All dead. All immortal.

Misha Mengelberg

'Candlelight Music' (August 20, 1976) Martinikerk Groningen.

Performance/concert

On an electronic organ in the Martini Church in Groningen Misha used ropes and a candle to (not) control the sound and the duration of the piece. The ropes were attached to selected keys, holding them down; the candle in burning down would melt the ropes one after the other, resulting in releasing the keys. This process took about one hour.

A later rendition of this work, at STEIM in Amsterdam on December 7 that same year, was called 'Organum Candelabrum'. On November 20, 2006 Luc Houtkamp's POW Ensemble re-enacted the piece for the Gaudeamus Live Electronics Festival in Bimhuis Amsterdam.

Photo: Anko C. Wieringa

The original performance was part of a festival called '5 Performances', organized by Corps de Garde in the first year of its existence. The other artists on the program were: Ben d'Armagnac. Barbara Bloom, Gerrit Dekker and Tony Morgan.