RARE COMPOSITIONS I (1960 - 1994)

With this post I've assembled some rarer compositions by mostly quite famous 20th century composers'.
With 'rare' I mean pieces not readily available and OOP - culled from CD compilations - in this case from two releases.

The title by Grisey is taken from a CD dedicated to the conductor Sylvain Campreling which I've bought only because of my excitement upon discovering this to me unknown (and recorded) piece by him.

All other music was previously released on a five CD box-set which celebrated the fiftieth anniversary of the 'Holland Festival'. At least two or three of these pieces were issued on vinyl before the box-set was available.

Vivier's composition "Glaubst du an die Unsterblichkeit der Seele" (Do you believe in the immortality of the soul?) was his last composition, though not completed as he was murdered before he could finish it.
His killer was a male prostitute Vivier had met in a bar earlier that evening. On the worktable was the manuscript of Vivier's final, uncompleted work, "Crois-tu en l‘immortalité de l‘âme?", a dramatised monologue in which Vivier describes a journey on the metro during which he becomes attracted to a young man. The music breaks off abruptly following the line: "Then he removed a dagger from his jacket and stabbed me through the heart." (On a personal note I would like to add that I didn't know this backgroud mentioned above upon first hearing. The impact of this composition wasn't diminished by my ignorance.)

"Sara Dolce Tacere" by Nono was - to my knowledge - released for the first time on a Wergo 7" sometime during the 1960s.

Xenakis' "Anemoessa" has been recorded and released - a.f.a.i.k. - only once on a commercial recording.

 At least "Calmo" and "Composition No.3" have been and still are available in various interpretations.




 1. Luigi Nono - Sara Dolce Tacere (1960) 7:20

John Alldis Choir conducted by John Alldis
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2. Luciano Berio - Calmo ('A Bruno, In Memoriam') (1973) 4:14

Cathy Berberian, soprano
Luciano Berio, conductor
Members of The Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra
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3. Galina Ustvolskaya - Composition No.3 "Benedictus Qui Venit" For Four Flutes, Four Bassons And Piano (1975) 6:50

Heinz Friesen, conductor
Amsterdam Wind Orchestra
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4. Iannis Xenakis - Anemoessa (1979) 13:06

Ricardo Dufallo, conductor
Groot Omroepkoor (The Netherlands Radio Choir)
Radio Filharmonisch Orkest
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5. Claude Vivier - Glaubst Du An Die Unsterblichkeit Der Seele (1983) 8:25

Irene Maessen, Susan Narucki, Tannie Willemstijn, soprano
Nine Van Strien, Yvonne Benschop, mezzo-soprano
Bruce Sellars, Marcel Beekman, Peter Hall, tenor
Helena Rasker, contra-alto
David Barick, James Ottaway, baritone
Harry Van Der Kamp, bass
Johan Leijsen, speaking voice
Reinbert De Leeuw, conductor
Asko Ensemble & Schönberg Ensemble
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6. Gérard Grisey - L'icône paradoxale (Hommage à Piero della Francesca), for 2 female voices and 2 orchestral groups (1992–94)  24:41

Catherine Dubosc, soprano
Lani Poulson, mezzo-soprano
Sylvain Cambreling, conductor
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden Und Freiburg
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Recorded...
Track 1: Waalse Kerk Amsterdam, 06/06/1979
Track 2: De Doelen Rotterdam, 28/06/1974
Track 3: Paradiso Amsterdam, 17/06/1989
Track 4: Concertgebouw Amsterdam, 16/06/1979
Track 5: Beurs van Berlage, 03/06/1995
Track 6: 30.11.-2.12.1999 Konzerthaus Freiburg, SWR

IANNIS XENAKIS "KRAANERG" (ERATO, 1968-69)

This is the recording of  "Kraanerg's" premiere.
Although the composition is a continous piece of music I've post it each LP side separately.
So you have four files...

...for more information go to Wikipedia



Kraanerg Musique Pour Orchestre Et Bande Magnétique
[Musique de ballet pour orchestre et bande magnétique 4 pistes :
1(pic).1.2(clpic, clCB).1(cbn)-2.2.2.0, crd (3.3.2.2.2 ou multiple)]

Marius Constant, conductor
Ensemble Ars Nova De L'O.R.T.F.

Recorded June 2, 1969 Ottawa, Inauguration du National Arts Centre, National Ballet Guild of Canada
- the rehearsal began in April 1969.

Erato  STU 70527/28 (vinyl rip)

Originally available with the LP box "XENAKIS" (Erato STU 70526/27/28/29/30), 1969.

Kraanerg is a composition for 23 instruments and 4-channel analog tape composed by Iannis Xenakis, originally for a ballet with choreography by Roland Petit and set design by Victor Vasarely. It was created for the grand opening of the Canadian National Arts Centre in Ottawa, which was originally to coincide with Expo 67 but was delayed to 1969.


As the LP was part of a box set there's no cover - I've simply added the red letters to the box' front pic for a start...
...only after uploading I've discovered one nasty audible crack on side D.....

IANNIS XENAKIS - COMPILATION

Compiled from diverse sources. Nornally I do not post anything which is readily available.
Here I took a few pieces from CDs - some of them might be still in print.

The first two compostitions are - to my knowledge - not available in any form.
Please correct me when I'm wrong.



1. Pour Les Baleines (1982) for 60 strings (16.14.12.10.8) [2:49]
2. Nyuyo (Soleil Couchant) (1985) for shakuhachi, sangen and two kotos [11:26]

3. Taurhiphanie (1987-88) electronice music realised with UPIC (magnetic tape - two tracks) [11:04]
4. Gendy3 (1991) electronic music (magnetic tape - two tracks) [18:59]

5. Windungen (Retours) (1976) version for 8 celli [6:20]
Cello Octet Conjunto Iberico
Elias Arizcuren, arrangement (with full permission by Xenakis)

6. Khal Perr (1983) for brass quintet + two percussionists (vibra, 2bong, 3tom, gr c) [10:34]
The Wallace Collection
John Wallace - trumpet
John Miller - trumpet
Paul Gardham - horn
Simon Gunton - trombone
Robin Haggart - tuba
Christopher Terian, Kevin Hathway - percussion

7. Dmaathen (1976) for oboe and percussion [11:46]
Burkhard Glaetzner, oboe + Gerd Schenker, percussion

8. Gmeeoorh (1974) for organ [19:08]
Francoise Rieunier, organ

Tracks 1 to 4 are ripped from a cassette by Éditions Salabert - no information about musicians etc.

Xenakis - Architect in Sound

I'm hoping that people coming to this blog who are interested in free music may also be interested in Xenakis - a freedom fighter exiled from his homeland, his musical language is unique; at once raw, austere and ashen, and at the same time complex, lyrical and honeyed. He found a similar inspiration and awakening in Paris as African-American musicians did almost 15 years later

A weekend festival, 'Xenakis, Architect of Sound' was held in October 2005 in London, and all of the concerts, bar one, were subsequently broadcast by Radio 3 in four programmes, details of which (and links) are available in the comments.

The programme included a wide range of Xenakis' compositions, ranging from piano (Hermas and Evryali), to the amazing pieces for string quartet (Tetras and Tetora), piano quintet (Akea), trios and duos (Ikhoor and Dikhthas), to orchestral pieces such as Shaar, and Eonta, an extraordinary piece for brass and piano. There are also pieces by Varese, Stravinsky, Morton Feldman and Messiaen. Some of the performances are very good - especially the Arditti Quartet, and Nicolas Hodges in Eonta. The broadcasts didn't follow the order of the concerts, but have some interesting commentary so I've left them as is. Here also are some links to reviews of the concerts;

http://tinyurl.com/2kqr2u
http://tinyurl.com/2vw6em