Xenakis: Échange/Okho/Xas/Akrata/A La M±moire De Witold Lutoslawski
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Performer: Mathew CashmanComposer: Iannis Xenakis
Conductor: Charles Zachary Bornstein
Conductor: Charles Zachary Bornsteinm
Performer: Six Ensemble Xanakis USA
Performer: Susan Cook
Performer: Shawn Tracy
Edition: Music CD
CD Release Date: 1996-11-19
Music Label: Mode
Soundtracks:
- Echange - Michael Lowenstern
- Okho - Pablo Rieppi
- Xas - Susan Cook
- Akrata - ST-X Ensemble
- A La Memoire De Witold Lutoslawski - ST-X Ensemble
Music reviews of Xenakis: Échange/Okho/Xas/Akrata/A La M±moire De Witold Lutoslawski
Music Review: Excellent Chamber Music from a Great Composer
Rating: 5 Stars
Xenakis was one of the great, late 20th century composers. His music, though rough and very forward in its substance, is nonetheless completely original. These chamber works are a case in point. They use widely varying and original ensembles and huge amounts of the musical language.
Echange utilizes an unusual solo instrument: the bass clarinet. However, this bass member of the woodwinds can create many interesting colors and timbres not usually associated with the bass range of instruments. The bass clarinet is called to use many special effects, including flutter tonguing and multiphonics. The piece uses the block chord writing that Xenakis uses in many of his works.
Okho seems to get the idea of traditional African djembe playing exactly right. I don't know how Xenakis managed that. He not only creates the polyrhythms found in African djembe music, but he also shows how that music needs incredible patience to listen to. Many pieces of djembe music can last for nearly an hour, and a previous reviewer showed how our culture does not have that kind of attention span.
Xas is my personal favorite on the CD. It is a saxophone quartet (and so aptly named), but the players have to be much more than your run-of-the-mill jazz club rats. The parts rise extremely high into the stratosphere, just to crash back down seconds later. Like all of Xenakis' music, it takes some listening to get used to the harmonies, but this piece ages very well. It is a schizophrenic rollercoaster ride that lets up only in brief intervals.
Akrata is the largest work on the disc, calling for 16 players: eight winds and eight brasses. Xenakis keeps the two groups separate, with the brass playing repeated staccato rhythms and the winds playing passages that are more legato. It is a much earlier work than all of the other works on the disc, coming from 1965. During the previous two decades, Xenakis had been working as an architect under Le Corbusier. He was composing in a mathematical vein, using equations as an inspiration for his work. One can hear these ideas very clearly in this work.
The final piece is a tribute to Witold Lutosławski. Scored for two trumpets and two horns, it hearkens back to Xenakis' earlier styles. It is very austere and severe, but it is brief. It is not quite as strong a work as some of the other selections, but is coherent and has some interesting parts.
The ST-X Ensemble under Charles Zachary Bornstein is just amazing. They work with Xenakis' extremely challenging scores and succeed brilliantly in performance. They were supervised by the composer himself, so these are guaranteed performances. These are great pieces and performances, and are well worth the price.
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