Xenakis, Iannis

[Joseph K]

It’s not ignoring things which cannot be said in well formed statements. It is saying that some well formed statements are contentful and some only appear to have content.

You’re begging the question when you say that it’s ignoring a fraction of reality - that’s exactly what the discussion turns on - the relation between thought and reality.

'Die Grenzen meiner Sprache sind die Grenzen meiner Welt' off the top of my head...

I think it's quite a limiting world-view, and doesn't take into account the nature of phenomenology and mystery of consciousness and indeed how these things relate to music and other arts. Not that I know that much about it - Mandryka may well correct me. But I do think music would be a dull thing if it didn't in some way transcend language.

[Bryn]

Sounding pretty good for its age. Did you see Nomos Gamma at the Proms a few years ago (improbably coupled with Shostakovich 9)?

Regrettably, no. I was unable to get away from work for it. I also have the Tamayo recording on Mode (such a pity that Brian Brant was unable to fund the promised Blu-ray), but it's good to hear these earlier performances under Bruck in such fine transfers.

[Mandryka]

Two more late Xenakis pieces for me this evening. Kuilenn, an ensemble piece, piercing dissonances - it seems OK, at least worth a listen, though don’t expect warm and fuzzy comfort music. It’s on YouTube here

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqeGvl3dIrk

And then, eureka, something which I think is pretty special actually, a totally crazy piece of music, mad, surreal and almost funny in a Spike Milligan way. I want more Xenakis like this. Oh - forgot to say what it is - it’s called S.709. You’ve got to listen to this one!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmi2EVb7kQU

[Joseph K]

Two more late Xenakis pieces for me this evening. Kuilenn, an ensemble piece, piercing dissonances - it seems OK, at least worth a listen, though don’t expect warm and fuzzy comfort music.

Piercing dissonances... Don't expect warm and fuzzy comfort music... these things apply to much if not most of IX's oeuvre, wouldn't you say?

And then, eureka, something which I think is pretty special actually, a totally crazy piece of music, mad, surreal and almost funny in a Spike Milligan way. I want more Xenakis like this. Oh - forgot to say what it is - it’s called S.709. You’ve got to listen to this one!

My reaction was similar to yours. See #361 on the Electronic Music thread.

[Mandryka]

Yes, except I thought there was something particularly glacial about Kuillen, I don’t mean that as a negative thing, on the contrary.


I also listened last night to another late piece, Voyage absolu des Unari vers Andromède

[Mandryka]

Well I was so impressed by S.709 that I decided to do some surfing. This

https://sites.google.com/site/ivanpenov/xenakis%27s.709#sdfootnote8sym

led me to this (which you can access through jstr)

https://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-abstract/26/1/16/93720/Iannis-Xenakis-and-the-Real-of-Musical-Composition?redirectedFrom=PDF

And to the extraordinary Gendy3

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5qS5lqbx9H0

[Joseph K]

Well I was so impressed by S.709 that I decided to do some surfing. This

https://sites.google.com/site/ivanpenov/xenakis%27s.709#sdfootnote8sym

led me to this (which you can access through jstr)

https://direct.mit.edu/comj/article-abstract/26/1/16/93720/Iannis-Xenakis-and-the-Real-of-Musical-Composition?redirectedFrom=PDF

And to the extraordinary Gendy3

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=5qS5lqbx9H0

Gendy 3 certainly is extraordinary.

Here, incidentally, is the post I mentioned above from the Electronic Music thread:

Currently listening to Gendy 3 from the Xenakis box and really enjoying it. It's enjoyably portentous - I know that isn't a flattering word but it seems appropriate. This piece flirts with modality in certain parts, I think. It sort of reminds me in parts of listening to a piece written on and heard from Sibelius software. It's equal parts grotesque and surreal. Ok, so S.709 has come on and this piece is a lot of fun - certainly takes advantage of its medium with manic microtonal scales. There is humour of sorts in this and the previous piece. They're both brilliant. Well, that's that then. Xenakis may have had an ostensibly cerebral approach to composition but his ears are there every step of the way, often I hear things in his music that just scream out "phwoar, check out how great this chord/sound/texture is!" and truly revels in it.

Unfortunately I don't have access to JSTOR. Just out of curiosity, Mandryka, can you access JSTOR because you're an academic?

[Mandryka]

Gendy 3 certainly is extraordinary.

Here, incidentally, is the post I mentioned above from the Electronic Music thread:



Unfortunately I don't have access to JSTOR. Just out of curiosity, Mandryka, can you access JSTOR because you're an academic?

No, I'm no longer an academic, but you should be able to get this particular paper just by creating an account. Register and log in with google.

https://www.jstor.org/

[RichardB]

If anyone is interested: the "stochastic synthesis" algorithm used in Gendy3 and S.709 has been developed further by quite a few younger composers, like Sergio Luque - https://sergioluque.com/music.html - with more or less audible similarity to Xenakis's own results. In particular, Xenakis's version of the software involved straight-line segments between the stochastically mobile points calculated for each cycle of the waveform, which tends to produce a certain timbral sameness (as in Gendy3), whereas others have experimented with linking the points using sinusoidal and other functions. I would say that granular synthesis is a more promising approach in general, but this too originates with Xenakis, particularly in the Analogiques for string ensemble and electronic sounds of 1958.

[Bryn]

Strange goings-on with the Erato remastered releases. Both the following are shown as May 2022 issues:



Both issues contain the same recording of Atrées.

[Bryn]

I have mentioned previously that I would like to see a ballet production of Kraanerg. How I could have forgotten having downloaded just such a performance by the Sydney Dance Company, (Graeme Murphy, artistic director), conducted by Roger Woodward, I do not know, but I have just stumbled upon it while browsing through a hard disc. Turns out it's on Youtube. The definition, both audio and video, is less than wonderful but will have to do. Anyway, here it is, replete with mobile phone interference at the start:

[Joseph K]

Thanks for bringing this to our attention, Bryn - I'll watch it later.

[Mandryka]

According to Wikipedia, Metastaseis was originally the last movement three part work called Anastenaria. And according to someone I know, it sound particularly striking in that context because the preceding two movements are more conventional. Is there a recording of Procession aux eaux claires and Le sacrifice?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anastenaria_(Xenakis)

[RichardB]

Is there a recording of Procession aux eaux claires and Le sacrifice

Yes there is. https://www.col-legno.com/en/shop/20...is-anastenaria

[Mandryka]

Thanks Richard