Iannis Xenakis - Xenakis Edition Volume 8

(1922-2001)

mode 196

Watch the trailer on

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