Directed by Fotis Psichramis
Mycenae-Alpha is an electroacoustic work that Xenakis composed in 1978 as part of an installation of lights, movement and music that took place at Mycenae Acropolis in Greece. The massive multimedia performances Xenakis called polytopes Mycenae-Alpha is also the first work to be composed entirely on the UPIC system. The UPIC is a tool for the graphic composition of electroacoustic music which was first developed in the late 1970s by Xenakis and his staff at the Center for Studies in Mathematical and Automated Music in Paris.
Xenakis created the music using the UPIC which makes sound based on drawings that Xenakis made.
The work has become a classic of computer-generated music. By taking the shapes and movements of natural phenomena, such as molecules in a gas, Xenakis developed a method of digitally mapping those images into the computer and using them to trigger sound events of similar aural shapes.
Completely fascinating stuff. The film seems to be an exploration of Greek mythology and history, or rather, in this way represents those ideas that are at the heart of Xenakis' massive multimedia event called "Polytope de Mycenes", of which the main part of the film is an audio-visual document, interspersed with images of, for instance, the Greek fight for liberation or ancient artefacts. The music is not just that short electronic composition called "Mycenae Alpha", but makes use of choirs, orchestra and a lot of percussion. The event and the music present Xenakis at his most ritualistic, and at the same time most accessible. Archaic and visionary at the same time, and simply great. I really envy the people who saw this 'live' in 1978, but even in this filmed way it's pretty entrancing. And as there's no cd recording available, this fine-sounding recording also helps to fill an important gap in anyone's Xenakis collection.
Documentaries
Iannis Xenakis (May 29, 1922 – February 4, 2001) was a Greek composer, music theorist and architect. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers. Xenakis pioneered the use of mathematical models such as applications of set theory, varied use of stochastic processes, game theory, etc., in music, and was also an important influence on the development of electronic music.
Among his most important works are Metastaseis (1953–4) for orchestra, which introduced independent parts for every musician of the orchestra; percussion works such as Psappha (1975) and Pléïades (1979); compositions that introduced spatialization by dispersing musicians among the audience, such as Terretektorh (1966); electronic works created using Xenakis's UPIC system; and the massive multimedia performances Xenakis called polytopes. Among the numerous theoretical writings he authored, the book Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (1971) is regarded as one of his most important. As an architect, Xenakis is primarily known for his early work under Le Corbusier: the Sainte Marie de La Tourette, on which the two architects collaborated, and the Philips Pavilion at Expo 58, which Xenakis designed alone.
Sound Aesthetics: Xenakis
In Memoriam Pierre Boulez
John Cage and David Tudor - Music in the Technological Age (September 15, 2015)
John Cage and Morton Feldman In Conversation (September 8, 2015)
4'33'' Cage for guitar by Revoc (July 10, 2015)
John Cage: An Autobiographical Statement (May 22, 2015)
Angle(s) VI John Cage (April 30, 2015)
Morton Feldman (March 16, 2015)
Morton Feldman and painting (October 3, 2014)
Morton Feldman Page
Iannis Xenakis English interview with German subtitles.
Includes extracts of interviews with Volker Banfield Heinz Otto Peitgen.
Iannis Xenakis (May 29, 1922 – February 4, 2001) was a Greek composer, music theorist and architect. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers. Xenakis pioneered the use of mathematical models such as applications of set theory, varied use of stochastic processes, game theory, etc., in music, and was also an important influence on the development of electronic music.
Among his most important works are Metastaseis (1953–4) for orchestra, which introduced independent parts for every musician of the orchestra; percussion works such as Psappha (1975) and Pléïades (1979); compositions that introduced spatialization by dispersing musicians among the audience, such as Terretektorh (1966); electronic works created using Xenakis's UPIC system; and the massive multimedia performances Xenakis called polytopes. Among the numerous theoretical writings he authored, the book Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (1971) is regarded as one of his most important. As an architect, Xenakis is primarily known for his early work under Le Corbusier: the Sainte Marie de La Tourette, on which the two architects collaborated, and the Philips Pavilion at Expo 58, which Xenakis designed alone.
Always MORE in PREPARED GUITAR
Morton Feldman and Iannis Xenakis - In conversatio...Sound Aesthetics: Xenakis
In Memoriam Pierre Boulez
John Cage and David Tudor - Music in the Technological Age (September 15, 2015)
John Cage and Morton Feldman In Conversation (September 8, 2015)
4'33'' Cage for guitar by Revoc (July 10, 2015)
John Cage: An Autobiographical Statement (May 22, 2015)
Angle(s) VI John Cage (April 30, 2015)
Morton Feldman (March 16, 2015)
Morton Feldman and painting (October 3, 2014)
Morton Feldman Page
