Search - Xenakis, Debart, Anjou Ensemble :: Oresteia / Kassandra

Ancient Greek Ritual in Modern Guise

Christopher Forbes | Brooklyn,, NY | 11/07/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I debated back and forth on how to rate this CD in terms of stars. The brilliant moments are brilliant indeed, but there are also come pretty clunky moments, hence the subtraction of a star. However, with more listening I may ammend this assessment. Orestia is a 45 minute cantata based on music originally created for a production of the Aeschylus trilogy in Michigan. The work expanded from it's origins over nearly twenty years, reaching final form in the 80's with the movement Cassandra. Perhaps it is the length of it's gestation, but the stylistic differences between some of the sections are a little disconcerting. This is particularly in evidence with Cassandra, which really sounds like a completely separate piece. Scored for baritone (mostly in falsetto) and percussion, the movement lasts some 14 minutes and eventually wears out it's welcome, despite some stunning writing for percussion. I think the problem is that the vocal quality and timbre begin to grate on me after a while. This is the same kind of vocal writing to be found in works like Ais on Large Orchestra Works Vol. 1. However, in that work, the orchestra provides contrast to the vocal and percussive assault, relief that is not given in this work. The remainder of the movements are classic Xenakis though. The composer is really much more varied than his detractors would have you think. The choral writing is by turns modal (almost medieval) and cluster and sound based, like Penderecki but without the tonal compromises. Xenakis' infamous stochastic writing is here, to be found in the wild glissandi of the wind instruments and in the chaos of the choral writing. The music has a ritual feel to it. It is less "composition" than ceremony, which fits the nature of ancient greek drama really well. (Greek drama was truly more of a religious event than what we might think of as a play...our modern attitude toward drama is rooted more clearly in the Roman plays.) Some of the choral and wind writing shows evidence of an interest in alternative tuning, something not usually associated with Xenakis...microtones yes, but not just intonation. And the work builds to a shattering climax, with spoken, cacophonous chant in the chorus, accompanied by explosive percussion. Xenakis has been going through a Rennaissance of a sort, especially since his death two years ago. He has become a "cause celebre" amoung downtown New York progressives and avant-garde improvisers. He is also idealized by those who appreciate his "maximalist" approach to composition as an antidote to the increasingly simple-minded approach to composition of Reich imitators and some visionless neo-romantics. I think this is an important Xenakis CD, perhaps even an essential one. At the same time, I can't give it my highest recommendation, because of the Cassandra movement. I find that I program it out on my CD player, preferring to concentrate on the other movements, which are much stronger. If you are willing to do this, then I would not hesitate to buy this CD. The first third and fourth movements are five, or maybe even six star material."

Kassandra: a second opinion

07/01/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I would like to make a plea, with all due respect for a previous reviewer's opinion, for the Kassandra movement on this excellent CD. As Enzo Restagno points out in the liner notes, "The _Oresteia_ is unquestionably a harsh celebration of the birth of human justice. Gripped by the forces of Darkness, by violence, by the idea of evil that has been invoked upon one, of keeping their nightmares at bay." In a time when the word "evil" is used frivolously, let us not forget that real evil does exist in the world and has since the advent of our species. Music has long been a proof against that evil, while at the same time bringing us close enough to sense its powerful, real, presence. Beethoven does that, for example in the Hammerklavier Sonata; Wagner does it in Parsifal. Here, Xenakis gives us over to that precipice in the Kassandra movement, and to "skip" this track because it "grates" on one's nerves seems both inconsiderate and irresponsible. Xenakis' vision is greater than yours or mine. Trust in the composer's ultimate sense of form and content. Not all music that is intelligent, moral, and beautiful is superficially pleasant, and vice versa. Kassandra is a piece of music that breaks my heart every time I hear it. Give it another chance, and listen with more than just your body and mind. Thanks."

Actually I prefer "Kassandra"

Christopher K. Koenigsberg | Norman, OK USA | 12/13/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Funny how tastes differ.



I do love everything by Xenakis, but .... when I listen to this CD, "Kassandra" is my favorite.



Sometimes I even find myself skipping through the other pieces, and only listening to "Kassandra" in its entirety.



But "Kassandra" never fails, to thrill and chill me. It is one of my most favorite of Xenakis' pieces (and I'm a big fan, I've heard a lot of his music, either live or on CD's, and I was privileged to meet him a few times, etc.).



I only give this CD 4 out of 5 stars, only because I am way more fond of "Kassandra" than I am of the rest of it.... and the live ambient (analog) recording, though not bad, is not the absolute best audio quality I could imagine; though that is partially due to the ridiculously extreme dynamic range that had to be captured, in the performance of the pieces, from the loud loud percussion down to much quieter sounds.



I would say that "Kassandra" is one of my favorite Xenakis pieces (and being a big Xenakis fan, that is saying a lot), but the instrumentals on the rest of the CD sometimes grow tiresome to me (it's still Xenakis, so it's still great, just not among my favorite pieces of his).



If you do love the extended vocal style of "Cassandra" as I do (a deep male baritone voice, often desperate, often wildly gyrating between deep tones and shrieking falsetto), you will also probably like Xenakis' piece "Ais", also for a male voice, which has been recorded several times on some of his other CD's. I think "Ais", like "Cassandra", is also another addition to his Oresteia family of pieces? (also the voice in "Ais" is amplified unlike that in "Kassandra", and I think "Ais" is for a tenor, rather than baritone?)



someday I'd love to hear a new performance, of a most "complete" Oresteia, with "Kassandra", "Ais", and any other newer additions he made to the original suite?



And yet another vocal piece of his that I really love, in addition to "Kassandra" and "Ais", is one called "N'Shima" (for "amplified peasant voices"), also recorded more than once I think.



plus to round out the mentioning of Xenakis' vocal pieces, there are a couple more choral works, on a CD shared with some of Messiaen's choral pieces."