Infinity Gradient

Description

From Bach to Brahms, from Mahler to Messiaen, every composer worthy of the name has written for the organ. So when James McVinnie asked Tristan Perich to write for the king of instruments, it was hardly surprising that this New York composer of contemporary classical music had already considered the possibility of combining his characteristic 1-bit electronic music with an instrument whose echo resonates through the centuries. Infinity Gradient is a one-hour symphony in seven movements for organ and 100 speakers, recorded for this album at the Royal Festival Hall of the Southbank Centre in London, where McVinnie was artist-in-residence throughout 2024. The 100 speakers are arranged on stage—a recurring element in Perich's work for over twenty years—this time with four giant subwoofers, 24 medium-sized speakers, and 72 small speakers, set against the backdrop of the imposing organ. The work is as visually striking as it is audibly. A remarkable and unprecedented work, Infinity Gradient is a duo between two musical instruments, designed millennia apart. Full of dynamism, it is a work of colors and contrasts that merge into a single, transcendent whole.