venue & Research Institute
- Gerard Brandtstraat 26 | NL-1054 JK | Amsterdam | The Netherlands
- Phone: +31 6 537 14 735
- Mail: j.fidom@vu.nl
Focus
Organ Studies focuses on the transition the organ is currently going through: after having functioned in church for centuries, it is reinventing itself as an inclusive instrument, affording a multitude of musicking strategies.
Pivotal to this international development is the evolution of so-called hyperorgans: pipe organs that represent benchmark historical sound concepts made accessible in ways never possible before by the integration of digital technologies.
The Utopa Baroque Organ the Orgelpark conceived (the instrument was inaugurated on 21 March 2018) is such a hyperorgan. It reflects the perspectivism Rosi Braidotti introduced to understand and approach the times we live in, as it invites, affords and enthuses musickers from any background to revisit, explore, and enrich their artistic practices.
The transition opens new research horizons, more often than not begging challenging interrelations of academic and artistic research. Yet all activities of the chair remain tightly connected: they invariably focus on sound, the material musicians make their music with.
See the website for more information: organstudies.com.
Research
In line with its focus, Organ Studies resorts in the fields of Sound Studies, Philosophy, and Heritage Studies, yet obviously is also strongly rooted in those of Musicology and Organology, Art Studies, History, and Science and Technology Studies.
The main themes are Musicking (score-based, non-score-based, listening, recording, composition, history), Organ Building (historical and new sound concepts, technologies, architecture and design, Heritage (Sound Heritage, historical integrations of technology, architecture, design, and sound), and, not least, Philosophy (what is it to make music, what to listen to music, what to give musickers sound material by building and restoring organs).
A major strand in the chair's research portfolio follows from the latter, in that it offers theoretical and practical support to organ project owners, provided they identify the sound qualities of the instruments involved as the crux of their endeavors. Feel free to contact the chair for more information.
The chair furthermore supports the network fostering 21st century organ art related acticivities with the International Orgelpark Symposium. Topics addressed include the chair's research projects on Improvisation (2008-2011), Medieval Organ Art (2012-2017), Digital Organ Technology (2014-2020), Interaction and Mediation between Technology and Listening/Making Music (2013-), The Art of Voicing (2017-), Organcore (2024-).
The results of the projects are published in the e-book series Orgelpark Research Reports. Like the hyperorgan, they combine respecting history and embracing new technology: the Reports are books, in that reading them is a linear process, yet they contain many music examples and short movies. The reason is obvious: texts about music can only communicate academic aspects, whereas the artistic in music is what its all about. The Reports are available for free at www.orgelpark.nl.
Education
Honours Course > Music: Listening & Philosophy
6 ECTS. English spoken. Lectures, workshops. Open for any honours student interested in music. Training in listening to music and in thinking about listening as a musical activity. Getting acquainted with the problems challenging music makers and listeners, as well as with composers, musicians and philosophers. Overview of the history of music philosophies. Discussing concepts such as Authenticity, Quality and Meaning. Guest lectures and workshops by international guest lecturers, including pop musicians.
Research Master/Master Seminar > Sound Heritage
6/9 ECTS. English spoken. Lectures, workshops, field work. Information here (Research Master) and here (Master). Sound Heritage explores what sounds and sound concepts have been approved in the past, and investigates under what conditions these might be considered heritage today. What does saving such concepts for future generations actually mean? Artistic activity (listening to sound in music) is a major element in this seminar, to be integrated in otherwise 'normal' academic research strategies.
Artistic Research > Organ in Situ
How to play hyperorgans, how to compose for them, what is their relevance for future organ art? Specifically designed for artistic students (Schools of Music, Arts Schools). Lectures and workshops by internationally acclaimed professionals. Tutors: Dr. Jacob Lekkerkerker, as well as the Sound Rebellion Collective.
Tutorials (academic and artistic)
6/9/12 ECTS. Available for university students as well as for conservatory and art school students. Subjects to be suggested by the student. They can be of primarily academic nature (examples: John Cage and the activity of sound / The Art of Recording Music), as well as primarily artistic oriented (examples: How to understand and apply historic sounds in new music / How to play Bach today).
Theses
Students who wish to focus on or just include organ music related research in their theses are welcome.
This option may be especially worthwhile for humanities and philosophy students, musicology students and conservatory students.
PhD's
Organ Studies offers the opportunity to engage in PhD-research. Themes should be organ (music) related.
PhD's projects succesfully completed so far:
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- Bert Mooiman / An improvisatory approach to nineteenth-century music / Leiden University / 2021 [promotor]
- Wim S. Ros / Fundamentum Organisandi / Het orgel in de 15e eeuw, architectuur en ontwerp / Universiteit van Amsterdam / 2019 [promotor]
- Klaas Hoek / Vormgeving van klank en dynamiek / Leuven University / 2019 [copromotor]
Themes currently under research include Putting an End to Teleology: New Narratives for Organ, New Dynamics in Organ Music, and The History of Keyboard Temperament in the 15th Century.
Curriculum vitae
Next to being Professor of Organ Studies at VU Amsterdam, Hans Fidom is leader of the Orgelpark Research Program.
Hans Fidom studied musicology at the University of Amsterdam and Organ Studies at VU Amsterdam. He completed his studies cum laude at the University of Groningen in 1993. In 2002 he took his doctoral degree at VU Amsterdam, with a dissertation on socio-musicological aspects of the German organ scene between 1880 and 1918.
Hans Fidom was an organ builder for a few years after graduation, in order to get hands-on experience in that field, and is – when he has the time – a performing organist since 1981. He was chief editor of the magazine Het Orgel from 1996 until 2006. In 1997 he co-initiated the National Improvisation Competition for Organists in Zwolle. He was member of the International Improvisation Competition Foundation Haarlem (2000-2007), co-founder and vice-president of the Gerard Bunk Gesellschaft, Dortmund (1995-2007), member of the board of the Walcker-Stiftung (2000-2010), and member of the board of the Royal Assocation for Music History of The Netherlands (2011-2017). He was vice-president of the Music Committee and member of the later Main Committee of the Art Council Groningen (advisory board of the local government of the city and province of Groningen). Furthermore, he was chief editor of the Encyclopedia 'Het historische orgel in Nederland'.
Both in Fidom's professional and his personal life, sound and listening to sound is a major theme. In the words of John Cage: 'I just l o v e the activity of sounds...'
