Topic: Xenakis's Xen

[CRCulver]

The new Legende d’eer on the same label is also worth exploring I think.

This is not a surround-sound release of this very spatialized work, so what is the point of this when a fine stereo-only recording was already released on Naïve? I wish someone would do a Bluray release, that would be worth getting. The Mode DVD, like all of their surround-sound releases, has a relatively low-quality codec and one would wish for lossless sound.

[Mandryka]

This is not a surround-sound release of this very spatialized work, so what is the point of this when a fine stereo-only recording was already released on Naïve? I wish someone would do a Bluray release, that would be worth getting. The Mode DVD, like all of their surround-sound releases, has a relatively low-quality codec and one would wish for lossless sound.

The point is as follows:

this now is a new version, using the 8-track-version that XENAKIS himself presented at Darmstädter Ferienkurse in august 1978. As the automatic spatialization is lost, this became the only original version of this composition and is presented here (mixed down to stereo by MARTIN WURMNEST who tried to preserve the spatial movements as perceptible as possible – mastered by RASHAD BECKER at D&M) for the very first time.

Re specialisation, people tell me that new ideas about binaural mastering are better at capturing the feeling of sound coming from several places than regular stereo through room speakers. That’s the way to go I think. Richard Barrett has been working on this.

I get the impression that a lot less is known about Xenakis’s mixing, there’s a lot of scope for new ideas about how to mix the master tapes.

[CRCulver]

Re specialisation, people tell me that new ideas about binaural mastering are better at capturing the feeling of sound coming from several places than regular stereo through room speakers. That’s the way to go I think. Richard Barrett has been working on this.

Binaural masterings assume that one is sitting precisely between two stereo sources. However, originally La légende d'Eer was presented in a venue where people could walk around, move closer to some sound sources than others. A 5.0 release would better that.

Thanks for the blurb about what makes this new release distinctive.

[Brewski]

From Feb. 2-10, Musica nova Helsinki is doing some Xenakis, livestreamed at the link below. Also music from Simon Steen-Andersen and Lisa Streich, the festival's composers-in-residence.

https://musicanova.fi/en/

--Bruce

[Mandryka]

Formalized Music

https://uberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Xenakis_Iannis_Formalized_Music_Thought_and_Mathematics_in_Composition.compressed.pdf

[T. D.]

Formalized Music

https://uberty.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Xenakis_Iannis_Formalized_Music_Thought_and_Mathematics_in_Composition.compressed.pdf

Thanks. I have a background in math and statistics/probability, so this is interesting reading.
Years ago, I saw a snippet of FORTRAN code that implemented one of Xenakis's ideas. It found it really simplistic, just a Gaussian random walk. The booklet you linked to furnishes background and treats more topics.

[Mandryka]

Thanks. I have a background in math and statistics/probability, so this is interesting reading.
Years ago, I saw a snippet of FORTRAN code that implemented one of Xenakis's ideas. It found it really simplistic, just a Gaussian random walk. The booklet you linked to furnishes background and treats more topics.

The thing which caught my attention wasn't so much the maths but the account of the development of music at the start -- his discussion of serialism and polyphony. Really there's a lot in common between Xenakis and Ligeti.

[Symphonic Addict]

Jonchaies has to be one of the most hair-rising, coruscating, thrilling as hell and virtuosic orchestral pieces ever written. F*ck! A rollercoaster of a work!!

Are there any works similar like this in his output?

[Mirror Image]

Jonchaies has to be one of the most hair-rising, coruscating, thrilling as hell and virtuosic orchestral pieces ever written. F*ck! A rollercoaster of a work!!

Are there any works similar like this in his output?

You might want to give Hiketides a listen. It’s not a non-stop rollercoaster ride, but it does show a different side of the composer towards the end of the work when there is some poignant lyricism brought to the fore. I think you’ll dig it:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Lx1rbo8wI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r4Lx1rbo8wI</a>

[Symphonic Addict]

You might want to give Hiketides a listen. It’s not a non-stop rollercoaster ride, but it does show a different side of the composer towards the end of the work when there is some poignant lyricism brought to the fore. I think you’ll dig it:

<a href="https://www.youtube.com/v/r4Lx1rbo8wI" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer" class="bbc_link bbc_flash_disabled new_win">https://www.youtube.com/v/r4Lx1rbo8wI</a>

Thank you, John. I'm kind of eager to listen to more of his works. His style may be absolutely visceral and dissonant at times, but there is also an important element about creativity and how handling textures. A fascinating figure of the 20th century.

[Mirror Image]

Thank you, John. I'm kind of eager to listen to more of his works. His style may be absolutely visceral and dissonant at times, but there is also an important element about creativity and how handling textures. A fascinating figure of the 20th century.

You’re welcome. I was lucky to have bought a good bit of Xenakis for a several years for good prices and I’ve been thrilled with a lot of what I’ve heard so far. It’s rather interesting that he was one of Messiaen’s students.

[Brewski]

Thank you, John. I'm kind of eager to listen to more of his works. His style may be absolutely visceral and dissonant at times, but there is also an important element about creativity and how handling textures. A fascinating figure of the 20th century.

Of his four string quartets (all interesting), I'm most attracted to Tetras (1983). Here are two versions, one by the JACK Quartet, who have recorded all four and performed them widely, and a second by the Arditti Quartet, from their Gramavision recording, synced with the score (if you like following along).

JACK Quartet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCVx_XwRaRU

Arditti Quartet
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLdMRvHa480

--Bruce

[Brewski]

Meanwhile, a nice overview of the composer from Liam Cagney in The Spectator.

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-genius-of-Iannis-xenakis

--Bruce

[Brewski]

This Sunday at 2:00pm (EDT), the Philadelphia-based organization Bowerbird presents an online talk by Daniel Teige on his recent Xenakis research, followed by a screening of the documentary Persépolis (1971, 54 mins., dir. Pierre Andrégui). Registration is required, pay what you wish.

https://www.bowerbird.org/event/xenakis-persepolis/

--Bruce