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Iannis Xenakis - Kraanerg

Iannis Xenakis - Kraanerg DVD
Iannis Xenakis


  (1922-2001)


  mode 196


DVD    96/24    


 Watch the trailer on YouTube












Mode Records - A Record Label Devoted to New Music Xenakis Edition Volume 8 - Kraanerg

Kraanerg (1968)   (77:18)
for 23 instruments and 4-channel tape

Callithumpian Consort
Stephen Drury, conductor


First recording with restored analog tape


"It is a wonderful piece of music, enthralling, and one that grips the mind and the heart...(it) is one of the major ballet scores of the century".
- Clive Barnes, New York Times, 1968


Kraanerg is one of Xenakis' most popular - and infamous - works. A visceral and highly charged score for woodwinds, brass, and strings along with quadrophonic tape. The title, Kraanerg, is a composite of two Greek words: "kraan", meaning to perfect, to accomplish; and "erg", signifying energy.

Commissioned for the gala opening of the National Arts Centre (NAC) in Ottawa, Canada in 1968, Kraanerg originally was the score to a ballet choreographed by Roland Petit with "op-art" sets by Victor Vasarely.

According to Xenakis' program notes, the title also referred to the "current youth movements" - 1968 was a significant year in modern social history - and to his utopian vision of the upcoming "biological struggle between generations unfurling all over the planet, destroying existing political, social, urban, scientific, artistic and ideological frameworks on a scale never before attempted by humanity." This powerful statement can be felt in the music.

The dramatic 4-channel tape is derived from a recording of the orchestra, transformed and distorted. Its sonic textures kaleidoscopically expand the range of expression while at the same time remaining connected to the instrumental material.

The 4-channel tape has been restored for this release from high-resolution transfers of the analog masters by German electronic composer Daniel Teige - revealing greater details in the texture and a wider dynamic range than previously heard on any Kraanerg recording.

96khz/24-bit high resolution recording.

Liner notes by composer James Harley.

Available as CD (MOD-CD-196) and surround-sound video DVD (MOD-DV-D196).


SPECIAL DVD FEATURES
  • First surround-sound release of Kraanerg.
  • Mode returned to the 4-track analog tapes and remastered them for this release - revealing previously unheard detail, clarity and extended low-end frequencies.
  • First recording to strictly respect the silences indicated in Xenakis' score.
  • Interview on Kraanerg's history featuring Xenakis expert James Harley with Gerard Pape (director of Xenakis' CCMIX studio 1991-2008), Françoise Xenakis (the composer's wife, author and media personality), and Veronica Tennant (a lead dancer in the ballet's premiere). [26 minutes]
  • Additional documentary on Kraanerg's tape with German electronic composer Daniel Teige, with musical examples. [12 minutes]

Related Resources:

Also on Mode's Xenakis Edition:
Ensemble Music 1 - STX Ensemble/Bornstein (mode 53)
Ensemble Music 2 - STX Ensemble/Bornstein (mode 56)
XENAKIS: Dämmerschein; Persephassa; La Déesse Athéna; VARESE:
    Amerique - Carnegie Mellon Philharmonic/Izquierdo (mode 58)
Complete Works for Piano - Aki Takahashi (mode 80)
Mycenae Alpha; Polytope de Cluny (on Xenakis, UPIC, Continuum).
    (mode 98/99, 2-CDs)
La Légende d'Eer (mode 148, CD or surround DVD)
Music for Strings - Ensemble Resonanz (mode 152)
Complete Works for Percussion - redfishbluefish, directed by
    Steve Schick (mode 171-173, 3-CDs)

Iannis Xenakis Profile/Discography

Françoise Xenakis Profile

Gerard Pape Profile

James Harley Profile

Daniel Teige Profile

Veronica Tennant Profile






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