''Kraanerg'' is a composition for 23 instruments and 4-channel

analog tape Magnetic tape is a medium for magnetic storage made of a thin, magnetizable coating on a long, narrow strip of plastic film. It was developed in Germany in 1928, based on the earlier magnetic wire recording from Denmark. Devices that use magne ...

composed by

Iannis Xenakis Giannis Klearchou Xenakis (also spelled for professional purposes as Yannis or Iannis Xenakis; el, Γιάννης "Ιωάννης" Κλέαρχου Ξενάκης, ; 29 May 1922 – 4 February 2001) was a Romanian-born Greek-French avant-garde c ...

in 1968, as

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

, with choreography by

Roland Petit Roland Petit (13 January 192410 July 2011) was a French ballet company director, choreographer and dancer. He trained at the Paris Opera Ballet school, and became well known for his creative ballets. Life and work The son of shoe designer Ros ...

and set design by

Victor Vasarely Victor Vasarely (; born Győző Vásárhelyi, ; 9 April 1906 – 15 March 1997) was a Hungarian-French artist, who is widely accepted as a "grandfather" and leader of the Op art movement. His work entitled ''Zebra'', created in 1937, is consid ...

. It was created for the grand opening of the Canadian

National Arts Centre The National Arts Centre (NAC) (french: Centre national des Arts) is a performing arts organisation in Ottawa, Ontario, along the Rideau Canal. It is based in the eponymous National Arts Centre building. History The NAC was one of a number of ...

in Ottawa, intended to coincide with

Expo 67 The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

. However, it was delayed to 1969.Harley, James (2008). Liner notes for Mode Records CD 196, ''Kraanerg'', performed by the Callithumpian Consort; Xenakis Edition Volume 8.

History

The title, by Xenakis, is an imaginary compound of the Greek-originating stems ''kraan'' (κρααν) and ''erg'' (εργ), meaning ''accomplished action''. According to the composer's program note, the title also refers to the "current

youth movements The following is a list of youth organizations. A youth organization is a type of organization with a focus upon providing activities and socialization for minors. In this list, most organizations are international unless noted otherwise. ...

" of

that time ''For the song "That Time" by Regina Spektor see Begin to Hope'' ''That Time'' is a one-act play by Samuel Beckett, written in English between 8 June 1974 and August 1975. The play was specially written for actor Patrick Magee, who delivered it ...

, and his vision of the imminent "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." Xenakis chose to avoid any narrative or story. The abstract modernistic character of the ballet was to be underscored by Vasarely's Op Art set design. Xenakis had previously written the soundtrack for a 1960 film about Vasarely. The 75-minute composition is not divided into

movements Movement may refer to: Common uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Motion, commonly referred to as movement Arts, entertainment, and media Literature * "Movement" (short story), a short story by Nancy Fu ...

but includes twenty-two periods of silence of varying lengths (three of them more than twenty seconds) which are integral to the work's

development Development or developing may refer to: Arts *Development hell, when a project is stuck in development *Filmmaking, development phase, including finance and budgeting *Development (music), the process thematic material is reshaped * Photograph ...

. It has three phases of roughly equal duration: the first contains more or less, equal portions of both orchestra and tape; the second (beginning after 23 minutes), primarily instruments; and the third (beginning after 52 minutes) primarily tape. The sounds on the tape are derived from instrumental material.

Richard Toop Richard Toop (1945 – 19 June 2017) was a British-Australian musicologist. Toop was born in Chichester, England, in 1945. He studied at Hull University, where his teachers included Denis Arnold. In 1973 he became Karlheinz Stockhausen's teach ...

described it as:

... the most overpowering, and yet one of the least known. It is one of the few works of Xenakis to place two media that he normally prefers to explore separately-electroacoustic music and the orchestra-in a situation of juxtaposition and confrontation ... In Kraanerg the musicians are in open combat with an electronic orchestra in absentia- a pre-recorded tape consisting mainly of transformed orchestral sounds which seem to evoke both antiquity and the future, thus hemming in the presence of the live orchestra.

The choreography by Petit (who was in charge of the premiere, and divided the work at its midpoint with an intermission) was a critical failure, but the music was widely praised; it was conducted at the premiere by

Lukas Foss Lukas Foss (August 15, 1922 – February 1, 2009) was a German-American composer, pianist, and conductor. Career Born Lukas Fuchs in Berlin, Germany in 1922, Foss was soon recognized as a child prodigy. He began piano and theory lessons with J ...

, who like Vasarely was invited to the project by Xenakis. After a tour of the original ballet that ended in 1972, ''Kraanerg'' was largely forgotten until 1988 when a new choreography was created the Australian choreographer

Graeme Murphy Graeme Lloyd Murphy AO (born 2 November 1950) is an Australian choreographer. With his fellow dancer (and wife since 2004) Janet Vernon, he guided Sydney Dance Company to become one of Australia's most successful and best-known dance compani ...

with

Roger Woodward Roger Woodward (born 20 December 1942) is an Australian classical pianist, composer, conductor and teacher. Life and career Early life The youngest of four children, Roger Woodward was born in Sydney where he received first piano lessons ...

directing twenty-five performances at the Sydney Opera House. This performance was highly considered abroad and attracted attention to the composition again. The music has usually been performed without the ballet.

Discography

* 1969: Iannis Xenakis: ''Syrmos''; ''Polytope''; ''Medea''; ''Kraanerg''; ''Terretektorh''; ''Nomos gamma''; ''Bohor I''; ''Diamorphoses II''; ''Orient-occident III''; ''Concret P-H II''. Ensemble Ars Nova de l'O.R.T.F.,

Marius Constant Marius Constant (7 February 192515 May 2004) was a Romanian-born French composer and conductor. Although known in the classical world primarily for his ballet scores, his most widely known music was the iconic guitar theme for ''The Twilight Zon ...

(cond.) (''Syrmos''; ''Polytope''; ''Medea''; ''Kraanerg''); Choeur d'Hommes de l'O.R.T.F. (''Medea''); Orchestre Philharmonique de l'O.R.T.F., Charles Bruck (cond.) (''Terretektorh''; ''Nomos gamma''). The remainder are for tape alone. ''Terretektorh'' recorded at the Gymnase de Drancy on 24 January 1968; ''Nomos gamma'' recorded at the Festival de Royan in April 1969. LP recording, 5 audio discs: analog, 33⅓ rpm, stereo, 30 cm. Erato STU 70526/70527/70528/70529/70530.

rance Rance may refer to: Places * Rance (river), northwestern France * Rancé, a commune in eastern France, near Lyon * Ranče, a small settlement in Slovenia * Rance, Wallonia, part of the municipality of Sivry-Rance ** Rouge de Rance, a Devonian ...

Erato. * 1989: Iannis Xenakis: ''Kraanerg''. Alpha Centauri Ensemble,

(cond.), with tape. Recorded in the Opera Theatre of the Sydney Opera House, 24 November 1988. 1 compact disc: digital, stereo, 12 cm. Etcetera KTC 1075. msterdam Etcetera. * 1997: Iannis Xenakis: ''Kraanerg''. ST-X Ensemble, Charles Zacharie Bornstein (cond.), with tape (Paul D. Miller, quadraphonic ADAT). Recorded live in New York City at the Great Hall in Cooper Union on 12 November 1996, with the composer present. 1 compact disc: digital, stereo, 12 cm. Asphodel/Sombient 0975. New York: Asphobel/Sombient. * 2003: Iannis Xenakis: ''Kraanerg''. Sinfonieorchester Basel, Alexander Winterson (cond.), with tape. Recorded in the Casino Basel Music Hall, 29–31 May 2001. 1 compact disc: digital, stereo, 12 cm. Col Legno WWE 1CD 20217. unich Col Legno. * 2008: Iannis Xenakis: ''Kraanerg''. Callithumpian Consort, Stephen Drury (cond), with tape. Recorded at Jordan Hall, New England Conservatory, Boston, Massachusetts, on 7 March 2006. Xenakis Edition 8. 1 compact disc: digital, stereo, 12 cm. Mode 196. New York: Mode Records. Also issued on Surround DVD.

References

External links

''Kraanerg'' (1969)
details. Boosey & Hawkes {{Authority control Compositions by Iannis Xenakis Ballets by Roland Petit Ballets by Graeme Murphy Ballets designed by Victor Vasarely 1969 ballet premieres 1969 compositions Modernist compositions

History

Discography

See also

References

Further reading

External links