Works » By Title » A » arghanum V [1990-I] Cue 2 (3:51 / 1990)

arghanum (Gk. organon), arabic name for the byzantine organ. according to Ibn Khurdädhbih, writing in the 9th c., it had bellows of skin and iron, and the word “arghanum” was interpreted as meaning 1000 voices.

arghanum V [1990-I] was written for Joseph Petric and was premiered during the Sound Symposium, in St. John’s, Newfoundland on July 4, 1990. the piece was commissioned with a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts.

the tape part was realised using sounds played by Mr. Petric on his accordion and composed at the SHELAN studios. the work also includes natural sounds sampled via an AKAI S900. Thanks to Serge Laforest for his help and for the Proteus sounds used in the small solo tape section.