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opilec
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« Reply #195 on: 22:15:16, 12-06-2008 » |
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Could I just ask if the sleeve-notes make sense? I daren't read them anymore. hh, they make excellent sense! Indeed, both sense of notes make sense!  I've enjoyed this disc very much, and it's reminded me that I really must get hold of Shadowtime ... and various other NMC goodies. Will PM you re Exaudi. |
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Bryn
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« Reply #196 on: 21:16:48, 15-06-2008 » |
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Well, just ordered, from Caiman Bargain, actually:  Mode 196 Xenakis Edition Volume 8
Iannis Xenakis: KRAANERG (1968)
for 23 instruments and 4-channel tape
Available as CD and surround-sound video DVD (mode 196).
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, where it is 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, 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.
SPECIAL DVD FEATURES
• First surround-sound release of Kraanerg.
• Presented with full video of the performance interpolated with abstract interpretations created by filmmaker Tim Chu.
• 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] |
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« Last Edit: 21:26:20, 15-06-2008 by Bryn »
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Bryn
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« Reply #197 on: 21:47:11, 18-06-2008 » |
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Just been advised that Kraanerg is on its way from across the Pond. Have now pre-ordered this, on trust. |
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #198 on: 21:49:03, 18-06-2008 » |
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Well, I suppose you could do that. Or on the other hand...  |
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Bryn
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« Reply #199 on: 21:59:52, 18-06-2008 » |
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Well, I suppose you could do that. Or on the other hand... Love their 4 and 5. However, what do you mean by "or"? Surely that should, (and will), be "and". I take it that "6" is Op. 61a. |
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Bryn
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« Reply #200 on: 22:08:45, 18-06-2008 » |
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Hmm, I can only seem to find that on the alpha site, and at €18. It can wait.
[Oh, and at around €3 less at Amazon.fr. Give it a few months and it will appear in the Amazon marketplace for about half that.]
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« Last Edit: 22:18:04, 18-06-2008 by Bryn »
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oliver sudden
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« Reply #201 on: 22:29:04, 18-06-2008 » |
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Hmm, I can only seem to find that on the alpha site, and at €18. It can wait.
[Oh, and at around €3 less at Amazon.fr. Give it a few months and it will appear in the Amazon marketplace for about half that.]
Of course there are two approaches to that sort of thing. One can wait around until it's cheap and grab it from the Brazilians with a couple of mouseclicks, assuming one still remembers it's there. Or one can flick through the shelves at fnac, see it, whoop with delight, shell out the extremely fair price of €17 for it and enjoy the thrill of the chase as one gorges oneself on its sonic delights.  |
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Bryn
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« Reply #202 on: 18:26:24, 23-06-2008 » |
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The new Mode Kraanerg DVD arrived today. The audio is surround only, with a choice of Dolby Digital or DTS (both 5.0). This makes the 96/24 logo look somewhat questionable. It is a pity that Mode did not forget about the video aspect and go for DVD-Audio, rather than the DVD-Video standard, and thus provide lossless compression, rather than the two lossy codecs on offer. That said, the sound of the tape part is quite spectacularly clearer then on any of the three previous recordings I have, and the video is well directed.
The menu system seems a bit flaky. If you try to navigate to an option, you have to be careful not to hesitate for even a second on any you have to pass over. The damned thing starts up a highlighted option without it actually being selected by pressing the select button on the remote.
I guess that if you only want 2 channel stereo, you might be better off getting the CD version rather than the DVD. At least the CD version will not be using a lossy codec, even if it is dithered and re-sampled down from 96.24 to 44.1/16.
O.k., that's the first impressions. I will now go and watch/listen to the whole thing.
[Oh my! This is just so much more to my liking than any of the previous recordings of Kraanerg. Damn it, at £7.60 (including p&p) from an Amazon Marketplace supplier, I have just ordered the CD version too. It's not always convenient to use a DVD player, after all, and if I want to rip it for sticking on an SD card to play in the H4, the CD will be much easier to extract the audio from than the DVD would.
Richard and Ollie, do get to listen to this soon. I'm eager to read your views on it.]
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« Last Edit: 20:19:17, 23-06-2008 by Bryn »
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...trj...
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« Reply #203 on: 12:35:34, 24-06-2008 » |
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Could I just ask if the sleeve-notes make sense? I daren't read them anymore. You may have missed this post, hh - they made sense to me! |
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harmonyharmony
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« Reply #204 on: 22:58:06, 24-06-2008 » |
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You may have missed this post, hh - they made sense to me! Both your comment and opi's were lovely and made me feel a lot better about it. I may even get around to rereading them next week when I'm in the vicinity of the CD. They also made me feel guilty for fishing for compliments... but I'll get over that! I've just bought The Urantia Book and The City of the Sun. Both texts are hopefully going to feed into research into Stockhausen's Licht and Ferneyhough's Carceri d'Invenzione I respectively. I'm also waiting for some late birthday presents to arrive (Nørgard's Symphonies 1+2, and three Cardew CDs). Hope they arrive before I leave for Germany but then again the Post Office keeps things for 3 weeks before they send them back. |
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'is this all we can do?' anonymous student of the University of Berkeley, California quoted in H. Draper, 'The new student revolt' (New York: Grove Press, 1965) http://www.myspace.com/itensemble |
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Bryn
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« Reply #205 on: 23:08:50, 28-06-2008 » |
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Hmm, I can only seem to find that on the alpha site, and at €18. It can wait.
[Oh, and at around €3 less at Amazon.fr. Give it a few months and it will appear in the Amazon marketplace for about half that.]
Of course there are two approaches to that sort of thing. One can wait around until it's cheap and grab it from the Brazilians with a couple of mouseclicks, assuming one still remembers it's there. Or one can flick through the shelves at fnac, see it, whoop with delight, shell out the extremely fair price of €17 for it and enjoy the thrill of the chase as one gorges oneself on its sonic delights. Just pre-ordered it from hmv.com for £8.99 including p&p. |
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« Last Edit: 23:29:05, 28-06-2008 by Bryn »
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #206 on: 13:52:06, 05-07-2008 » |
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Well, I suppose you could do that. Or on the other hand... Have just listened to the Rondo movement from 'No.6' here and I'm mighty tempted. |
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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Bryn
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« Reply #207 on: 17:33:52, 05-07-2008 » |
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A very generous sample there. However, don't hang about. The low pre-order price at hmv.com is likely to rise by about £1.00 on release, and further a month later.
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Il Grande Inquisitor
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« Reply #208 on: 17:51:03, 05-07-2008 » |
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The low pre-order price at hmv.com is likely to rise by about £1.00 on release, and further a month later.
Agreed, Bryn, but HMV are far more competitive online than they used to be, often being the cheapest source for new releases and their delivery is speedier than previously; my copy of Juan Diego Flórez's new disc (due for release on Monday) arrived this afternoon! |
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Our chief weapon is surprise...surprise and fear...fear and surprise.... Our two weapons are fear and surprise...and ruthless efficiency
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Bryn
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« Reply #209 on: 18:14:12, 05-07-2008 » |
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The low pre-order price at hmv.com is likely to rise by about £1.00 on release, and further a month later.
Agreed, Bryn, but HMV are far more competitive online than they used to be, often being the cheapest source for new releases and their delivery is speedier than previously; my copy of Juan Diego Flórez's new disc (due for release on Monday) arrived this afternoon! hmv.com seem to have a habit of sending out an email advising that an item on "special order" is proving difficult to get, but that they are trying their hardest, then the next day sending a further email to say the disc in question is on its way.  Yes, it certainly pays to check on forthcoming releases and their pre-order prices at hmv.com. Saves waiting months for Amazon Marketplace suppliers to drop their prices to a similar level. Trouble is, the search facility at hmv.com is not very good.  |
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