Tristan Perich & James McVinnie - Infinity Gradient

From Bach to Brahms, Mahler to Messiaen, any composer worth their salt has written for the pipe organ. And so when James McVinnie put the idea to Tristan Perich to write for the king of instruments, it was perhaps not a surprise that the New York contemporary-classical composer had already considered the possibilities of marrying his signature 1-bit electronic music with an instrument that has reverberated down the centuries.
 
Infinity Gradient is an hour-long symphony in seven movements for organ and 100 speakers in 1-bit audio, recorded for this album at London’s Royal Festival Hall at Southbank Centre, where McVinnie was artist-in-residence throughout 2024. The 100 speakers are set across the stage – a recurring element in Perich’s work for over two decades, this time featuring four giant subwoofers, 24 medium-sized speakers, and 72 small speakers – against the backdrop of RFH’s imposing organ; the piece is as visually striking to look at as it is to listen to.

A remarkable work with few precedents, Infinity Gradient is a duet between two musical instruments, millennia apart in conception. Shot through with dynamism, it is a work of colour and contrasts which coalesce into a unique, transcendent whole.