Iannis Xenakis - Musique Electroacoustique (2001 compilation)

Two great slabs of 80s electroacoustic immersion from an old SGTG favourite.  The first and longer of the two is Pour La Paix (1981-2) for tape, choir and narrator, and across 26 minutes it tells the story of two children who grow up to be enemy soldiers.  Even if you can't follow the lengthy French text (written by Françoise Xenakis, the composer's wife), it's still a great sonic experience that suggests various radio stations trying to tune in to the narrative, whilst the choir sing key words and phrases from the text.

The second piece shifts from earthly concerns out into space, in the 15 minutes of Voyage Absolu Des Unari Vers Andromeda (1989).  Commissioned for the Goethe Institute of Japan's International Exposition of Paper Kites, it was fully composed on the UPIC system developed by Xenakis, and is a striking evocation of outer-space exploration in the far future.  This track could've sat nicely on Xenakis' Electronic Muisc compilation (see Bohor, etc in links list), where it would've bridged the chronological gap between Hibiki-Hana-Ma (another exposition-in-Japan commission) and S709, one of his latest computer-generated works.

link

pw: sgtg

Previously posted at SGTG:

Nuits

Rebonds B

Akrata

Atrées, Morsima-Amorsima etc
Evryali/Herma
Phlegra, Jalons etc
Oresteïa
Synaphaï
Persephassa
Ata, Jonchaies etc
Pléiades/Psappha
Bohor etc
Kraanerg
Terretektorh/Nomos Gamma
La Légende D'Eer
Persepolis