Giacinto Scelsi - Natura Renovatur, Anagamin, Ohoi, Elohim (Orch. Royal de Chambre de Wallonie, 2000)

Icy, ghostly uneasy listening from microtonal magician Giacinto Scelsi (1905-88).  This nice compact album from the Royal Chamber Orchestra of Wallonia contains four of Scelsi's works for string orchestra; as the liner notes point out, this is the ideal force for really exploring in depth how Scelsi's music was so unique.  The continuous shifting of the tonal and harmonic ground beneath your feet, coupled with the various advanced techniques applied to the strings, mean that any temporary refuge in a recognisable chord is likely to vanish into thin air the next moment.  

 

This can be appreciated to its fullest extent on the first and lengthiest piece Natura Renovatur (1967), a rewrite of an earlier string quartet.  The unrelenting darkness of Anagamin (1965) is next, contrasted with the calmer, luminous Ohoi (1966), then to finish comes the brief, but no less eerie Elohim, published posthumously.  Incredible music to get lost in on dark nights.

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Previously posted at SGTG: 
Quatro Pezzi Per Orchestra/Anahit/Uaxuctum 

Hurqualia/Hymnos/Chukrum
Tre Pezzi (Daniel Kientzy, saxophone)