Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001)

[greg]

Interesting read, snyprrr!

[snyprrr]

I've got a few rare Xenakis cds on Ebay. Check it ut!

[snyprrr]

I just noticed we have as many "replies" as the Dvorak's Den Thread, but only half the "views". Hmmm...

[just Jeff]

Part of the 70s Decca Headline series.  Very nice sounding LPs from the "golden age."

[snyprrr]

Part of the 70s Decca Headline series.  Very nice sounding LPs from the "golden age."

That's on cd now, but not with that great cover!

[snyprrr]

Okho (1989)

This was my least favorite X piece, I guess for obvious reasons. I mean, since when did AvantGardeComposers start writing African music?

Well, since the '80s, at least!

Whether you believe, or not, that the djembe can make six distinct sounds, may be irrelevant. If played well, the piece displays Xenakian characteristics to a tee. All the different time lapse techniques that X loves are all on display here, thrust into bold relief by the sound of the instruments themselves. You hear flutterings, and pebbles rolling on the floor, and rain, and all sorts of things that can be defined by the interesting work "rhythm". In a way, the sheer African sound of the instruments trumps all, but, to be sure, the Xenakis personality can be discerned.

I just got Pedro Cameiro's survey of X's solo (ish) percussion pieces (Okho, Rebonds, Psappha), and, I gotta tell ya, it is probably the best set of recorded percussion sounds I've ever heard. As one reviewer put it, they have captured the ephemera of percussive sounds very well.

So, now I have, by default, three versions of Okho: Mode (Ensemble Music 2, not the Schick set), Disques Montaigne (Arditti's "From France"), and this one. That leaves the Schick/Mode set, the Percussion Group The Hague (Globe), the Talujon(?) group's album "Speed of Passing Time", and, and... I think that's it,...whew! Yet another Xenakis instant classic, I guess, huh?

Surprisingly, the dedicatees, the Trio le Circle (Montaigne), have the most opaquely recorded, and least interesting, performance, I think. Both of the other groups show interesting dynamic choices once the bass drum makes its first appearance, that they play with straight dynamics. And, there does seem to be an amount of struggle in spots.

The Mode recording by the ST-X Ensemble, as it turns out (I'm not a big fan of their main percussionist, McEwen), is an altogether more interesting affair, with a recording that helps play off of the spacial aspect of the three same sounding instruments.

The snippets from the Schick, Hague, and Talujon sets reveal very tight recordings, though it is fair nigh impossible to discern any stylistic differences.

The Cameiro recording, I think, has to be the best recording at least. The 3 djembes all have distinct "octaves", and spacial placement (though, close). The round robin aspect of the music comes of very well, and the stunning recording really captures,... the ephemera, haha,... very well!



I think that all this goes to show that when you have a music that seems as deceptively mundane as Okho, all elements can come together to reveal a piece in its best light. Whether Okho is a masterpiece outside of the medium (the Globe disc is for all Modernist djembe trios ) is,...uh,...mmm,....clear. Mm, eh,...maybe !

As far as this Cameiro recording goes, though, X's 3 pieces may not have yet gotten a so consistently beautiful presentation. The 3 pieces played in succession truly form a minor cycle. Great gift for your drummer teen!

[Sid]

Just got this yesterday & have listened to it three times.



An amazing journey. Reflecting the subject matter of the Legend of Er (from Plato's Republic) where a guy dies, goes into the underworld - for want of a better term - and then wakes up again. Like the ancient Greeks' concept of this other world, which was kind of a combination of heaven and hell, this music has brutality as well as beauty. The music builds up in layers, from very basic materials (if you only listen to the first five minutes, you might think that it's minimalist). There's also a strong structural/architectural element in this music, reflecting not only Xenakis background as an architect, but also the fact that it was written for the opening of the Georges Pompidou arts centre in Paris in the late '70's. It's just amazing music, and one of my springboards into electronica by other composers...

[petrarch]

I absolutely love La Légende d'Eer. It is one of those works that if I put it on I have to listen to it through.

IMHO that is the best recording of the piece (though I have the original Montaigne release with the "proper" cover). I have listened to it live, in a concert organized by Mode Records with sound projection by Gerard Pape; it was too loud and the sound projection was done very crudely (if you call pushing 8 faders back and forth producing a global tremolando effect across all channels sound projection), a huge disappointment when compared to the level of refinement in the Montaigne recording.

[snyprrr]

I absolutely love La Légende d'Eer. It is one of those works that if I put it on I have to listen to it through.

IMHO that is the best recording of the piece (though I have the original Montaigne release with the "proper" cover). I have listened to it live, in a concert organized by Mode Records with sound projection by Gerard Pape; it was too loud and the sound projection was done very crudely (if you call pushing 8 faders back and forth producing a global tremolando effect across all channels sound projection), a huge disappointment when compared to the level of refinement in the Montaigne recording.

Do you have the newer Mode/Pape cd? Differences? I, of course , sold my copy of the Montaigne for $1 (in the days before I knew about ebay ). And, it was available for $5 on amazon recently, but,...eventually I'm suuure...

I was just listening to Occident-Orient, basically a 10min. catalog of "ancient" sounding sounds, like a Webernesque Persepolis! My point is that even back then (1960?), X seemed to prefer very simple, yet extremely effective sounds: scraps, cicadas, the hollow rings of bells,... all like walking down the echoey corridors of time.

IF I HAD THREE (3) OTHER ELECTRO-ACOUS WORKS, BESIDES THESE THREE BY XENAKIS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? I'M THINKING LONGISH DIORAMA, PANORAMIC, ANCIENT-Y, blah blah,... opinions? My ears just won't put up with too much E/A, but, what is the cream of the cream of the cream? I AM, and kind of not, feigning ignorance,... but, is there a consensus?

[petrarch]

Do you have the newer Mode/Pape cd?

Yes, I bought the DVD at the concert. To be honest I don't think I ever listened to it, apart from watching the bonus documentary, so disappointed I was with the performance.

IF I HAD THREE (3) OTHER ELECTRO-ACOUS WORKS, BESIDES THESE THREE BY XENAKIS, WHAT WOULD THEY BE? I'M THINKING LONGISH DIORAMA, PANORAMIC, ANCIENT-Y, blah blah,... opinions? My ears just won't put up with too much E/A, but, what is the cream of the cream of the cream? I AM, and kind of not, feigning ignorance,... but, is there a consensus?

I doubt there is a consensus. As for me, I'm partial to Parmegiani (e.g. Pour en finir avec le pouvoir d'Orphée, Dedans-Dehors, Exercisme 3) and Dhomont (e.g. the massive Mouvances-Métaphores cycle). Some say Parmegiani's De Natura Sonorum is a must. But there is a lot out there that is worthwhile and very, very good.

[snyprrr]

I doubt there is a consensus. As for me, I'm partial to Parmegiani (e.g. Pour en finir avec le pouvoir d'Orphée, Dedans-Dehors, Exercisme 3) and Dhomont (e.g. the massive Mouvances-Métaphores cycle). Some say Parmegiani's De Natura Sonorum is a must. But there is a lot out there that is worthwhile and very, very good.

oh greeeat ,... two more names I've never heard, haha,... ok, "once more into the breach", haha,...

[snyprrr]

Well, I've done it this time.

I sent an email to ColLegno, seeing if they could get the rights to finally put Cendrees, Nekuia, & N'Shima on cd from the old Erato LPs.

And, I said I was head of so-and-so Xenakis Society! (am I not??)

Sooo,... I finally got a reply! Aaaand,... the guy took me seriously! He asked me if I've contacted Erato/Warner Classics, and really sounded interested in getting this stuff out (I mean, it IS right up their alley).



So, I give out a clarion call to any and all who would be interested in doing something here. I'm probably not the guy to be the point man here, so I'd really appreciate if their were some serious people out there. I'll do what I can. Maybe someone knows someone who works at Warners, or knows the correct email, or, whatever.

PM me for further details from ColLegno (names, emails).



C'mon kids! Let's put on a show!!!

[Bulldog]

Well, I've done it this time.

I sent an email to ColLegno, seeing if they could get the rights to finally put Cendrees, Nekuia, & N'Shima on cd from the old Erato LPs.

And, I said I was head of so-and-so Xenakis Society! (am I not??)

Sooo,... I finally got a reply! Aaaand,... the guy took me seriously! He asked me if I've contacted Erato/Warner Classics, and really sounded interested in getting this stuff out (I mean, it IS right up their alley).

You have a bad habit - changing the titles of threads you don't initiate.

[snyprrr]

You have a bad habit - changing the titles of threads you don't initiate.

Not a Thread,... just a Post!

[Bulldog]

Not a Thread,... just a Post!

Why do it at all?

[DavidW]

Snips all you are doing is making it confusing for those that see the recent posts on the front page.  Please don't change the thread title with your posts.

[snyprrr]

I am feeling Peace
I am feeling Peace
I am feeling Peace

[greg]

Lol, snyprrr, you're really making me laugh after reading your composition thread and then this. It feels like my migraine might be going away now.

[DavidW]

A friend is sending me a bunch of Xenakis, so I'm going to be in heaven soon.  Plus the cd I ordered just shipped today.

[just Jeff]

A total knockout piano record!