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Victor Solo

Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive

1975 00:32:05 United StatesEnglishB&WMono4:3Video
Tags:
Image Processing, Music, The Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive

Description

Showcasing a solo organ recital, Victor Solo features seven sets of organ works. A narrator, possibly the organ player, announces work titles before each set. The video then displays superimposed views of the organist and the interior of the cathedral. Each set features a different angle of the organist and the architecture. Fitting to the tranquil chorale and preludes, the video artist gives minimal treatment with image processing. 

Except for the last set by Olivier Messiaen, which features more dissonance and adventurous harmony, the camera actively zooms in and out, contrary to the static presentation in the preceding sets, alongside the image processor’s solarizing function.

The organist plays the following compositions: Johann Sebastian Bach’s Prelude and Fugue in E Minor and Fantasia C Minor, BWV 562 (ca. 1730), Ernst Pepping’s “Es kommt ein Schiff, geladen” and “Sonne der Gerechtigkeit” from Kleines Orgelbuch (pub. 1941), Helmut Walcha’s “Den die Hirten lobten sehre” from Choralvorspiele (pub. 1954), Francois Couperin’s “Dialogue sur les grands jeux” from Messe pour les Paroisses (1690), Johannes Brahms’ “Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen” from Elf Choralvorspiele op. posth. 122 (Eleven Chorale Preludes) (1896), and Olivier Messiaen’s Apparition de l'église éternelle (Apparition of the eternal church) (1932).

–Gordon Dic-Lun Fung

For more information, visit the Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive page. 

The date for this title is approximate.

The Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive (PMMRA) is an archive of early video and media art created and collected by artist and School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) instructor Phil Morton and his students and collaborators. The collection includes nearly 800 videos, a large portion of which documents the emergence of experimental video and media art education in Chicago during the 1970s. During his time at SAIC, Morton developed an anti-copyright approach called COPY-IT-RIGHT, which advocated that media art should be shared widely and be freely available. In honor of this ethos, all PMMRA titles on Video Data Bank’s website are available to watch for free. Visit a title's artwork page to view the video in full. 

For more information and to access the full list of available titles related to PMMRA, visit the Phil Morton Memorial Research Archive Collection page. 

The titles listed on this page are videos collected and produced by Morton's collaborators and students, titles for which Morton may have had an ancillary role. Visit Phil Morton's artist page for a list of titles produced by Morton.