THE GRANULARITY PARADIGM IN THE ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC OF IANNIS XENAKIS

Authors

  • Adrian BORZA Adrian Borza is a Univ. prof. dr. habil. at the National Academy of Music Gheorghe Dima. Postal address: 25, I.C. Brătianu, Cluj-Napoca. Email address: adrian.borza@amgd.ro. https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6744-566X

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.24193/subbmusica.2022.2.01

Keywords:

Granularity paradigm, stochastic synthesis, random walk, architecture, mathematics, music

Abstract

The cultural legacy left to us by composer Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001) is impressive and undoubtedly had a massive impact on some generations of musicians. His artistic ideal stands as proof. Fueled by science and engineering, his inheritance has been eagerly discussed in numerous books, studies, and doctoral theses. Our study underlines the viability of I. Xenakis’s compositional model. Xenakis painstakingly circumscribes scientific theories and laws in his method of composition in the instrumental and electroacoustic genres. We will emphasize the hypothesis that the granularity paradigm traverses his musical works Concret PH, Analogique B, and GENDY3.

References

***, Iannis Xenakis, Éditions Salabert, 2001.

Andreatta, Marco, Forma lucrurilor: Alfabetul geometriei (The Shape of Things: The Alphabet of Geometry), Editura Humanitas, 2021.

Baltensperger, André, Iannis Xenakis und die Stochastische Musik – Komposition im Spannungsfeld von Architektur und Mathematik, Paul Haupt, 1996.

Di Scipio, Agostino, Compositional Models in Xenakis’s Electroacoustic Music, Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 36, Nr. 2, 1998, p. 201-243.

Farnell, Andy, Designing sound, The MIT Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 2010.

Gabor, Dennis, Theory of communication, Institution of Electrical Engineering, Radio and Communication, Londra, 1946, p. 429–457.

Gibson, Benoît și Solomos, Makis, Research on the First Musique Concrète: The Case of Xenakis’s First Electroacoustic Pieces, Proceedings of the Electroacoustic Music Studies Conference, Lisbon, 2013.

Harley, James, Still Rich & Strange, The Musical Times, Vol. 137, Nr. 1845, 1996, p. 9–15.

Harley, James, Iannis Xenakis (1922–2001), Computer Music Journal, Vol. 25, Nr. 3, 2001, p. 7.

Harley, James, The Electroacoustic Music of Iannis Xenakis, Computer Music Journal, Vol. 26, Nr. 1, 2002, p. 33–57.

Iliescu, Mihu, Beyond the modern-postmodern cleavage: Xenakis’ mythical thinking, Proceedings of the Xenakis International Symposium, London, 1–3 April 2011.

Kuhn, Thomas S., The Structure of Scientific Revolutions, International Encyclopedia of Unified Science, Vol. 2, Nr. 2, 1970.

Lawler, Gregory F. și Limic, Vlada, Random Walk: A Modern Introduction, Cambridge University Press, 2010.

Matossian, Nouritza, Xenakis, Kahn and Averill, 1986.

Matossian, Nouritza, Xenakis, Moufflon Publications, 2005.

Mihoc, Gheorghe, Teoria probabilităților și statistică matematică, Editura didactică și Pedagogica, 1972.

Roads, Curtis, Microsound, The MIT Press, 2001.

Serra, Marie-Hélène, Stochastic Composition and Stochastic Timbre: GENDY3 by Iannis Xenakis, Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 31, Nr. 1, 1993, p. 236–257.

Solomos, Makis, The Unity of Xenakis’s Instrumental and Electroacoustic Music: The Case for “Brownian Movements”, Perspectives of New Music, Vol. 39, Nr. 1, 2001, p. 244–254.

Solomos, Makis, Xenakis’s Early Works: From “Bartókian Project” to “Abstraction”, Contemporary Music Review, Taylor & Francis, Vol. 21, Nr. 2–3, 2002, p. 21–34.

Solomos, Makis, The granular connection (Xenakis, Vaggione, Di Scipio...), The Creative and Scientific Legacies of Iannis Xenakis International Symposium, 2006.

Varga, Bálint András, Conversations with Iannis Xenakis, Faber and Faber, 1996.

Wannamaker, Rob, Mathematics and Design in the Music of Iannis Xenakis, Xenakis Matters, Pendragon Press, 2012, p. 127–143.

Weiss, George, Random Walks and Their Applications, American Scientist, Vol. 71, Nr. 1, 1983, p. 65–71.

Xenakis, Iannis, La crise de la musique sérielle, Gravesaner Blätter, Nr. 1, 1955, p. 2–4.

Xenakis, Iannis, Pithoprakta for two trombones, percussion, and strings, Boosey & Hawkes, Online Scores.

Xenakis, Iannis, Elements of stochastic music, Gravesaner Blätter Nr. 18, 1960, p. 84–105.

Xenakis, Iannis, Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition, Pendragon Press, 1992.

Downloads

Published

2022-12-20

How to Cite

BORZA, A. (2022). THE GRANULARITY PARADIGM IN THE ELECTROACOUSTIC MUSIC OF IANNIS XENAKIS. Studia Universitatis Babeș-Bolyai Musica, 67(2), 9–28. https://doi.org/10.24193/subbmusica.2022.2.01

Issue

Section

Articles