Xenakis: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 [Import]

Daudin (Artist), Iannis Xenakis (Composer), Arturo Tamayo (Conductor), Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra (Orchestra), Spyros Sakkas (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Spyros Sakkas
• Orchestra: Luxembourg Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Arturo Tamayo
• Composer: Iannis Xenakis
• Audio CD (November 21, 2000)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Timpani
• ASIN: B0000521XC
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #541,375 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Aïs, for amplified baritone, solo percussion & orchestra

2. Tracées, for 94 musicians

3. Empreintes, for 85 musicians

4. Noomena, for 103 musicians

5. Roáï, for 90 musicians

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great beginning to a Xenakis orchestral cycle, July 22, 2001

By 

Dizaner (Perth, Western Australia) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Xenakis: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

Iannis Xenakis died in February this year (2001), and has left behind an enourmous amount of music (not all of it top-notch), much of which has so far never been recorded (and Xenakis isn't really a favourite for symphony programmers either) so this important new disc is most welcome.

It forms volume one of a Xenakis orchestral cycle, and it augurs well. Those new to Xenakis's orchestral work should still begin with the recent Col Legno release which contains the first [1955] and best (according to Xenakis) performance of the seminal "Metastasis". That disc is an essential part of anyone's Xenakis discography anyway and this, I think, will become one too.

Arturo Tamayo is an experienced conductor of new music (he studied under Boulez) and is also responible for the recording of Richard Barrett's outstanding orchestral work "Vanity" on the NMC label (anyone interested in Xenakis should also investigate this Barrett disc). Likewise the Luxembourg Philharmonic acquit themselves well, seeming relatively at ease with this difficult music, but never lacking passion or precision.

The first piece, "Ais", is a dramatic work for Baritone (singing a lot of falsetto), percussion, and orchestra. The texts (given in the booklet) are from the Iliad, Odyssey, and from a fragment of Sappho's poetry. It is disturbing and uncomfortable, but exhilirating nonetheless. The baritone Spyros Sakkas, a long time collaborator with Xenakis, is secure and definitive in this difficult music.

The other four works, all for largish orchestras, explore and interrogate the sound-world in Xenakian fashion. There is no real way or need for me to explain the works - they speak for themselves. The finest work here, though, is "Empreintes", which creates a truly awe-inspriring sonoric landscape filled with dense, microtonal string textures and brass interjections.

With more of Xenakis's orchestral work becoming available on CD we are able to get a clearer and more rounded picture of his music and development. Listen, for example, to the conclusion of "Empreintes" and the end of "Phlegra" (both written in 1975) to hear how Xenakis explores similar ideas in different ways and in different mediums.

The only let down is Nouritza Matossian's (English) liner notes. Like Paul Griffiths, she writes an excellent book, but vague, pointless and unhelpful liner notes. The French or German notes are by separate authors, and the French notes look good (though I am not at all fluent in French).

A Timpani catalogue on the back page informs us that Vol 2 (to be released in September 2001) will include "Synaphai", "Jonchaies", "Lichens" and "Shaar". So look out for that too. Hopefully there will be more volumes to come.

Xenakis's reputation as embodying the worst kind of arrogant, avant-garde extremism often strikes me as ridiculous, and I think often puts people off from hearing his music. To me he was and is an original, powerful and sincere voice of the late twentieth century, and we have yet to meet him on his own terms. This series from Timpani can help us achieve that.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Xenakis' Terrifying World, October 9, 2002

By 

Christopher Forbes "weirdears" (Brooklyn,, NY) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Xenakis: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

I have to agree with the other reviewers here...this is a welcome release indeed. Tamayo's account of these Xenakis works is firm and authoritative in a notoriously difficult repertoire. And the disc is devoted to lesser known works from the 70s and 80's, all of them revelations.

For me, the most impressive piece is Ais, for baritone, percussion and orchestra. This work is terrifying in it's intensity. The vocal line is almost incantory. Much is in falsetto or in a deep grunt. What amazes me most on this is the balance. On of the biggest complaints that has been raised legitimately against Xenakis is that he really doesn't know how to balance instrumental forces. Tamayo handles this extremely well, with the help of some brilliant engineering. The baritone falsetto is always audible, no matter how loud and agressive the percussion or brass interjections.

The rest of the disc is equally well played. Each work is fascinating. Xenakis had a genius for interesting texture and color in the orchestra, even if some of his basic balances are off. With music this original, you forgive some technical lapses, and in the hands of sensative musicians, the point becomes moot.

The second volume looks equally interesting. I am looking forward to picking it up soon.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars The first volume of a welcome series, May 29, 2009

By 

Christopher Culver - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Xenakis: Orchestral Works, Vol. 1 (Audio CD)

Timpani Records' series of discs collecting Iannis Xenakis' orchestral works is one of the major triumphs of contemporary music, and it's a pity that it remains fairly little-known. Xenakis produced a lot of works for orchestra. Not all are of the highest quality, and from this disc, for instance, anyone expecting sounds as mindblowing as "Metastasis" or "Jonchaies" may be disappointed. I'm also worried about the reliability of these performances, as so many of Xenakis' pieces are not playable even by super-virtuosi without some compromises made with the score. The Luxembourg Philharmonic isn't exactly known for its modernist prowess. Nonetheless, all of Xenakis' pieces do reflect a remarkable musical vision, mixing as they do modernist technique with philosophies out of Ancient Greece.

"Aïs" for baritone and orchestra (1980) has Spyros Sakkas singing falsetto glissandi above block-like orchestral textures, with an rhythmically infectious timpani line and bold brass. The atmosphere is ritual-like, and the whole production does seem to validate Xenakis' claim that he sought to continue concerns of Ancient Greece. It's appalling that Xenakis is often assumed to always be some kind of noisy modernist when a work like "Aïs" isn't far from the audience-friendly East-meets-West of Tan Dun. "Roai" for 90 players (1991) is a rather typical late Xenakis piece, when he had moved away from the variety of his mature career to a series of vertical blocks glacially moving in fairly mundane rhythms. Now, I'm often critical of these late works, but "Roai" and "Aïs" provide the most memorable listening on the disc. For all Xenakis' abandonment of a certain randomness, he nonetheless won for himself an elegance here that more than compensates.

The other works are much less impressive, though many moments are fine. "Tracees" for 94 players (1987) is a behemoth of glissandi strings with pointillistic brass, moving in slow tempo but nonetheless unrelentless in its energy. Though orchestral works are all too often bloated to twenty minutes to find their place in an evening programme, Xenakis ends "Tracees" after little more than five, not letting it diminish in impact. "Noomena" for 103 players (1974) is a multidimensional piece where orchestral sections all seem contained in their own little world, with strings (themselves divisi) never on the same page as woodwinds or brass. While Xenakis' explorations of the orchestra are initially interesting, in the end the piece is simply muddle. "Empreintes" for 85 players (1975) open withs a piercing brass unison that lasts for minutes, with some instruments joining in or fading out, playing sustained notes or staccatos. Then strings enter, weaving sweeping glissandi textures. Unfortunately, from there is looses energy for me and seems a retread of Varese's soundworld.

As not all the material ranks highly among 20th century modernist orchestral works, I'd recommend embarking on this series for dedicated fans of Iannis Xenakis. Those seeking an introduction to the composer might best start with a Col legno compilation of important works in respectable performances. Nonetheless, "Aïs" is considered a key piece in Xenakis' oeuvre, and the sheer variety of his output holds much interest for fans.