Out of stock
5 CD box
Iannis XENAKIS
“Electroacoustic Works”
2024 repress
The 5 CD box set „Electroacoustic Works“ celebrates the 100th anniversary of IANNIS XENAKIS (on May 29th, 2022), one of the most influential 20th century avantgarde composers. All tracks have been newly mixed by longtime zeitkratzer sound engineer MARTIN WURMNEST and mastered by RASHAD BECKER and finally reveal their full sonic range and dynamics. Booklet with English / German liner notes by REINHOLD FRIEDL (zeitkratzer) and rare photos from the Xenakis archive.
IANNIS XENAKIS (1922-2001) is one of the most important composers of the 20th century avantgarde whose influence on music can be traced to the present day – not only in the world of conservatory-trained composers but also in various streams of current non-academic underground aesthetics such as experimental electronic music, noise and industrial.
After he arrived in Paris in 1947, XENAKIS not only studied composition with MESSIAEN and later became a member of the famous GRM (Groupe de recherches musicales), he also worked as assistant to the famous architect LE CORBUSIER and realized a.o. the Philips Pavilion for the World Exhibition in Brussels 1958. His compositions often are based on mathematical principles which give his music an unprecedented aesthetic and “shocking otherness” (The Guardian).
Although XENAKIS also composed for orchestra (his most famous works are “Metastasis“, “Pithoprakta” and “Terretektorh”), electronic music became his way for exploring new ideas and concepts and to develop new techniques like a graphic interface for sound synthesis or later, when computers were easier accessible, his so-called "stochastic synthesis" (Gendy 3, S.709 > Disc V, Late Works).
XENAKIS’ first electroacoustic pieces (Disc I) like “Diamorphoses” or “Bohor” turned out groundbreaking works while the latter even caused, as MICHEL CHION put it, the “greatest scandal of electroacoustic music” on the occasion of its performance 1968 at the GRM in Paris.
His so-called „Polytopes“ (Discs II - IV) were overwhelming multimedia performances with especially designed architectures, laser and light shows etc. where sometimes up to several hundred loudspeakers were used to move the sounds in space. For example his most famous composition “Persepolis”, commissioned by the Persian Shah, premiered in 1971 in Shiraz-Persepolis (Iran) as a performance including light-tracks, laser beams, groups of children walking around with torches and 59 loudspeakers to project the music in an open-air situation.
The most radical aspects of sound can be found in Xenakis' late work and its merciless reduction to harsh, almost ruthless sound synthesis. In the early nineties, he devoted himself to the concept of a composing machine: a machine that designs everything independently and calculates the finished piece, the algorithm is the work.
For the first time, the complete electroacoustic works of XENAKIS are now available on record – the truly overdue testimony and legacy of a restless investigator and explorer of sound. Years of source studies and comparative research by zeitkratzer director REINHOLD FRIEDL, in collaboration with sound engineer MARTIN WURMNEST, made these critically reflected stereo mixes possible, which were appropriately mastered by RASHAD BECKER and which, in addition to the aspect of fidelity to the source, put the listener in the center. Xenakis' adventurous music can now finally be enjoyed in its full sonic range and dynamic.
To quote The Wire’s review from May 2018:
“This is the definitive Persepolis“
45,00€
In stock
LP
Iannis XENAKIS
“Taurhiphanie / Voyage Absolu Des Unari Vers Andromède / Gendy 3 / S.709”
A1/ Taurhiphanie (1988)
A2/ Voyage Absolu Des Unari Vers Andromède (1989)
B1/ Gendy 3 (1991)
B2/ S.709 (1992)
20,50€
In stock
LP
Iannis XENAKIS
“Hibiki Hana-Ma / Mycenae Alpha / Polytope de Cluny”
A1/ Hibiki Hana-Ma (1962)
A2/ Mycenae Alpha (1696)
B/ Polytope De Cluny (1978)
20,50€
In stock
LP
Iannis XENAKIS
“Diamorphoses / Concret PH / Orient Occident / Bohor”
A1/ Diamorphoses (1957)
A2/ Concret PH (1958)
A3/ Orient Occident (1961)
B/ Bohor (1962)
20,50€
In stock
LP
Iannis XENAKIS
“Persepolis”
2022 repress.
After “La Légende d’Eer” in 2016, the Perihel series presents one of the milestones of electroacoustic music: Iannis Xenakis’ mindblowing 54-minutes oeuvre “Persepolis”, mixed from the original 8 track tapes by Martin Wurmnest and mastered / cut by Rashad Becker.
“Persepolis” is the longest electroacoustic composition by Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) who ranks among the most influential 20th century avantgarde composers. Commissioned by the Persian Shah, the piece was part of a multimedia performance – Xenakis’ so-called “polytopes” – which premiered in 1971 in Shiraz-Persepolis (Iran) as a performance including light-tracks, laser beams, groups of children walking around with torches and 59 loudspeakers to project the music in an open-air situation.
Xenakis had realized “Persepolis” on 8-track analogue tape in the Studio Acusti in Paris and released a stereo reduction on vinyl in the famous Philips series “Prospective 21e Siècle” in 1972, adding the new subtitle “We bear the light of the earth”, his most hymnal title ever.
Out of print for decades now, the LP became – especially the Japanese edition from 1974 – one of the most expensive collector’s item of electroacoustic music. There were some later CD versions with different durations – too long due to a wrong sample rate, others shortened by 3 minutes due to other reasons. The Perihel series now presents a new version: mixed from the original (!) master 8 track tapes by longtime zeitkratzer sound engineer Martin Wurmnest and mastered by Rashad Becker at D&M, Berlin – the same experts who had already taken care of the 2016 KarlRecords release of “La Légende d’Eer”, another milestone composition among the works of the Greek-French avant-garde composer.
20,50€
In stock
LP
Iannis XENAKIS
“La légende d’Eer”
2022 repress.
180gr LP incl. 4c insert + download code, 1000 items.
Release
2 in the Perihel series is one of the most famous electroacoustic compositions by Iannis Xenakis. Mixed by Martin Wurmnest, mastered & cut by Rashad Becker, “La Légende d’Eer” is available as vinyl (180gr, DL code, insert with liner notes by Reinhold Friedl) and download for the very first time.
When Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001), who had fought against the occupation as part of the communist Resistance, moved to Paris in 1947 it was the start of a highly creative and impressive career. Xenakis not only studied composition with Messiaen and became one of the most innovative composers of the 20th century, he also worked as assistant to Le Corbuser and realized a.o. the Philips Pavilion for the World Exhibition in Brussels 1958. His compositions often are based on mathematical principles (in 1966 he founded the CEMAMu - Centre d'Etudes de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales), which give his music an unprecedented aesthetic and “shocking otherness” (The Guardian). The most famous works of Xenakis, who won the Polar Music Prize (considered the unofficial Nobel Prize for music) in 1999, are his compositions for orchestra Metastasis, Pithoprakta and Terretektorh (where the 88 musicians are spread within the audience) and the electroacoustic compositions Persepolis (to be re-released later on as part of the Perihel series), Concret PH, Bohor and La Légende d’Eer where Xenakis integrated his stochastic synthesis sounds for the first time. As legendary as this piece itself is the impenetrable thicket of versions and stories around La Légende d’Eer - it exists in different releases, wrong sample rates, digitized backwards… 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. La Légende d’Eer not only became a milestone of electroacoustic music but is also an important reference for noise and industrial musicians up to the present day!
20,50€
Out of stock
LP
Iannis XENAKIS
“GRM Works 1957-1962”
Concret PH (1958)
Brussels World Fair, 1958 : The industrialist Philips commissioned Le Corbusier's famous "Philips Pavilion": "I'll create an electronic poem for you, he said. Everything will happen inside: sound, light, colour and rhythm." Iannis Xenakis designed the architectural blueprint and composed "Concret PH", meant to psychologically prepare the public to the show created inside, accompanied by a musical piece by Varese.
The 400 speakers that lined the inner shell were meant to fill the space through the sound sparkles of "Concret PH" and achieve a joint emanation of architecture and music, conceived as a whole: the roughness of the concrete and its internal friction coefficient found an echo in the timbre of the sparkles.
Orient-Occident (1960)
The work was originally composed for a film by Enrico Fulchignoni for UNESCO. The film describes a visit to the museum suggesting to compare artefacts produced by various cultures and highlighting their interaction that dates back to the most ancient times.
From an abstract point of view, the composer regards this work as a solution to the problem of finding highly diversified means of transition, meant to link a type of material to another. One indeed witnesses a varied gradation of mutations, interplays, overlaps, cross-fading, sudden shifts and hidden junction points.
Diamorphoses (1957-58)
Continuity and discontinuity within evolution, here are two aspects of the being, whether in opposition or in communion. In "Diamorphoses" this antithesis was worked on in the sections of some sounds strongly opposed to others, and particularly in organisations of continuous variations of average or "statistical" heights.
Bohor (1962)
Bohor (referring to Bors the Younger, Lancelot's cousin), is a character from the medieval cycle of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. “Bohor” is dedicated to Pierre Schaeffer. The author deliberately abstained from giving and descriptive information on his piece, letting the listener choose an imaginary route for himself. For this release, we have chosen the 1968 version, revised by Iannis Xenakis himself and as yet not made available to the public.
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Even though Iannis Xenakis never made "musique concrète" in the sense given by Pierre Schaeffer, the GRM was a locus for experimenting with his ideas about sound and sound structures. The works, composed between 1958 and 1962, show a boldness as advanced as in his orchestral approach.
The relationship between Xenakis and Schaeffer was often tense. It nevertheless entailed mutual recognition and respect towards each other's musical approach. Moreover, "Bohor" is dedicated to Schaeffer, as evidenced by the letter Xenakis sent him on October 8th, 1968: "Dear Pierre, I have decided to dedicate Bohor to you, out of friendship and gratitude for your contribution to music. I hope you are pleased with this." Schaeffer found the piece disproportionate in terms of intensity but was indeed pleased by the dedication.
The four pieces presented here, all produced at the GRM, undoubtedly demonstrate the experimental intent and the strictly "physical" character of Xenakis' music, in that it provides the audience with a listening experience of a rare intensity.
(François Bonnet & Christian Zanési)
18,00€
In stock
CD
Iannis XENAKIS
“La légende d’Eer”
“Crucial reissue of the most important, sonically devastating Xenakis electronic work (previously issued by the now defunct Montaigne label). "New stereo mix from the original master tape. La légende d’Eer is a powerful 7-channel electroacoustic composition which Xenakis created in 1977-78 to be played in ’Le Diatope,’ a curvaceous architectural construction designed by the composer, together with a visual component including laser lights. This ’multi-media’ work was composed for the opening of the Centre Georges Pompidou in Paris, where it was performed for three months and seen by thousands of people. The sound materials of a La légende d’Eer stem from three sources: instrumental sounds, noises, and electronically generated sounds. The work suggests an initial departure, a journey, and a final return. Xenakis surrounds the work with a compilation of five texts, reflecting or reacting upon each other across the distances in time, space, and culture which separate them. This new stereo mix was created by Gerard Pape -- director of Xenakis’ CCMIX studio in Paris -- from the original analog master tape. The analog master was transferred at high-resolution 96khz/24-bit sound for the optimum quality, revealing details not heard in the previous stereo CD release." Richard Scott’s review in The Wire hardly exaggerates: "It is difficult to think of another contemporary composition which carries the sheer force of ’The Legend of Eer.’ It is a gigantic, awesome, staggering piece; certainly I haven’t heard anything to touch it with electronic music’s short, if dense, history.”
17,50€
Out of stock
2 CD
Iannis XENAKIS
Iannis Xenakis (1922 - 2001). Collection of historical recordings of essential works : “ST/48-1,240162” for 48 Instruments, 1959-62, “Le Polytope de Montreal” for four Orchestras, 1967, “Nomos Gamma” for large Orchestra scattered among the audience 98 Instruments, 1967-68, “Terretektorh” for large Orchestra scattered among the audience 88 Instruments, 1965-66, “Syrmos” for 18 Strings, 1959, “Achorripsis” for 21 Instruments, 1956-57, and two tape pieces for 8 speakers : “Persepolis” version, 1971, “Polytope de Cluny”, 1972.
25,00€
Out of stock
CD
Iannis XENAKIS
“Works with piano”
“Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) is among the most important composers of the twentieth century. A musician, architect, engineer, he conceived his music following other criteria than those stemming from the musical tradition. He was inspired not only by mathematics and sciences but also by architecture and philosophy. For these reasons it is difficult to place his original approaches within a musical tradition.” “Aki Takahashi (piano). “Eonta” (1963) for piano, 2 trumpets & 3 trombones. The Callithumpian Consort, Stephen Drury, conductor. “Morsima-Amorsima” (1962) for piano, violin, cello & double-bass. The Callithumpian Consort, Stephen Drury, conductor. “Akea” (1986), for piano and string quartet. The Jack Quartet. “Paille in the Wind” (1992), for piano and cello. Roham de Saram, cello. Program notes (English, German, French) by Benoît Gibson.” “Play loud”.
15,00€
In stock
CD
Iannis XENAKIS
“Electronic works 2”
NEW: Volume 2 in Mode’s Xenakis Electronic Works series. “Polytope de Cluny” (1972-74) for 8-channel tape. “Hibiki-hana-ma” (1969-70) for 8-channel tape. Mode continues it’s Xenakis Edition with the second volume dedicated to his electronic works, again restored from the best quality source materials. New high-resolution transfers were made of Polytope de Cluny from the original analog master tapes. Hibiki hana ma has been restored from the existing digital masters. Hibiki hana ma was created for Expo 1970 World’s Fair in Osaka, Japan, where it was experienced by thousands. It was designed to be played on a tape loop in a hall which boasted state-of-the-art acoustic equipment, with some 700 speakers scattered under the floor divided plus 128 surface and suspended speakers symmetrically distributed throughout the pavilion’s amphitheatre. Essays by Sharon Kanach and Makis Solomos.
17,50€