Topic: Rosslyn

[knight66]

The 15th Century Rosslyn Chapel near Edinburgh was used as the site of the Grail in the Da Vinci Code book and film. This follows on from the long term supposition that the Grail is indeed hidden there and there has been endless work done trying to find codes in the details of the conjested carving.



On the news this morning it has been suggested that the main archway with its cube decorations that contain symbols, taken together with certain figurative musician carvings of angles, produce a four part harmony piece of music.

They played a bit of this translation performed by a group of singers. It did not sound like a newly discovered masterpiece. However the blending of music as architecture and architecture as music very much appealed to me. We often use then as similes for one another.

Does anyone know of any other such examples?

Mike

[Maciek]

Iannis Xenakis was both an architect and a composer (and also a mathematician). Four years after writing his musical piece called Metastaseis he used mathematical formulas to translate the musical material into architecture, thus designing the Pavillon Philips in Brussels (he was working as assistant to Le Corbusier at that time).

Maciek

[knight66]

This is a photo of the temp exhibition building that Osa mentions above.

On the Murray Perahia thread there are two illustrations of buildings he has designed.

Rosslyn, some photos....





Mike

[Maciek]

Thanks for the pics, Mike!

I knew the Xenakis story for quite a while but until now I've never seen what the building actually looked like (great, if you ask me!).

That Rosslyn Chapel is amazing too!

[knight66]

Osa,

When I first visited Rosslyn over 20 years ago there was just our party of four in it. I went recently with my nephew who lives about three miles from it. My first signs of misgiving were that there was a long row of tour buses leading to it, then,a field had been converted into a car park, full....we did get out but apart from not being prepared to pay the now extortionate entry price, clearly there were hundreds of people crowding into the small building.

We satisfied ourselves with a walk down the wooded glen that is faced proudly by the east end of the chapel. A shame there are no photos on the net of that view, but clearly most do a hit and run visit. Next time I will take my camera.

Coward refers to the potency of cheap music, add trashy novels and films. In all probability no one will again be able to experience that building in tranquility.

Mike

[Cato]

The cathedral in Cologne offers a poster with an organ piece that resembles the outline of the Cologne cathedral: I have never heard it, but an acquaintance said it did not sound bad.

[Novi]

That's a pity about Rosslyn being tourist swamped these days . Still, may well have to give it at least a visit some day and try to sing the walls .

On a similar topic, I found this article interesting. Rather than incorporating music into the structural principles of the building, here, it appears that the building came first and the music is inspired by the space, although the architect himself also draws inspiration from his musical experiences:
 
http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/music/article1709978.ece

[knight66]

Interesting, thanks....I would think the connections between architecture and music is not as unusual as we might think. The links with mathematics are well established.

Mike

[lukeottevanger]

Iannis Xenakis was both an architect and a composer (and also a mathematician). Four years after writing his musical piece called Metastaseis he used mathematical formulas to translate the musical material into architecture, thus designing the Pavillon Philips in Brussels (he was working as assistant to Le Corbusier at that time).

Maciek

The unfortunate thing, somewhat spoiling the neatness of the story, is that the piece which was written for and played within this space was Varese's Poeme Electronique. Xenakis's contemporaneous music, such as Metastaseis, which Maciek mentions, would have been perfect, being composed and structured along completely analagous lines to the Pavillion itself.

Nouritza Matossian's book on Xenakis has a whole fascinating chapter on the politics behind the Pavillion - the struggles between Philips, Le Corbusier, Xenakis and Varese.