|
Архитектура Аудит Военная наука Иностранные языки Медицина Металлургия Метрология Образование Политология Производство Психология Стандартизация Технологии |
|
|
Архитектура Аудит Военная наука Иностранные языки Медицина Металлургия Метрология Образование Политология Производство Психология Стандартизация Технологии |
Macroscopic stochastic music.Стр 1 из 6Следующая ⇒
Xanthoudakis, Haris (b Piraeus, 18 June 1950). Greek composer and musicologist. He studied with Varvoglis at the Hellenic Conservatory, Athens (harmony, 1964), privately with Papaïoannou (composition, 1966–71) and with Adamis (electronic music, 1972–3). After working under Hadjidakis at the Third Programme of Hellenic Radio, he undertook further studies in France with Xenakis, at the Centre d'Etudes de Mathématique et d'Automatique Musicales (CEMAMu) and at the Group de Recherches Musicales (1979–85). After returning to Athens he taught at the National Conservatory (1985–6) and the Athenaeum Conservatory (1987–93). In 1989 he co-founded (with the composer Kostas Moschos) the Institute of Research in Music and Acoustics. As a professor and coordinator of its music department, at the Ionian University, Corfu (from 1993), he gave a new impetus to research on Greek art music after the fall of Constantinople (1453) and 19th-century Ionian music. Initially shaped by his keen interest in serialism and electro-acoustic technology, Xanthoudakis's compositions are characterized by emotional restraint and profound humour. By applying serial procedures to tonal material, in works such as the widely performed Tango Plus-Minus and the double bass concerto (1991, rev. 1996), he has found an unorthodox way in which to recover the trajectory of musical tradition. Such procedures aim, according to the composer, to unmask the fraud inherent in the aesthetic position of the serial avant garde. WORKS (selective list)
WRITINGS ‘Mia ennoiologhiki anadifissi sti theoria tis moussikis’ [Semantic research in music theory], Echos, no.13 (1974), 56–9 ‘Kinimatografos ke moussiki: i periptossi tou Mauricio Kagel’ [Cinema and music: the case of Mauricio Kagel], Film, no.18 (1979), 111–19 Aspects de la signification du timbre dans la musique du XXe siècle (diss., U. of Paris, 1981) ‘Les origines de l'orchestration moderne’, Revue internationale de musique française, no.18 (1985), 22–8 ‘Et in Arcadia ego: metamodernismos ke paradossi sti simerini moussiki’ [Et in Arcadia ego: postmodernism and tradition in today's music], O politis, nos.81–2 (1987), 110–11 Keimena ya mia litourghiki theoria tis moussikis (Athens, 1992) ‘Mantzarou tychae’ [Destinies of Mantzaros], Porphyras, no.75 (1995), 25–34 ‘I proti istoria tis neoellinikis moussikis’ [The earliest history of modern Greek music], Porphyras, no.79, (1996), 83–90 GEORGE LEOTSAKOS Xenakis, Iannis (b Braïla, ?29 May 1922). French composer of Greek parentage. He belongs to the pioneering generation of composers who revolutionized 20th-century music after World War II. With the ardour of an outsider to academic musical life, he was one of the first to replace traditional musical thinking with radical new concepts of sound composition. His musical language had a strong influence on many younger composers in and outside of Europe, but it remained singular for its uncompromising harshness and conceptual rigour. 1. Early life. 2. Architecture. 3. Musical research. 4. Works overview. 5. Early works. 6. ‘Metastaseis’. 7. Macroscopic stochastic music. 8. ‘Symbolic music’. 9. Ancient theatre and Polytopes. 10. Microscopic stochastic music. 11. ‘Morphological’ compositions. 12. Globally tempered sieves and cellular automata. 13. Electro-acoustic works. WORKS WRITINGS BIBLIOGRAPHY PETER HOFFMANN Xenakis, Iannis Early life. The eldest child of a Greek businessman, he was born in Romania, and at the age of ten was sent to a boarding school on the Greek island of Spetsai. An outsider there, he immersed himself in science and Greek literature, both of which were to become lifelong interests. His early musical experiences were various: at home he heard classical piano music played by his mother and the music of gypsy bands; on Spetsai he encountered Byzantine liturgical music and Greek folk music and dance; he also sang in the school choir (whose repertory included works of Palestrina), and absorbed classical music from the radio. Later, during World War II, a comrade in the Greek Resistance was to introduce him to the music of Bartók, Debussy and Ravel. In Athens at 16, while preparing for the civil engineering entrance examination to the Athens Polytechnic, Xenakis took lessons in piano and music theory. He entered the Polytechnic in the autumn of 1940, but it closed following the Italian invasion of Greece in November of that year, and closed again several times during the course of the war. At first Xenakis took part in right-wing nationalist protests, but at the end of 1941 he joined the resistance of the communist-led National Liberation Front (EAM) against the German occupation (April 1941 to October 1944). He took an active part in mass demonstrations against, among other things, the German confiscation of all food supplies (which caused thousands of deaths in the winter of 1941–2) and the attempts to deport Greeks to carry out forced labour in Germany in February 1943. One photograph of this time shows Xenakis marching in the front row of a demonstration (Matossian, 1981). Later in his life, the composer was to speak of his experience of acoustic mass phenomena in these events, such as the way rhythmically regular shouts turned into chaotic screams of fear when the Nazis opened fire. British forces arrived in Greece in mid-October 1944 to eliminate the EAM and restore the Greek monarchy; and in December of the same year, as a student in the ‘Lord Byron’ unit, Xenakis took part in street fighting against British tanks. He was seriously wounded when a shell hit him in the face. While he was in hospital, the EAM lost its political and military power, whereupon the ‘White Terror’ was unleashed on former Resistance members. In spite of his wartime experiences, Xenakis gained his diploma in February 1946. He was then conscripted into the national armed forces, where he heard for the first time of the concentration camps to which former Resistance fighters were being sent; he deserted and went into hiding. Condemned to death (his sentence was in 1951 commuted to ten years’ imprisonment) and stripped of his Greek citizenship, he managed to reach Italy with a false passport in September 1947, and illegally crossed into France in the hope of reaching the USA. However, he was forced to remain in Paris as an illegal immigrant with no material resources of any kind. Xenakis, Iannis Architecture. To earn his living, Xenakis worked until 1959 in Le Corbusier’s studio, at first as an engineer, but gradually playing a greater part in architectural design. He designed the kindergarten on the roof of the residential block in Nantes-Rézé, parts of the government buildings in Chandigarh, India, the rhythmically articulated glass façade of the monastery of St Marie de La Tourette, near Lyons, and the greater part of the chapel there. Finally, he was responsible for the unique shape of the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels Exposition Universelle, based on a sketch of Le Corbusier. Most of his later architectural projects were intended for musical uses: a concert hall and studio for Scherchen’s musical centre in Gravesano (Ticino) in 1961 and the same for the Cité de la Musique in Paris in 1984; but the only design to be realized was the Diatope, one of his invented Polytopes. The space for a unique sound-and-light experience, it comprised a tent-like construction which was erected outside the Centre Pompidou in Paris for its opening in 1977 and later re-erected in Bonn for a Xenakis festival. Xenakis, Iannis Musical research. In Paris, Xenakis tried to compensate for the musical education he had missed during the war through self-directed study by taking lessons with Honegger and Milhaud. He also attended Messiaen’s analysis course at the Conservatoire (1950–52). Between 1955 and 1966 Scherchen repeatedly invited him to Gravesano, where he met musicians and experts in electro-acoustics (including Max Mathews). The articles Xenakis contributed to Scherchen’s Gravesaner Blätter formed the basis for his book Formalized Music (the first edition, in French, appeared in 1963). From 1957 to 1962 he worked in Schaeffer’s Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM; until 1958, Studio d’essai de la Radio-Télévision Française), where he realized his early electro-acoustic works. Invited to Japan in 1961, he received there enduring impressions of Asian musical culture which strengthened him in his idea of ‘universal musical structures’. In 1962 Xenakis composed a group of instrumental works with the help of a computer at IBM Paris (Schmidt, 1995, Baltensperger, 1996). In order to extend his research into the nature of sound itself with the help of the computer, he founded EMAMu (Equipe de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales) in 1966, which in 1972 became CEMAMu (Centre d’Etudes de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales). From 1967 to 1972, Xenakis taught at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he also directed a Center for Mathematical and Automated Music. He was a visiting professor at the Sorbonne (1973–89), and was awarded a doctorate there for his interdisciplinary research (Arts/Sciences: alliages) in 1976. Xenakis, Iannis Works overview. Unusually, Xenakis’s first compositions were for orchestra, a medium which enabled him to realize his conception of sound masses; only later did he turn to smaller ensembles and solo instruments. He initially preferred writing for strings because of their abundance of sound colours and ability to move seamlessly between pitches. But from the late 1960s on, he has also required woodwind and brass to play glissandos. He did not turn to the piano until he began to use ‘finite’ sets of pitches in Herma (1961). Beginning with Nuits (1967–8), Xenakis treated the human voice like an instrument with pizzicato-like accents, consonantal and guttural articulation of abstract phonemes, and extremely demanding ranges in dynamic and pitch. At the same time he entertained an ideal of untrained, ‘peasant’ voices, especially for his musical conception of ancient theatre, in which singers also play bells, gongs, stones and so on. His writing for percussion began in earnest first with Persephassa (1969) and then in a series of powerful, innovative works in the 1970s and 80s (for Pléïades he invented a new instrument – the ‘Six-Xen’). Of singular importance to Xenakis’s work is the dimension of physical space. The first signs of this were in Pithoprakta (1955–6) in which the concluding unison is distributed around the string section in very high harmonics. The brass sounds are similarly treated in Eonta (1963–4), while in Terretektorh and Nomos gamma the audience is placed among the members of the orchestra who are dispersed around the performance space. Nevertheless, Xenakis subsequently concluded that the best way to control the spatial dimension was through the use of loudspeakers, as with the several hundred used in the Philips Pavilion, or in several of his later Polytopes, above all in the Diatope (1977). Though Xenakis’s music is often extremely elaborate in detail, that detail is essentially at the service of the whole, this is particularly evident in the specific manner of the creation of the compositional algorithms ST (Free Stochastic Music) and GENDYN (Dynamic Stochastic Synthesis). Form never emerges from the development of thematic cells but from the collage-like succession or superimposition of segments that display strong internal connections, although heterogenous material is sometimes interpolated as well. The proportions of the parts and the ebb and flow of tension in a work are determined with an infallible instinct for musical dramaturgy. Xenakis, Iannis Early works. This period includes everything before Metastaseis (1953–4), which was detached from a triptych called Anastenaria to mark the beginning of the ‘official’ output. (Anastenaria also comprised two other quite substantial works, Procession aux eaux claires and Sacrifice, inspired by northern Greek festivals of pre-Christan origin). Youthful essays in composition appear not to have survived, though among them Xenakis has mentioned the monodies Odes de Sappho (Varga, 1982). The early works have not been published (although they have been studied, by Mâche in Restagno 1988; Solomos, 1996; and Baltensperger 1997), with the exception of Zyia, which was printed and performed in 1994. These pieces reflect Xenakis’s early ambition to emulate Bartók by founding a contemporary ‘Greek’ music, and approaching the traditional musical heritage with a systematic analytical eye, without renouncing contemporary compositional techniques of Western modernism. This project was expounded in the article ‘Provlimata Ellenikis Mousikis Synthesis’ (‘Problems of Greek music composition’). The elements of Greek folk music that were adapted include the use of certain modes, parallel 4ths, the specifically northern Greek type of vocal polyphony, and the unequal additive rhythms (aksak). Xenakis’s sense of structure and ‘formalization’ reached its peak in Sacrifice, a ‘mechanism’ based upon a Messiaenesque mode de valeurs with the help of a Fibonacci series (see Fibonacci series). Fibonacci series also determine the time structures of Metastaseis, which resemble, in some respects, the rhythmic spacing of glass panels on the façade of the monastery of La Tourette (cf Baltensperger, 1996, p.303). Xenakis, Iannis 6. ‘Metastaseis’. Most of the fundamental musical problems, as he perceived them, were confronted by Xenakis in Metastaseis. In effect, he laid the foundation here for his entire musical career with the concept of ‘sound composition’, described in the essay ‘Les Métastassis’: ‘The sonorities of the orchestra are building materials, like brick, stone and wood … The subtle structures of orchestral sound masses represent a reality that promises much’. In the same essay Xenakis translates the Greek metastaseis as ‘transformations’, referring to the continuous evolution of massive glissando structures on the one hand and the discontinuous transpositions and permutations of pitches on the other. The concept of ‘transformation’ – in a strictly mathematical sense the interrelations between musical structures (where structure is to be understood as a set of relationships between musical parameters) – is central to Xenakis’s thought. Its manifestations include transformations of geometrical figures (group theory), scales (sieve theory), melodic outlines (random paths), polyphonic structures (arborescences), spectral screens (granular synthesis) and wave forms (stochastic synthesis). Xenakis's plotting of the massed glissandos of Metastaseis on ruled millimeter graph paper reflects his basic concept of a musical ‘space-time’: with pitch on the y axis ‘ordinate’, and time on the x axis, a two-dimensional space is created in which potentially time-independent musical structures can be contained in a temporal setting. As in Einstein’s theory of relativity, time becomes a mere dimension in a homogeneous, isotropic space, not distinguished in any way from the dimension of pitch. (This is very important for the later geometrical transformations of such structures as arborescences). For the composition of the middle section of Metastaseis Xenakis developed a highly idiosyncratic dodecaphonic technique. In his space-time concept, the pitches are associated with ‘differential’ durations from the Fibonacci series. Pitch manipulation within 12-tone rows is determined by the systematic use of mathematical permutations of row segments; the transposition of rows through rotation; and the concept of the ‘diastematic series’ based on the six interval classes rather than the 12 pitch classes. Metastaseis is the first work in which Xenakis constructed ruled surfaces in a two-dimensional projection. These surfaces may be understood as straight line paths bent along curved trajectories. Besides their use in later works (such as Syrmos and Stratégie), they define the unique shape of the Philips Pavilion, conceived by Xenakis as the setting for Varèse’s Poème électronique, and Le Corbusier’s picture projections for the Brussels Exposition Universelle of 1958. Xenakis, Iannis Electro-acoustic works. Although Xenakis has produced substantially less electro-acoustic music than music for instruments he has researched intensively in the area since the start of his career. Taken as a whole his tape output suggests a time-loop-like evolution of a single mighty sound stream, endlessly differentiated internally. In particular he has explored the dense spectra of noise-like sounds, rich in partials, which appear similar to sounds emanating from acoustic mass phenomena. Stochastic distributions determined the montage of early electro-acoustic pieces, the density of the acoustic events controlled by means of multiple mixing of concrète sound-sources (Di Scipio, 1995; Delalande, 1997). Such sources have included instrumental sounds, often with extended playing techniques (e.g. exaggerated bow-pressure, playing right up against the bridge, the use of additional col legno noise, wind multiphonics) as in Persépolis (written for the 1971 Polytope) and Hibiki Hana Ma (for the 1970 Osaka World Fair). La légende d’Eer (1977), the singular 46-minute sound-universe for the Diatope, technically the most advanced of the Polytopes, is, like Persépolis, a maelstrom of gradually swelling sound which has a palpable physical effect on the listener. Up to eight independent tracks allow the mixing of diverse channels during a performance. Another way Xenakis has generated complex sounds from rich, transitory spectra is with the combination of many short pulses or ‘sound grains’; such ‘granular synthesis’ was realized with analogue equipment in Analogique B (1958–9). He also attempted its implementation on the computer (Leprince-Ringuet in Gerhards, 1981, p.53) but the technique was developed further by others. The multi-track superimposition of already complex sounds is also the basic idea of graphic synthesis with the UPIC system. As a first step wave forms are either designed freely by hand or sampled from complex sound-sources. As a second step, dozens of pitch curves are defined, in order to turn these waves into simultaneous sound, by means of a battery of oscillators. Most recently, by means of Xenakis’s own computer programme GENDYN (1991) and his Dynamic Stochastic Synthesis algorithm, up to 16 time-variant sound tracks may be synthesized in parallel. The algorithm covers the entire range between constant and chaotically fluctuating spectra, i.e. between the ‘frozen’ musical note and complex noise. It thus represents a refinement of the explorations of stochastic synthesis with the computer which Xenakis began 20 years ago. Xenakis, Iannis WORKS Orchestral
Choral
Other vocal
Chamber
Solo instrumental
Tape some works exist in one or more revised realizations
Xenakis, Iannis WRITINGS Untitled analysis of Metastaseis, in C.E. Le Corbusier: Modulor 2 (Boulogne, 1955, 2/1983; Eng. trans., 1958), 341–4 ‘I simerines tasis tis gallikis moussikis’ [Current tendencies in French music], Epitheorissi technis [Athens], no.6 (1955), 466–70 ‘Provlimata ellinikis moussikis’ [Problems of Greek music], Epitheorissi technis [Athens], no.9 (1955), 185–9; Ger. trans. in A. Baltensperger: Iannis Xenakis und die Stochastische Musik: Komposition im Spannungsfeld von Architektur und Mathematik (Zürich, 1997) ‘Der “Modulor”’, Gravesaner Blätter, no.9 (1957), 2–5 [incl. Eng. trans.] ‘Architecture’, in C.E. Le Corbusier: Le poème électronique (Paris, 1958), 9; Eng. trans. as ‘Le Corbusier’s Electronic Poem’ in Gravesaner Blätter, no.9 (1957), 51–4 with L.C. Kalff: ‘The Philips Pavilion and The Electronic Poem’, Arts and Architecture, no.11 (1958), 23 ‘Les Métastassis’, unpubd typescript, before 1959, D-DSim ‘La musique stochastique: éléments sur les procédés probabilistes de composition musicale’, Revue d’esthétique, no.14 (1961); Eng. trans. in Gravesaner Blätter, no.18 (1960), 84–105; no.19 (1960), 140–50; no.21 (1961), 113–21; no.22 (1961), 144–5 ‘Stochastic Music’, Music East and West: Tokyo 1961, 134–40 ‘Un cas: la musique stochastique’, Musica-disques, no.102 (1962), 11 ‘Debussy a sformalizowanie muzyki’, Ruch muzyczny, vi/16 (1962), 7 ‘Wer ist Iannis Xenakis/Who is Iannis Xenakis’, Gravesaner Blätter, nos.23–4 (1962), 185–6 ‘Musiques formelles’, ReM, nos. 253–4 (1963); repr. as Musiques formelles (Paris, 1981); Eng. trans. as Formalized Music: Thought and Mathematics in Composition (Bloomington, IN, 1971, enlarged 2/1992) ‘Schaeffer, Pierre’, MGG1 ‘Intuition or Rationalism in the Techniques of Contemporary Musical Composition’, Berlin Confrontation: Künstler in Berlin (Berlin, 1965), 15–18 ‘Tribune libre’, Gravesaner Blätter, no.26 (1965), 5 ‘Motsägelsen musik och maskin’, Nutida musik, ix/5–6 (1965–6), 23 ‘Notice sur Orestie’, Sigma, no.3 (1966), 6; rev. as ‘Arcaiotha kai sugcronh mousikh’ [Antiquity and contemporary music], Deltio kritikis diskografias, nos.18–19 (1976), 377–82 ‘Structures hors-temps’, The Musics of Asia: Manila 1966, 152–73 [summary in EthM, xi (1967), 107–13] ‘Ad libitum …’, World of Music, ix/1 (1967), 17–19 ‘La musique et les ordinateurs’, Quinzaine littéraire (March 1968), 23–6 ‘Xenakis, Iannis’, MGG1 ‘Une note’, ReM, nos. 265–6 (1969), 51 ‘Structures universelles de la pensée musicale’, Liberté et organisation dans le monde actuel (Paris, 1969), 173–80 ‘Musique et programmation’, ITC (Ingénieurs, Techniciens et Cadres) actualités, no.2 (1970), 55–7 ‘Short Answers to Difficult Questions’, Composer [USA], ii/2 (1970), 39 Untitled essay, PNM, ix/2 (1970–71), 130 ‘Les dossiers de l’E.m.a.mu’, Colloquio artes, xiii/5 (1971), 40–48 ‘Free Stochastic Music from the Computer’, Cybernetics, Arts, and Ideas, ed. J. Reichardt (London, 1971) Musique, Architecture (Tournai, 1971, enlarged 2/1976; Eng. trans., forthcoming) Preface to M. Gagnard: L’initiation musicale des jeunes (Paris, 1971), 9–11 ‘Den kosmika värtdsstaden’, Nutida musik, xv/3 (1971–2), 13–14 ‘Om “Terretektorh”’, Nutida musik, xv/2 (1971–2), 47 Untitled essay, Ferienkurse ’74: Darmstadt 1974, ed. E. Thomas, 16–18 ‘Propos impromptu’, Courrier musical de France, no.48 (1974), 130–33 ‘Iannis Xenakis: aftoviografiko’ [Xenakis: an autobiography], Deltio kritikis diskografias, nos.18–19 (1976), 374–6 Opening Address, Computer Music Conference V: Evanston, IL, 1978 ‘Centre Georges Pompidou: geste de lumière et de son’, Le Diatope-Xenakis (Paris, 1978), ‘Epistimoniki skepsi kai moussiki’ [Scientific thought and music], Rotonta, no.4 (1978), 380–95 Untitled essay, in I. and G. Bogdanoff: L’effet science-fiction (Paris, 1979), 283–6 Arts/Sciences: alliages (Paris, 1979; Eng. trans., 1985, as Arts – Sciences, Alloys: the Thesis Defense of Iannis Xenakis) ‘Brief an Karl Amadeus Hartmann’, Karl Amadeus Hartmann und die Musica Viva, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, 19 June – 29 Aug 1980, ed. R. Wagner, M. Attenkofer and H. Hell (Munich, 1980), 337 [exhibition catalogue] ‘Migrazioni nella composizione musicale’, Musica e elaboratore, ed. A. Vidolin (Venice, 1980) ‘Dialexh’ [Conference], Symbossio: synchroni tecni kai paradossi (Athens, 1981), 195–206 ‘Homage to Béla Bartók’, Tempo, no.136 (1981), 5 ‘Il faut que ça change’, Le matin (26 Jan 1981) ‘Le temps en musique’, Spirales, no.10 (1981), 9–11 ‘La composition musicale est à la fois dépendante et indépendante de l’évolution technologique des systèmes analogiques ou numériques’, Conférences des journées d’études: Festival International du Son (Paris, 1982), 137–55 ‘Il pensiero musicale’, Spirali, no.41 (1982), 44–5 ‘Polytopes’, in J.-P Leonardini, M. Collin and J. Markovits: Festival d’automne à Paris 1972–1982 (Paris, 1982), 218 ‘Science et technologie, instruments de création’, Recherche et technologie: Paris 1982 (Paris, 1982) ‘Perspectives de la musique contemporaine’, Echos, no.1 (1983), 47 ‘Un exemple enviable’, ReM, nos.372–4 (1984), 67 ‘Notice sur la vie et les travaux de Georges Auric, Discours prononcés dans la séance publique tenue par l’Académie des Beaux-Arts, no.6 (1984), 13–19 ‘Un plaidoyer pour l’avant-garde?’, Nouvel observateur, nos. 19–25 (1984), 97 ‘La source de l’expérience humaine’, Le monde (13 Sept 1984) ‘Les conditions actuelles de la composition’, France Forum, nos.223–4 (1985), 10–12 ‘Le monde en harmonie’, Silences, no.1 (1985), 91–4 ‘Briefauszug an Hermann Scherchen’, Hermann Scherchen Musiker, ed. H. Pauli and D. Wunsche (Berlin, 1986), 95 ‘Hermann Scherchen’, Monde de la musique, no.89 (1986), 91 ‘Ouvrir les fenêtres sur l’inédit’, 20ème siècle: images de la musique française, ed. J.-P. Derrien (Paris, 1986), 160–62 ‘Mykenae alpha’, PNM, xxv/1–2 (1987), 12–15 ‘Xenakis on Xenakis’, PNM, xxv/1–2 (1987), 16–63 ‘A propos de Jonchaies’, Entretemps, no.6 (1988), 133–7 Untitled essay, Edgard Varèse 1883–1965: Dokumente zu Leben und Werk, ed. H. de la Motte-Haber and K. Angermann (Frankfurt, 1990), 79–80 ‘Originality in Musical Composition’, Technology’s Challenge for Mankind (Tokyo, 1990), 17–24 ‘Sieves’, PNM, xxviii/1 (1990), 58–78; partial repr. in Kéleütha (Paris, 1994), 75–87 ‘UPIC Sketch for Voyage absolu des Unari vers Andromède, 1989, PNM, xxviii/2 (1990), 119, 135 ‘More Thorough Stochastic Music’, Computer Music Conference: Montreal 1991, 517–18 Untitled essay, PNM, xxxi/2 (1993), 135 [on John Cage] Kéleütha (Paris, 1994) [incl. ‘La crise de la musique sérielle’, 39–43; ‘Lettre à Hermann Scherchen’, 44–5; ‘Théorie des probabilités et composition musicale’; ‘Eléments sur les procédés probabilistes (stochastiques) de composition musicale’, 46–53; ‘La voie de la recherche et de la question’, 67–74; ‘Culture et créativité’, 129–32; ‘Des universes du son’, 112–20; ‘Entre Charybde et Scylla’, 88–93; ‘Les chemins de la composition musicale’, 15–38; ‘Musique et originalité’, 106–11; ‘Pour l’innovation culturelle’, 133–5; ‘L’univers est une spirale’, 136–8; ‘Condition du musicien’, 121–8; ‘Cribles’, 75–87; ‘Sur le temps’, 94–105] Musique et originalité (Paris, 1996) [collection of essays] ‘Determinacy and Indeterminacy’, Organised Sound, i (1996), 143–55 INTERVIEWS B.A. Varga: Beszélgetèsek Iannis Xenakisszal (Budapest, 1982; Eng. trans., 1996, as Conversations with Iannis Xenakis) M. Feldman: ‘A Conversation on Music’, Res, no.15 (1988), 177–81 E. Restagno: ‘Un’autobiografia dell’autore raccontata de Enzo Restagno’, Xenakis (Turin, 1988), 3–70 M. Harley: ‘Musique, espace et spatialisation’, Circuits, v/2 (1994), 9–20 P. Szendy: ‘Ici et là: entretien avec Iannis Xenakis’, Cahiers de l’IRCAM, no.5 (1994), 107–13 F. Delalande: Il faut être constamment un immigré: entretiens avec Xenakis (Paris, 1997) Xenakis, Iannis BIBLIOGRAPHY Whole issues of periodicals ReM, no.257 (1963) Nutida musik, x/5 (1966–7) L’arc, no.51 (1972) Nutida musik, xxviii/3 (1984–5) MusikTexte, no.13 (1986) Iannis Xenakis, Musik-Konzepte, nos.54–5 (1987) Entretemps, no.6 (1988), esp. 57–143 Circuit, v/2 (1994) Muzyka, no.3 (1998; forthcoming) General studies D. Charles: La pensée de Xenakis (Paris, 1970) D. Halperin: L’oeuvre musicale de Iannis Xenakis (Jerusalem, 1975) [in Hebrew] O. Revault d’Allonnes: Xenakis: Polytopes (Paris, 1975) J. Ruohomki: Ylesiä pürteitä Iannis Xenakisen musiikillisesta ajattulesta metodeista ja teoksista (Helsinki, 1977) M. Sato: Iannis Xenakis: sûgaku ni yori sakkyoku [Musical composition by mathematics] (MA diss., Tokyo U. of Fine Arts and Music, 1978) H. Gerhards, ed.: Regards sur Iannis Xenakis (Paris, 1981) [incl. homages by M. Kundera, O. Messiaen and S. Ozawa] N. Matossian: Iannis Xenakis (Paris, 1981; Eng. trans., 1984) J. Vermeil: ‘Les demeures Xenakis’, Silences, no.1 (1985), 201–06 P.-A. Castanet: ‘L’organon, ou Les outils mathématiques de la création musicale’, Cahiers du CIREM, nos.1–2 (1986), 33–44 H. Lohner: ‘Xenakis and the UPIC’, Computer Music Journal, x/4 (1986), 42–7 P.-E. Gontcharov: Les percussions chez Xenakis (diss., U. of Paris IV-Sorbonne, 1988) E. Restagno, ed.: Xenakis (Turin, 1988) S.A. Joseph: The Stochastic Music of Iannis Xenakis: an Examination of his Theory and Practice (diss., New York U., n.d.) A. Orcalli: Le hasard se calcule: una tesi di Iannis Xenakis (Padua, 1990) F.-B. Mache: ‘De Nekuia à Dox Orkh, dix années de création’, Musica, Festival de Strasbourg (1991) P. Oswalt: ‘Polytope von Iannis Xenakis’, Arch+, no.107 (1991), 50–54 A. Baltensperger: “‘Art” und “Science”’, NZM, Jg.153, no.5 (1992), 27–34 B. Gibson: Xenakis: organisation sonore, techniques d’écriture, orchestration (Paris, 1992) N. Papoutsopoulos: ‘To Politopo ton Mykinon tou Ianni Xenaki’ [The Polytope de Mycènes by Xenakis], Sima [Athens], no.7 (1992), 46–7 G. Marino, M.-H. Serra and J.-M. Raczinski: ‘The UPIC System: Origins and Innovations’, PNM, xxxi/1 (1993), 258–69 M.-H. Serra: ‘Stochastic Composition and Stochastic Timbre: GENDY3 by Iannis Xenakis’, PNM, xxxi/1 (1993), 236–57 M. Solomos: A propos des premières oeuvres (1953–69) de I. Xenakis: pour une approche historique de l’émergence de phénomène du son (diss., U. of Paris IV, 1993) S. di Biasi: Musica e matematica negli anni 50–60: Iannis Xenakis (Bologna, 1994) R. Eichert: Iannis Xenakis und die mathematische Grundlagenforschung (Saarbrücken, 1994) M.A. Harley: ‘Spatial Sound Movement in the Instrumental Music of Iannis Xenakis’, Interface: Journal of New Music Research, xxiii (1994), 291–314 P. Hoffmann: Amalgam aus Kunst und Wissenschaft: naturwissenschaftliches Denken im Werk von Iannis Xenakis (Frankfurt, 1994) H. de la Motte-Haber: ‘Musikalische Architektur und architektonische Musik’, Neue Berlinische Musikzeitung, viii/1 (1994), suppl., 3–10 M. Solomos: ‘Les trois sonorités xenakiennes’, Circuits, v/2 (1994), 21–39 A. Di Scipio: ‘Da Concret PH a GENDY 301: modelli compositivi nella musica elettroacustica di Xenakis’, Sonus, xiv (1995), 61–92 C. Schmidt: Komposition und Spiel: zu Iannis Xenakis (Cologne, 1995) A. Baltensperger: Iannis Xenakis und die Stochastische Musik: Komposition im Spannungsfeld von Architektur und Mathematik (Berne, 1996) R. Frisius: ‘Xenakis und das Schlagzeug’, NZM, Jg.157, no.6 (1996), 14–18 M. Iliescu: Musical et extramusical: eléments de pensée spatiale dans l’oeuvre de Iannis Xenakis (diss., U. of Paris I, 1996) M. Solomos: Iannis Xenakis (Mercuès, 1996) B. Robindore: ‘Eskhaté Ereuna: Extending the Limits of Musical Thought’, Computer Music Journal, xx/4 (1996), 11–16 R.J. Squibbs: Analytical Approach to the Music of Iannis Xenakis: Issues in the Recent Music (Ann Arbor, 1996) P. Hoffmann: ‘L’espace abstrait dans la musique de Iannis Xenakis’, L’espace: musique – philosophie: Paris 1997, 141–52 M. Iliescu: ‘Connotations socio-politiques de la conception massique de Xenakis’, L’espace: musique – philosophie: Paris 1997, 265–77 P. Hoffmann: Music out of Nothing? The Dynamic Stochastic Synthesis: a Rigorous Approach to Algorithmic Composition by Iannis Xenakis (diss., Technische U., Berlin, forthcoming) M. Solomos: Du project bartókien au son: l’évolution du jeune Xenakis (forthcoming) M. Solomos, ed.: Proceedings of the 1st International Xenakis Congress, Centre de Documentation de Musique Contemporaine, Paris, 1999 (forthcoming) Particular works N. Kay: ‘Xenakis’s “Pithoprakta”’, Tempo, no.80 (1967), 21–5 T. Souster: ‘Xenakis’ “Nuits”’, Tempo, no.85 (1968), 5–18 K. Stone: ‘Xenakis: “Metastaseis, Pithoprakta, Eonta”’, MQ, liv (1968), 387–95 F. Vandenbogaerde: ‘Analyse de “Nomos alpha”’, Mathématiques et sciences humaines, no.24 (1968), 35–50 D. Sevrette: Etude statistique sur ‘Herma’ de Xenakis (Paris, 1973) T. DeLio: ‘I. Xenakis’ “Nomos Alpha”: the Dialectic of Structure and Materials’, JMT, xxiv (1980), 63–86; repr. in Contiguous Lines, ed. T. DeLio (Lanham, MD, 1985), 3–30 J. Vriend: ‘“Nomos alpha”: Analysis and Comments’, Interface: Journal of New Music Research, x (1981), 15–82 P. Gervasoni: ‘“Idmem-Pléïades”’, Diapason-Harmonie, no.384 (1983) T. DeLio: Structure and Strategy: Iannis Xenakis’ ‘Linaia-Agon’ (Maryland, 1985) J. Papadatos: Werkanalyse zu Iannis Xenakis’ ‘Jonchaies’ (Examensarbeit, Staatliche Hochschule für Musik, Düsseldorf, 1985) D.W. Yoken: Iannis Xenakis’ ‘Psappha’: a Performance Analysis (San Diego, 1985) P.-A. Castanet: ‘“Mists”, oeuvre pour piano de Iannis Xenakis: de l’écoute à l’analyse, les chemins convergents d’une rencontre’, Analyse musicale, no.5 (1986), 65–75 J.-R. Julien: ‘“Nuits” de Iannis Xenakis: éléments d’une analyse’, Education musicale, no.325 (1986), 5–9; no.326 (1986), 9–12 O. Revault d’Allonnes: ‘“Thalleïn” de Xenakis’, InHarmoniques, no.1 (1986), 189–95 T. DeLio: ‘Structure and Strategy: Iannis Xenakis’ “Linaia Agon”’ Interface: Journal of New Music Research, xvi (1987) J. Williams: ‘Iannis Xenakis: “Persephassa” an Introduction’, Percussive Notes (1987), 9–13 E.R. Flint: An Investigation of Real Time as Evidenced by the Structural and Formal Multiplicities in Iannis Xenakis’ ‘Psappha’ (diss., U. of Maryland, College Park, 1989) C. Prost: ‘Nuits: première transposition de la démarche de Iannis Xenakis du domaine instrumental au domaine vocal’, Analyse musicale, no.15 (1989), 64–70 M. Malt: Trois aspects de formalisation dans ‘Achorripsis’ de Iannis Xenakis (Paris, 1991) F. Jodelet: ‘Psappha’, Percussions, no.20 (1992), 9–15 J.-M. Thil: ‘“A Hélène” de I. Xenakis’, Education musicale, no.391 (1992), 5–6 J.M. Cubillas Morales: Iannis Xenakis, ‘Nomos Alpha’: una aproximacion inicial hacia el analisis de un encuentro, en el siglo XX, entre la musica y la matematica (Teoria de Grupos) (Valparaiso, 1993) B. Larkin: ‘Analyse pour jouer “Psappha”’, Percussions, no.29 (1993), 7–11 M. Solomos: ‘“Persephassa” durée, geste et rythme’, Percussions, no.33 (1994), 11–19 J.-M. Chouvel: ‘A propos de “L’île de Gorée” de Iannis Xenakis’, Terres des signes, no.1 (1995), 169–73 Xeres, Hurtado de. See Hurtado de Xeres. Xhosa music. See South africa, §I, 1. Xian Xinghai [Hsien Hsing-hai] (b Macao, 13 June 1905; d Moscow, 30 Oct 1945). Chinese composer. Educated in music schools and conservatories in Canton (1918), Beijing (1926) and Shanghai (1928), he travelled to France in 1930 to study composition with d’Indy and Dukas and take violin lessons. After a period at the Paris Conservatoire he returned to Shanghai in 1935; he subsequently worked for the Pathé (Baidai) Record Company, headed the music section of the left-wing New China (Xinhua) Film Company, and composed many songs for use in anti-Japanese popular movements. With the outbreak of war with Japan in 1937, Xian moved to Wuhan then to the Communist headquarters at Yan'an, where he became head of music at Lu Xun College of the Arts (1938), composed several significant nationalistic compositions, such as the cantata Huanghe (1939), and encouraged the study of folk music so that it could be better adapted by reformist composers. In 1940 he moved to Moscow for further study, and remained in various parts of the Soviet Union and Mongolia until his death. As with his contemporary Nie Er, Xian’s image was held up after his death by the Communist Party as that of a model revolutionary musician: his present reputation in Chinese musical circles stems more from politically motivated discussions of his life and personality than from the impact of specific compositions. While he attempted to craft artworks which he hoped would raise musical standards within China, Xian’s compositional style was essentially populist. His melodies commonly employ folk or folk-like material, and textures and structures, even in his larger-scale works, are typically simple and clearly articulated. His harmonic language reflects both the influence of his foreign studies and of his attempts to develop a style more closely according to Chinese thematic material. WORKS (selective list)
BIBLIOGRAPHY R.C. Kraus: Pianos and Politics in China: Middle-Class Ambitions and the Struggle over Western Music (New York, 1989), 40–69 Wang Yuhe: Zhongguo jin- xiandai yinyuejia pingzhuan [A critical biography of modern and contemporary Chinese music] (Beijing, 1992), 181–205 JONATHAN P.J. STOCK Xiao. Vertical notched flute of the Han Chinese. The name xiao (which was the ancient name for panpipe) is onomatopoeic. The notched flute, historically known by names such as di, guan and chiba, was not called xiao until about the 12th century. It is one of the most venerated of Chinese instruments, possessing a pure and ‘natural’ tone quality (associated with bamboo) and embodying important associations with the Confucian ethos and cosmology. As known by the name di, the instrument was likened to the Confucian concept of di, a different character meaning ‘to wash away evil from the mind’. A later variant known as chiba was twice the length of the ‘yellow bell’ pitch (huangzhong, the foundation pitch of the empire calculated on a tube of 0·9 feet), sounding a root pitch one octave lower and thus achieving correspondence with the universe. The present-day xiao is constructed of bamboo, with an inward-sloping notch at the upper end (to assist tone production), five frontal finger-holes plus one dorsal thumb-hole, and two or more tassel holes near the lower end. External lengths vary by region, the crucial measurement being the location of the lower tassel holes (which define the vibrating length), for D flutes usually between about 50 and 52 cm below the blow-hole, depending upon internal diameter. Range is about two octaves commonly (d' – e'''). Several basic regional types are usually identified, all with variant constructions. Most common is the zizhu (‘purple bamboo’) xiao, characteristic of the Jiangnan area of central-eastern China. Longest of the regional variants (about 75 cm or more), this type is constructed from a species of bamboo with long, straight internodal sections, and it has a U-shaped notch carved through the uppermost node (which otherwise closes off most of the opening). Refined in tone and moderate in volume, this xiao is performed solo, in duet with qin or zheng zithers, or in small ensembles. The second major type is the dongxiao, employed in nanguan music of southern Fujian and Taiwan. Shorter than the Jiangnan xiao (about 57 cm), the dongxiao is constructed from ‘stone bamboo’ or other relatively thick species, and has a U- or V-shaped notch (the top node completely open), the lower end cut from the bamboo root. In theory, the instrument should have ten nodal outcroppings, though some variants have only nine. Other variants include the slender yuping xiao, and the yaxiao (‘refined’ xiao), a 1930s semi-chromatic eight-hole flute adapted for performance with the qin zither. The history of the Chinese vertical notched flute is one of constantly changing terminology. Inscriptions on oracle bones from after the 14th century bce reveal the names of two flutes, yan and guan. The Zhouli (c3rd–2nd centuries bce) and other classic texts mention the names di (a name later applied to transverse flutes) and guan (‘pipe’, a name later applied to reed-pipes). Both had finger-holes and presumably notches as well. The Zhou dynasty di must have been a four-holed flute, because during the Han dynasty (206 bce–ce 220) the poem Changdi fu (‘Long di poem’) reports that a fifth hole had been added (a thumb-hole at the back). Other writings of this period speak of another vertical flute, the six-holed qiangdi, an instrument of the Qiang tribal people of western China. This instrument was quite long and slender and may have been related to the unnotched vertical flute of Western Asia (Ney). But the Chinese vertical flute (di) was already documented in late Zhou literature as a standard instrument employed in ritual ensembles. Because of its ritual use, the root pitch of the di was usually the same as the ‘yellow bell’ pitch (which changed from one dynasty to another). However, its roughly equidistant finger-hole positions obviously did not coincide with the accepted orthodoxy of circle-of-fifths temperament, because numerous attempts were made to correct this discrepancy. During the Tang dynasty (618–907), the most significant type of vertical flute became known as chiba guan, or simply chiba (literally, ‘1·8 (Chinese) feet’). Preserved at the Shōsōin treasury in Japan are eight chiba (pronounced Shakuhachi in Japanese) dating from this period. They are of bamboo, jade, stone and ivory, between 34 and 44 cm in length, with outward-cut notches and five finger-holes plus one thumb-hole. After the Tang, the name chiba was found less frequently in the literature (perhaps because of changes in measurement systems), and by the 11th and 12th centuries the name dongxiao became more common. Among local musicians of southern Fujian province, both names are used. That long, thin vertical flutes, known as shudi (‘vertical’ di) or changdi (‘long’ di) were also in use during the Tang is attested by representations in cave art and citations in period literature. According to the scholar Zhu Xi (1130–1200), the long flute was called xiao by his time (the term di increasingly being used to identify transverse flutes). A very few notched flutes constructed of porcelain, jade and bamboo survive from the 16th or 17th centuries. A larger number of 19th-century xiao are preserved in museums throughout China, North America and Europe, including handsome red-lacquered flutes decorated with gilded dragon motifs, taken from various Confucian shrines. BIBLIOGRAPHY A.C. Moule: ‘A List of the Musical and other Sound-Producing Instruments of the Chinese Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, North China Branch’, xxxix (1908), 1–160; repr. separately (Buren, 1989) Hayashi K. and others: Shōsōin no gakki [Musical instruments in the Shōsōin] (Tokyo, 1967) [with Eng. summary] Cheung Sai-bung: Zhongguo yinyue shilun shugao [Historical studies of Chinese music] (Hong Kong, 1974–5) Tong Kin-woon: Shang Musical Instruments (diss., Wesleyan U., 1983); repr. in AsM, xv/1 (1983), 166–73 Lu Songling: ‘Chiba chutan’ [Preliminary study of the chiba], Quanzhou lishi wenhua zhongxin gongzuo tongxun, no.1 (1985), 9–18 Liu Dongsheng and others, ed.: Zhongguo yueqi tuzhi [Pictorial record of Chinese musical instruments] (Beijing, 1987) Liu Dongsheng and Yuan Quanyou, eds.: Zhongguo yinyue shi tujian [Pictorial guide to the history of Chinese music] (Beijing, 1988) Liu Dongsheng, ed.: Zhongguo yueqi tujian [Pictorial guide to Chinese musical instruments] (Ji'nan, 1992), 114–15, 119–21 Zheng Ruzhong: ‘Musical Instruments in the Wall Paintings of Dunhuang’, CHIME, no.7 (1993), 4–56 Zhongguo yueqi zhi, qiming juan (aerophone vol.) [forthcoming] Zhongguo yinyue wenwu daxi [forthcoming] ALAN R. THRASHER Xiao, Shuxian [Hsiao, Shu-sien] (b Tianjin, 9 April 1905; d Beijing, 26 Nov 1991). Chinese composer and educator. She was a prizewinning graduate of the Brussels Conservatoire Royale de Musique in 1932. From 1935 to 1954 she was married to the conductor Hermann Scherchen; the composer Tona Scherchen is their daughter. During the 1930s and 40s she spent 14 years in Switzerland, where she worked as a composer and was influential in promoting Chinese culture in Europe through her lectures and writings. Her Chinese Children’s Suite and the orchestral suite Huainian Zuguo were among the first works by a Chinese composer to become known in the West. Her style combines Chinese folk materials with Western techniques, a concept later developed in her teaching of polyphony. In 1950, motivated by a desire to contribute to her country’s development, she returned to China with her three children. From that time until her death she taught composition at the Central Conservatory in Beijing, where she was regarded as inspirational to generations of Chinese composers. In addition to teaching, composing and writing, Xiao’s lifelong involvement with polyphony included translations into Chinese of Lendvai’s book on Bartók’s form and harmony (Beijing, 1979) and Koechlin’s Précis des règles du contrepoint (Beijing, 1986). WORKS (selective list) unless otherwise stated, all appear in following 2 collections and are undated
BIBLIOGRAPHY GroveW(J. Lindorff) [incl. further bibliography] S. Xiao: ‘La chanson populaire chinoise’, Sinologica: Zeitschrift für Chinesische Kultur und Wissenschaft, i/1 (1947), 65–86 Duan Pingtai: ‘ Qi Xiao Shuxian xian sheng’ [Introducing Professor Xiao], Journal of the Central Conservatory of Music, xi/2 (1983), 51–3 Liu Fushu: ‘Dao nian Xiao Shuxian dai jie’ [In memory of Xiao], Art of Music, no.49 (1992), 64–6 JOYCE LINDORFF Xiao Erhua [Hsiao Erh-Hua] (b mainland China, 1906; d 1985). Chinese composer and teacher resident in Taiwan. In the late 1930s he studied music and theory in Japan; after working as a music teacher in Guangxi and Fujian, he moved to Taiwan in 1946. There he helped to establish the music department at Taiwan Normal University, devoting his attentions more to musicology and teaching than to composition. In a period when concert performances were rare and only included music by foreign composers, Xiao introduced his students to the works of mainland Chinese composers such as Huang Zi, Chen Tianhe, Liu Xue'an, Lin Shengshi and Zhao Yuanren. This exposure encouraged his students, including such important Taiwanese composers as Hsu Tsang-houei and Ma Shuilong, to compose in the new Chinese art music style. Xiao himself wrote mainly vocal music in the prevailing ‘pentatonic Romantic’ style, combining Western tonal harmony with Chinese pentatonic melodies. Some of his songs, such as his famous Fangong fuguo ge, carry political messages concerned with resisting communism and retrieving the motherland. C.C. Liu Collection, Institute of Chinese Studies, University of Heidelberg. BIBLIOGRAPHY Qiao Pei: Zhongguo xiandai yinyuejia [Contemporary Chinese musicians] (Taipei, 1976), 120–22 Hsu Tsang-houei: ‘Zhongguo xin yinyue shi: Taiwan bian 1945–85’ [History of new music in China: Taiwan], Zhongguo xin yinyue shi lunji, ed. Liu Jingzhi (Hong Kong, 1990), 211–32, esp. 230 You Sufeng: Taiwan jin sanshi nian ‘xiandai yinyue’ fazhan zhi tansuo 1945–1975 [Enquiries into the development of ‘modern music’ in Taiwan] (thesis, National Taiwan Normal U., 1990), esp. 1–29 Hsu Tsang-houei: ‘The Republic of China’, New Music in the Orient, ed. H. Ryker (Buren, 1991), 217–24, esp. 217 BARBARA MITTLER Ximénez [Jiménez], José (b Zaragoza, bap. 25 Dec 1601; d Zaragoza, 9 Aug 1672). Spanish composer and organist. He was probably a pupil of Aguilera de Heredia before becoming his assistant organist at the cathedral of La Seo in Zaragoza in 1620. In 1627 or 1628 he succeeded him as organist. In 1654 Ximénez was offered the position of organist at the royal chapel in Madrid but he declined and remained at La Seo until his retirement in January 1672. Ximénez’s works, which are of moderate quality, include eight tientos, two batallas, one folia setting, one gaytilla and 11 sets of hymn and psalm versos, all for organ. Selections are published in F. Pedrell: Antología de organistas clásicos españoles, i (Barcelona, 1908) and in H. Anglés: Antología de organistas españoles del siglo XVII, i–ii (Barcelona, 1965–6). BIBLIOGRAPHY ApelG W. Apel: ‘Spanish Organ Music of the Early 17th Century’, JAMS, xv (1962), 174–81 W. Apel: ‘Die spanische Orgelmusik vor Cabanilles’, AnM, xvii (1962), 15–29 L. Siemens Hernández: ‘La Seo de Zaragoza, destacada escuela de órgano en el siglo XVII, I’, AnM, xxi (1966), 147-67 M.E. Sutton: A Study of the Seventeenth-Century Iberian Organ Batalla: Historical Development, Musical Characteristics and Performance Considerations (diss., U. of Kansas, 1975), 43–52 BARTON HUDSON Ximeno, Fabián Pérez (b Mexico City, c1595; d Mexico City, 17 April 1654). Mexican composer and organist. From 1621 he held the position of second organist at Mexico City Cathedral, becoming first organist by November 1642. After the death of Luis Coronado, he was appointed maestro de capilla on 31 March 1648, and took as his assistant the nephew of his predecessor, Juan Coronado. He held this position, along with that of organist, until his death. During this period he trained his nephew, Francisco Vidales, who later became organist at Puebla Cathedral and a composer. Ximeno's successor was Francisco López Capillas. Influenced by Juan Gutiérrez de Padilla, Ximeno developed an interest in polychoral works. His numerous compositions include several masses, three Magnificat settings, two Lenten motets, a Dixit Dominus, two psalms for the Office of the Dead and a 5-part Christmas carol in the Galician dialect: Ay, ay, galeguiños ay que lo veyo. MARK BRILL Xinda [Xindas, Xinta], Spyridon. See Xyndas, Spyridon. Xirimía [chirimía] (Sp.). See Shawm. Xuares [Juárez], Alonso (b Cuenca, c1639; d Cuenca, 26 June 1696). Spanish composer. He was maestro de capilla at Cuenca Cathedral from 3 September 1664 until 1675. Because of his excellent reputation he was offered the same post at Seville Cathedral, and served there from 29 April 1675 until 1 May 1684, when a kidney complaint caused his resignation. Returning to Cuenca, he was awarded various honours, including a benefice and a half-prebend, by the Bishop Alonso Antonio de San Martín. Xuares was renowned for his knowledge of scripture and classical learning; he carried on a weekly correspondence with Juan de Loaysa, librarian of the Biblioteca Colombina in Seville. His numerous extant compositions are notable for their liberal use of accidentals, rhythmic interest and contrasting textures. WORKS
BIBLIOGRAPHY T. Muñoz y Soliva: Noticias de todos los Ilmos: Señores Obispos que han regido la diócesis de Cuenca (Cuenca, 1860), 319, 502 S. de la Rosa y López: Los seises de la Catedral de Sevilla (Seville, 1904), 154ff, 327 H. Anglès: ‘La música conservada en la Biblioteca Colombina y en la Catedral de Sevilla’, AnM, ii (1947), 3–39, esp. 37–8 R. Navarro Gonzalo and J. López Cobos: Catálogo musical del archivo de la Santa Iglesia Catedral Basilica de Cuenca (Cuenca, 1965, rev. 2/1973 by M. Angulo), 9 J. López-Calo: ‘Corresponsales de Miguel de Irízar’, AnM, xx (1965), 209–33 R.M. Stevenson: Christmas Music from Baroque Mexico (Berkeley, 1974), 41, 44, 75–6, 188–94 M. Martínez Millán: Historia musical de la catedral de Cuenca (Cuenca, 1988), 140–47, 196 ROBERT STEVENSON Xu Boyun [Hsu Po-Yun] (b Tokyo, 12 June 1944). Taiwanese composer. Self-taught apart from a few private composition lessons with Hsu Tsang-houei, he was instrumental in the promotion of contemporary music in Taiwan the 1960s. A founding member of the Asian Composers’ League, he staged a number of important Taiwanese avant-garde music festivals, such as New Environment for Asian Music in 1977, in cooperation with the composer Li Taixiang and the choreographer Lin Huaimin. In 1980 he founded New Aspect, the first weekly arts magazine in Taiwan, and initiated the first International Arts Festival. Out of these activities grew the New Aspect Arts Centre and Gallery (1983) and the New Aspect Cultural and Educational Foundation (1990), institutions responsible for much of the cultural activity of Taibei and Taiwan. While Xu’s compositions are indebted to China’s traditional heritage, and especially that of Chinese opera, for instance in Zhongguo xiqu de yanxiang (1973) and the multimedia piece Sheng/Si (1974), they also bear testimony to his interest in the avant garde. He was one of the first Chinese composers to use synthetic sounds and the techniques of musique concrète in his compositions, notably in Dai Mian (1983) and Sheng/Si, and to apply avant-garde techniques to Chinese instruments, as in Pipa suibi (1975). WORKS (selective list)
BIBLIOGRAPHY Cheng Pao-chuan: ‘Hsu Po-Yun, the ROC’s Impresario of the Arts’, Free China Review (1985), no.4, pp.56–61 B. Mittler: ‘Mirrors and Double Mirrors: The Politics of Identity in New Music from Hong Kong and Taiwan’, CHIME, no.9 (1996), 4–44, esp. 28–9 B. Mittler: Dangerous Tunes: the Politics of Chinese Music in Hong Kong, Taiwan and the People’s Republic of China since 1949 (Wiesbaden, 1997), 206–7, 336–7 BARBARA MITTLER Xu Changhui. See Hsu Tsang-houei. Xu Lixian (b Suzhou, Jiangsu province, 2 June 1928; d 6 March 1984). Chinese Suzhou tanci ballad singer. Xu Lixian became a professional musician at 11, performing first with the foster couple to whom her impoverished natural parents had sold her. Her repertory at this time included folksongs, various excerpts from tanci and local opera, and contemporary popular songs. In 1953 Xu Lixian joined the Shanghai People’s Pingtan Troupe (Shanghai Shi Renmin Pingtan Gonguzuotuan), encountering there many of the principal singers of the time. Her vocal style at this time combined the melodic character of Jiang Yuequan with the variation techniques of Xu Yunzhi. Xu Lixian was active both in the development of new repertory, such as a chronicle of the female revolutionary hero in The New Ballad of Mulan (Xin Mulan ci) (1959), and in the maintenance of the old. Among her innovations was the use of duet passages (tanci had formerly relied on solo singing, sometimes shared between two singers) in the ballad After the Bumper Harvest (Fengshou zhi hou) (1963). During the Cultural Revolution (1966–76) Xu, like other Suzhou tanci musicians, was unable to perform. Resuming performance in 1978, her style after this enforced break was more experimental, setting aside traditional melodic and modal patterns in favour of a more individualistic compositional style. Over her whole career, Xu composed more than 6o large-scale ballads as well as many shorter works. See also China, §IV, 1(ii). BIBLIOGRAPHY Shanghai pingtan tuan, ed.: Xu Lixian changqiang xuan [Selected songs of Xu Lixian] (Shanghai, 1979) Pan Huizhu: Innovation within Tradition: the Tanci (Chinese Suzhou Narrative Music) Style of Xu Lixian (MA thesis, U. of Maryland, Baltimore, 1988) Zhongguo yinyue cidian, xubian [Dictionary of Chinese music, supplementary vol.], YYS pubn (Beijing, 1992), 211 PENG BENLE Xun. Globular Flute employed in Han Chinese Confucian rituals. The xun (pronounced ‘hsün’) is an egg-shaped flute of baked clay, with a blow-hole at its apex and usually between three and eight finger-holes distributed in various patterns. Sizes vary between about 8 and 13 cm in height. Because of its globular wind chamber, the xun has a range of only about one octave, without usable overtones. The ancient legacy of this ritual instrument in China is equalled only by the qing stone chime. Numerous small clay flutes, irregularly ball-shaped, egg-shaped and fish-shaped, have been found in Neolithic sites in and around Shanxi province, dating to c4000 bce and later. These ancient proto-xun flutes are between about 5 and 8 cm in height, each with one or two finger-holes. Instruments now identified as xun, found in late Shang sites (c1200 bce) of Henan province, are roughly the same size, though in shape of a large egg (standard thereafter), and generally with five finger-holes (three at the front, two at the rear). One important decorative characteristic found on some Shang instruments is the taotie design (face of a mythical animal, see illustration) on the outer surface. The xun is mentioned frequently in Zhou literature. A note in the Erya (c3rd century bce) states that ‘a large xun is like a goose egg, with a flattened bottom and six holes; a small one is like a chicken egg’. The reference to ‘six holes’ almost certainly means five finger-holes (standard in archaeological finds) plus one blow-hole. The Han dynasty text Fengsu Tongyi (c175 ce) and other sources give specific measurements for the flutes of this period. Later sources, such as Yueshu (c1100), suggest that by the 12th century there were several varieties of xun, most slightly larger, with between six and eight finger-holes (for these and more recent developments, see Chuang, 1972). The role of xun within the ritual ensemble of the imperial court is preserved today in the Confucian ritual in Taipei. Its significance within Confucian ideology is noted in the Shijing (‘Classic of Poetry’, c7th century bce): ‘the elder brother plays xun, the younger brother plays chi [transverse flute]’, with an explanation in the commentary that ‘our minds, as brothers, must be in harmony’, a metaphoric reminder of the need for social accordance within the family. Apart from its use in Confucian ritual, the xun has enjoyed a minor renaissance in China since the 1980s within the context of flute recitals. Related historically is the chi (see China, §III; Di) and, outside China, the Korean hun, the Vietnamese huân and the Japanese tsuchibue. BIBLIOGRAPHY Chuang Pen-li: ‘A Historical and Comparative Study of Hsün, the Chinese Ocarina’, Bulletin of the Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica, xxxiii (1972), 177–253 [with Eng. summary] Cao Zheng: ‘Xun he xunde zhizuo gongyi’ [The xun and the art of its manufacture], Yueqi, (1982), no.4, pp.5–7; no.5, pp.4–6 Tong Kin-woon: Shang Musical Instruments (diss., Wesleyan U., 1983); repr. in AsM, xv/1 (1983), 152–66 Liu Dongsheng and others, eds.: Zhongguo yueqi tuzhi [Pictorial record of Chinese musical instruments] (Beijing, 1987), 25–34 Liu Dongsheng and Yuan Quanyou, eds.: Zhongguo yinyue shi tujian [Pictorial guide to the history of Chinese music] (Beijing, 1988), 10–12 Liu Dongsheng, ed.: Zhongguo yueqi tujian [Pictorial guide to Chinese instruments] (Ji’nan, 1992), 112–13 Li Chunyi: Zhongguo shanggu chutu yueqi zonglun [Survey of ancient excavated musical instruments from China] (Beijing, 1996), 386–407 ALAN R. THRASHER Xu Shuya (b Changchun, Jilin, 12 May 1961). Chinese composer. He studied composition with Ding Shande and Zhu Jian'er and took cello lessons at the Shanghai Conservatory (1979–83). After continuing there as a lecturer, he moved to Paris in 1988, where he studied at the Conservatoire with Malec, Jolas, Grisey and Bancquart; he remained in Paris to work as an independent composer. Many of his works have featured in festivals across Europe and have been awarded international prizes; his music is performed widely in Asia and Europe by symphony orchestras and contemporary music ensembles. Xu’s early works such as the exquisite Waiting for Autumn (1986) and his ambitious Symphony no.1 (1986) betray influences ranging from Debussy to Takemitsu, but once in Paris, he began to count Malec, Höller and Parmegiani among his major sources of inspiration. He has frequently drawn ideas from Chinese Daoism, but for many years these were translated predominantly in terms of Western musical technique. Works like Choc (1989), Chute en automne (1991) and the brilliant, prize-winning Cristal au soleil couchant (1992) display a remarkable complexity, and his in-depth explorations into electronic music are unusual for almost any Chinese composer of his generation. By contrast, his works from the mid-1990s are increasingly based on materials taken from Chinese opera and folk music, and are often less dense in structure. In Vacuité/Consistance (1996) and Dawn on Steppe (1997) he recaptures the spirit of Chinese and Mongolian folk music, while retaining his superb command of modern instrumentation and counterpoint. WORKS (selective list)
FRANK KOUWENHOVEN Xylo-marimba. See Xylorimba. Xylophone (from Gk. xylon: ‘wood’; Fr. xylophone, claquebois; Ger. Xylophon, Holzharmonika; It. silofono). Percussion instrument consisting of two or more bars of graduated length. 1. Distribution and classification. 2. Europe. 3. Africa. 4. South-east Asia and the Pacific. 5. Latin America. BIBLIOGRAPHY LOIS ANN ANDERSON/R (1, 3–4), JAMES BLADES/JAMES HOLLAND (2), GEORGE LIST, LINDA L. O’BRIEN-ROTHE (5) Xylophone Europe. (i) History. The first mention of the xylophone in Europe was in 1511, when Schlick (Spiegel der Orgelmacher und Organisten) referred to it as hültze glechter (‘wooden clatter’). Agricola (Musica instrumentalis deudsch, 1529) called a series of 25 wooden bars Strohfiedel. Praetorius (Theatrum instrumentorum, 1620) showed a series of 15 bars from about 15 to 53 cm in length, arranged diatonically, in a single row, pyramid fashion (as is Agricola’s). Mersenne (1636–7) illustrated and described two instruments (given as claquebois patouilles and eschelletes) on a grander scale. One has 17 bars, which are struck on the underside with individual beaters and arranged as a keyboard (fig.2). In general, however, the European xylophone before modern times was a simple instrument, the wooden slabs loosely strung together, or resting on ropes of straw, giving rise to the name ‘straw fiddle’ (Strohfiedel). It was very much an instrument of the itinerant musician until the 19th century, when it rose to prominence as a solo instrument and attracted the notice of Mendelssohn, Chopin and Liszt, all of whom spoke of the expertise of Michał Guzikow, a Polish Jew. Mendelssohn said, ‘I must own that the skill of the man beats everything that I could have imagined, for with his wooden sticks resting on straw, his hammers also being of wood, he produces all that is possible with the most perfect instrument’. Guzikow’s instrument consisted of a series of 28 crude wooden bars arranged semitonally, the four rows resting on five straw supports. During the 19th century the xylophone appeared under various disguises (xylosistron, tryphon etc.). The orchestral instrument had four rows and was similar in many ways to that of Guzikow. The lowest notes were those nearest the player, with the centre two rows corresponding to the white notes of the piano and the outer rows the black keys. Ferdinand Kauer’s Sei variazioni (c1810) contain solo passages for the xylophone, possibly the earliest orchestral use of the instrument. In 1852 it was mentioned in J.-G. Kastner’s Les danses des morts. Better known is Saint-Saëns’s use of the instrument to represent the rattling of the bones of the dead in his Danse macabre (1872), and later (as ‘Fossiles’) in Le carnaval des animaux (1886). The playing technique of the four-row instrument was totally different to that of the modern xylophone, and apparently sightreading was particularly difficult. The modern xylophone originated around the turn of the century, although the four-row instrument is still used in Eastern Europe. Early 20th-century composers to use the xylophone include Mahler (Sixth Symphony, 1903–4); Puccini (Madama Butterfly, 1904); Strauss (Salome, 1903–5); Elgar (Wand of Youth, Suite no.2, 1908); Debussy (Ibéria, 1910); Stravinsky (The Firebird, 1909–10); and Delius (Eventyr, 1917). In his final work (Turandot, completed by Alfano, 1926) Puccini wrote for xylophone and xylofon basso (the latter part is usually now played on a marimba using fairly hard sticks). An extended (and florid) part for xylophone occurs in the third movement of Havergal Brian’s Symphony The Gothic (1919–27). Complex writing for the xylophone has revolutionized its use compared with the demands of earlier composers, who, with occasional exceptions such as Stravinsky in The Wedding (1923), asked only for short passages. The demands on the modern xylophonist are heavy, especially in Tippett’s The Vision of St Augustine (1960–5) and many of his subsequent compositions, as well as works by Boulez and Messiaen. Boulez’s Le marteau sans maître (1953–5, rev. 1957) in particular was quite widely regarded as being unplayable when it was first published. Works using the xylophone as a solo instrument include Alan Hovhaness’s Fantasy on Japanese Woodprints (1965) and Thomas Pitfield’s Sonata for xylophone (1965). The keyboard xylophone is now virtually obsolete, the tone quality always having been very inferior; but Bartók scored for it (Tastenxylophon) in Bluebeard’s Castle (1911; nowadays the part is usually played on two xylophones). The xylophone part is normally written (mostly in the treble clef) an octave lower than its sounding pitch, although both Messiaen and Birtwistle have mostly (but not always) notated xylophone parts at sounding pitch. Normally only one staff is used; rare exceptions include Ravel’s Ma mère l’oye (1908–10; ‘Laideronette’), where it is given a double staff. (ii) Construction. The arrangement of the modern European instrument follows that of a piano keyboard, and, as is the practice with bar-percussion instruments, the bars are suspended from cords passing through their node points, or rest on a cushion of felt or similar insulation. In general the row of bars corresponding to the black notes of the piano is raised, keyboard fashion. The compass of the orchestral xylophones in general use is either four octaves ascending from c', or three and a half octaves ascending from f' or g'(fig.3). The larger instrument is preferable for the demands of modern composers. The bars are of the finest rosewood (or wood of a similar resonant and durable quality), or of new synthetic bar materials such as Kelon (a pultrusion silicate) or Klyperon, prepared from synthetic reinforced resins. Synthetic bars are generally regarded as having an inferior tone quality. The pitch of each bar is governed by its length and depth; the shallowing of the underside of the bar lowers the pitch considerably. In the modern orchestral xylophone each bar is suspended over a tube resonator in which the air-column frequency matches the pitch of the bar. The bars give a bright penetrating sound when struck with hardheaded mallets. Softer beaters produce a mellow sound and are specially useful on the lower notes. Xylophone Africa. (i) Introduction. (ii) Free key xylophones. (iii) Fixed key xylophones. Xylophone, §3: Africa (i) Introduction. Oral traditions mention the xylophone in the 13th-century kingdom of Mali; the first written reference, also from Mali, comes from the mid-14th century. Describing two Muslim festivals at the court, Ibn Battūta (Travels in Asia and Africa, trans. H.A.R. Gibb, 1929) mentioned an instrument made of reeds with small calabashes at its lower end. In the second half of the 16th century, dos Santos, a Portuguese missionary living among the Karanga in what is now Mozambique, mentioned the ambira, a gourd-resonated instrument. From the mid-17th century onwards, European travellers to the western coasts of the continent refer to the instrument, most often with calabash resonators; the most common names for it were bala, balafo(n) and ballard(s) in West Africa (see Balo) and marimba in the Bantu-speaking areas – the same terms used by writers referring to the instrument in the Caribbean and Central and South America. Early 20th-century studies of the African xylophone in Europe paid particular attention to organological features of instruments in the Berlin and Tervuren museum collections. Olga Boone focussed on construction details and tuning measurements of xylophones of the Belgian Congo (now the Democratic Republic of the Congo) according to ethnic origin, the distribution of xylophone types there and in other areas of Africa, and the social context of the instrument. She examined 108 xylophones at the Musée du Congo Belge (now the Musée Royal de l’Afrique Centrale) in Tervuren. In her descriptions, discussion proceeds from the simpler instruments to the more complex; however, she stated that her order of categories did not necessarily represent stages of evolution. The present discussion is primarily concerned with the physical characteristics of the instrument, based on the types distinguished by Boone; additional types are included for those instruments not found in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DROC). There are two main categories of xylophone: those with free keys, in which the keys are independent of each other and their support, and those with fixed keys, in which the keys are permanently attached between themselves and to their support. Xylophone, §3: Africa (ii) Free key xylophones. For performance, loose keys are assembled on temporary supports, which may consist of the player’s legs, banana-tree trunks, straw bundles, or logs padded with grass. Keys may be completely loose with upright sticks placed between them to prevent their striking each other and stopping vibration. Alternatively, holes may be bored at the side of the key near each end through which a cord is strung and twisted around the dividing upright sticks. Sticks may also be placed vertically between keys at one side of the instrument and through a hole in the middle of each key at the other side. Keys are normally struck at their ends with wooden sticks. A xylophone type intermediate between free and fixed keys is found among the Sena people in central Mozambique and the Lozi in western Zambia, where keys strung to each other are temporarily mounted on straw bundles; performers may strike the middles of the keys with wooden or rubber-tipped sticks. (a) Leg xylophones. Keys are mounted on the player’s upper thighs, or (as in Madagascar), from the knees to the ankles. The instrument is played by young girls or boys as part of initiation activities in Senegal; it is also used as a device to keep birds and monkeys out of gardens. The instrument’s resonance may be enhanced by a depression in the ground, or by a pot or calabash placed underneath it (fig.4a). Two to seven keys are played by one or two players. Distribution: Senegal, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Côte d’Ivoire, Togo, Benin, south-east Nigeria, Central African Republic, Zambia, Malawi and Madagascar. (b) Pit xylophones. A pit may be an integral part of the free key xylophone. Four to 13 keys are mounted across grass bundles or banana-tree trunks placed at opposite sides of a pit. Among the Yoruba in south-west Nigeria and the Gun in south-east Benin, two such xylophones are played together, one or both instruments over a pit. If the instrument is large, the player sits between two groups of keys with his legs in the pit. This type of xylophone may be used as a practice instrument, as in north-west Ghana, where it is played by children, students of the instrument and adults without a gourd-resonating xylophone. Among the Luba of southern DROC, the tuning of the keys for an instrument which will have individual resonators is tested by laying them across a pit, mounting them on banana-tree trunks or across a calabash. Distribution: Guinea, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Benin, Nigeria, Chad, Central African Republic, south-east Democrataic Republic of the Congo, north-west Uganda and southern Malawi. (c) Log xylophones. Instruments consisting of free keys resting across banana-tree trunks, or a combination of straw bundles (for insulation) and banana-tree trunks, are found in many parts of sub-Saharan Africa. They have from six to 22 keys, which are usually larger than those of any other type of African xylophone. It is common for two, or as many as six players, to interlock different melodic patterns on the same instrument (fig.5), or two players facing each other may each play one instrument (see fig.4b). The ends of the keys are usually struck with one or two plain wooden beaters. Distribution: Guinea, Liberia, Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Chad, northern Democratic Republic of the Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and south-west Ethiopia. Xylophone, §3: Africa (iii) Fixed key xylophones. (a) Without calabashes. Keys are mounted on runners, or a resonator, such as a box or trough, to which insulation material is attached. In north-west DROC, two pairs of beaters are used by one player, and adjacent keys are commonly tuned in octaves. The instrument on runners, found in north-west DROC and among the Yaka in south-west DROC, may have crosspieces at the ends to keep the runners apart. The instrument with keys resting on a trough resonator is found in north-west DROC, south-east Nigeria and central Mozambique. The box-resonated xylophone is found near the south-east coast of Kenya, on the islands of Zanzibar and Pemba and in north-east Tanzania. Among the Igbo of south-east Nigeria, two keys are attached to a grass collar which covers the top of an open clay pot. (b) With one or two calabashes (individual resonators). A key is suspended from cords strung through holes near its ends and attached to the upper ends of two arcs glued to the top of the resonator. The player changes the instrument’s timbre by alternately closing and opening the mouth of the resonator with the left hand. The instrument may be played in groups of two or more, with each one tuned differently, and is commonly used at hunting ceremonies. Distribution: south-east Democratic Republic of the Congo, Zambia and southern Malawi. Parallel curved poles and two crosspieces form the support frame of an instrument with two calabashes. The ends of the cords which suspend the keys pass over the crosspieces and are tied to the ends of the poles, and the calabashes are suspended on rods placed in holes in each of the poles. Distribution: among the Chokwe and Lunda of south-central Democratic Republic of the Congo and the Luvale of eastern Angola. (c) With multiple calabashes. Instruments differ from area to area in their type of frame construction, and the attachment of keys and calabashes. Many xylophones in the DROC and its neighbouring areas have in common an arc, or bail, which is attached to the sides of the frame (see types 1–3, 5–6 below). The bail keeps the instrument in the proper playing position in front of the player when it is slung from his shoulders. When the player is seated, he may stabilize the instrument by balancing the bail with his feet. The keys may rest on some type of insulation material or on leather cords, or they may be suspended. Calabashes may be hung from the framework or glued to a frame; they are either suspended directly by rods, or by strings secured to rods fastened across a horizontal frame. The calabashes may be glued to a centre board, which may have holes to accommodate them. While a round or elongated calabash is the most common resonator, bamboo, cattle horn or wood is also used. Buzzing devices are attached to one or more holes in the bottom or at the side of each resonator; when they are attached to the side, ancillary tubes or round pieces of calabash may be added to protect the membranes. The instrument is played with one to four rubber-tipped beaters, and the keys are struck in the middle; occasionally two players may play the same instrument. Several different xylophones may be played in the same ensemble. Type 1: with resonators suspended from rods (Boone 3a). Two runners are attached to the ends of the bail and insulation is fixed to their top edge; rods pierce the calabashes near their tops and pass through holes in the sides of the runners. Rattan is intertwined around the tops of the calabashes to secure them. The keys are strung together by cords and rest on the insulation. Some contemporary instruments do not have a bail but have been modified by the addition of legs inserted between the ends of the runners and the crosspieces at the end of the instrument, so that the player is in a standing position. Distribution: south central and south-east Democratic Republic of the Congo, south-west Zambia and southern Malawi. Type 2: with suspended keys (Boone 3b). Parallel curved poles constitute the frame for this instrument. The keys are strung on two cords which pass over the crosspieces or ends of the bail and are tied to the ends of the poles and the crosspieces or ends of the bail. The calabashes are strung on cords and are fixed to a rattan cord encircling the poles. On large instruments with a more pronounced curve from the middle of the keys to either end of the instrument (found among the Lunda and Chokwe of Angola), the suspended calabashes are supported by rods which pass through holes in the poles; the suspended keyboard is held firm by another cord which goes through the cord on the underside of the keys and is attached to the poles. On the xylophone of the Nsenga people in central Zambia, the cord from the underside of the keys to the runners also secures the rods that suspend the calabashes. This instrument is fixed between poles set vertically in the ground, and the keys are also hung vertically; on the Lunda and Chokwe instruments, the plane of the keys is oblique to the ground. When two Chokwe instruments are played together, the second may consist only of keys suspended between vertical poles, with a round pit in the ground below the middle of the keyboard. Distribution: south-west Democratic Republic of the Congo, eastern Angola and central Zambia. Type 3: with quadrilateral frame. This combines characteristics of types (1) and (2), and appears to have been modified early in the 20th century. The support now consists of a four-sided frame with parallel ends whose sides taper towards the smallest keys. A bail is attached to the ends of the frame, and insulation material is fixed to the upper edges of its sides. The calabashes are suspended from rods placed in holes in the sides of the frame and are hung below their respective keys in order to obtain the best vibration. Thus the arrangement of the resonators is staggered. The keys formerly rested on the insulation material, a cord passing through a hole in the far side of the key, under another cord attached to the insulation material, back to the surface through the same hole, and under the insulation cord between keys; on the near side, a cord went over the key and through the insulation material between keys. An additional pair of thicker cords is now added to suspend the keys from the top, passing through the key attachment cords. In effect, the thin cords become loops for the suspension cords between keys and between the holes. The suspension cord passes under a thin cord strung through two vertical holes on the far side of the key, and is knotted to the thin cord between keys; on the near side, the thick cord passes through the thin cord between keys. Groups of four or five different sizes of these xylophones are part of the mendzan ensemble in Cameroon and Gabon; each instrument has its own name and may overlap in pitch with the instrument next in size. One such ensemble in Cameroon has individual instruments with 11, 11, 10, 4 and 4 keys, while such an ensemble in Gabon consists of instruments with 9, 9, 8, 6 and 2 keys. Reserve keys are added to the larger instruments during construction. Thick beaters made of soft wood are used to strike the middle of the keys. Distribution: south and south-central Cameroon and northern Gabon. Type 4: with calabashes suspended obliquely. Two horizontal poles extending through holes in side pieces that rest on the ground form the support for this instrument, which is over six feet long. Elongated calabashes, with an oblique cut at one side of their mouths, are suspended from the pole nearest the player and are secured by a thick supporting rope of braided bark to the second pole, so that they are almost parallel to the ground when the instrument is in a playing position. The 21 or 22 rectangular keys rest on thongs stretched across the poles, and are tuned to a heptatonic scale by thinning the centre of the playing side to leave a raised portion from the nodal point to each end, where designs are carved. The keys are strung together by a thong which passes through a hole in the flat section of the key at the edge of the raised portion, goes around the support thong and passes back to the surface through the same hole. The instrument is played by two men, using a total of five beaters. The player of the highest-pitched keys begins the performance with an ostinato pattern played in octaves or other intervals, or with a single melodic line distributed between his two hands. The player of the lowest keys interlocks a different melodic pattern with his right hand, and adds a rhythmic bass pattern characterized by repeated pitches with two beaters in his left hand. The ends of these beaters are crossed in his hand so that they are spread in an angle of almost 90°, facilitating wide leaps. The Venda instrument, mbila mtondo, was formerly an important instrument played at the chief’s kraal. Distribution: northern Transvaal, among the Venda, Kwebo and Lovedu. Type 5: with centre board and bridges (or distance pieces) (Boone 3c). The frame of the instrument consists of a flat centre board with calabash resonators inserted into circular holes, and wooden bridges tied across the board between the holes. The ends of the bridges are tied to each other by leather thongs, which extend the length of the instrument and also serve as tension thongs to support the keys which are strung together by another set of cords. On some instruments insulation is attached to the edges of the centre board. The calabashes are fixed to the centre board by resin applied to the edges of the holes on both sides of the board. In Nigeria, the resonators are long and slender calabashes, cowhorns (for illustration see Nigeria, §8, fig.2) or wooden cones in the shape of cowhorns. For the ten-key instruments of the Azande in north-east DROC, a pair of beaters in each hand enables the player to strike octaves on adjacent keys. The most common tuning pattern (where numbers indicate the degree of the pentatonic scale) is: 2.2'.3.3'.4.4'.5.5'.1'.1, with the lowest octave pair on the player’s right. Among the Chopi of Mozambique, the centre board has two tenons on each end that fit into holes in the legs of the instrument, while the ends of the curved or rectangular bail fit over the tenons. The keys rest on tension thongs and are supported by thin wooden bridges attached by fibre to the centre board between each pair; the tension thongs pass through holes near the ends of the bridges. The keys are strung together by a pair of long leather cords. The cord further from the player passes through a hole in the key, under the supporting tension thong and back to the surface through the same hole; the near cord goes over each key and under the tension thong between keys (figs.7 and 8); see also Marimba, §1, fig.1). Distribution: (with bridge between keys): east central Nigeria, northern Cameroon, southern Chad, south-west Central African Republic, north-east Democratic Republic of the Congo and southern Sudan; (with bridge between pairs of keys): southern Mozambique and northern Transvaal. Type 6: with centre board and insulating cushions (Boone 3d). This instrument is similar to the preceding one, except that the keys rest on insulating cushions mounted at some distance parallel to and on either side of the centre board, rather than on cords stretched between bridges. The centre board and the insulating cushions, which consist of fibre, bark cloth or some other type of material covering wooden branches, are attached to the ends of the curved bail, though on some instruments the insulation is attached to the edges of the centre board. Some instruments have bridges; some have calabashes suspended from a piece of rattan, the ends of which are inserted into the insulating cushions. In some areas, four beaters are used by each player. In north-west DROC, adjacent keys are tuned in octaves, usually in the order: 2.2'.3.3'.4.4'.5.5'.1'.1. Distribution: north-west Democratic Republic of the Congo, south central Central African Republic and southern Chad (with bridges). Type 7: with centre board set within oval frame. An oval-shaped wooden bar surrounds the entire instrument. The keys are suspended, and the cowhorn resonators are glued and tied to the solid curved base, the back of which is etched with abstract designs. Six to eight keys are encircled by cords near the ends of each key, and the ends of the cords are attached to the oval frame; they are in an oblique position to the mouths of the resonators. The seated player supports the instrument between his knees at the middle of the oval frame, and a pair of Y-shaped wooden beaters allows him to strike octaves simultaneously. The keys on a Bura instrument, the tsindza, are arranged: 3.4.5.1'.1.2'.2. Distribution: north-east Nigeria. Type 8: with open frame. Keys are mounted on an open framework consisting of four vertical and eight horizontal strips of wood lashed together. Round calabash resonators are suspended below each key by means of suspension rods that extend across and beyond the limits of the upper horizontal frame. In order to accommodate all the resonators within the framework, they are arranged in zigzag fashion, forming two rows. The suspension rods for the resonators are secured to the frame by leather strips; another long cord or leather strap serving as insulation for the resting keys then passes over the rods and a third long twisted cord secures the keys together on each side of the instrument. The latter cords are tied to the tops of the vertical posts, and sometimes also to the horizontal crosspieces at each end of the instrument. The physical size of the instrument varies. The smaller instruments (in the west and central area of distribution) may rest on the ground, or be slung from the shoulders with the instrument perpendicular or parallel to the body. The surface of the keyboard is slightly curved at the broader end of the instrument, where ogee-shaped horizontal crosspieces also accommodate the larger calabashes within the frame. The larger instruments (in the eastern area of distribution) rest on the ground in performance. The curvature of the keyboard is more pronounced, allowing room for the large resonators and making the entire keyboard easily accessible. The number of keys ranges from 12 to 21. Tuning is predominantly heptatonic, though the instruments of Burkina Faso, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire are pentatonic. The player uses a pair of rubber-tipped beaters, and may also wear bells around his wrist. The generic term for the instrument is balo or bala. In the eastern area of distribution, a commonly used term is gyil, with prefixes or suffixes to denote specific types, sizes or contexts of usage. Xylophones are often played singly or in groups with other instruments. To the west, among Manding-speaking peoples, it is often played by professional musicians of the jali caste; in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, it is an important instrument at funeral ceremonies. Distribution: Senegal, the Gambia, Guinea, Sierra Leone, Liberia, north-east Côte d’Ivoire, Mali, south-west Burkina Faso and north-west Ghana. Xylophone Latin America. The xylophone in Latin America, known as the ‘marimba’, is found in Mexico, Belize, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Colombia, Ecuador and Brazil; in Suriname (as gambang) it is used in gamelan ensembles by musicians of Javanese descent. In Brazil, however, it has lost its former importance as a solo instrument, and is now used only to accompany such dramatic dances as the congada. The two types of marimba still in use are portable and have six and eleven keys respectively, struck with wooden sticks. In Guatemala, the marimba is the most popular folk instrument, and has come to be a symbol of the independence of the Guatemalan Republic (see Guatemala, §II, 1). It is believed to be of African origin, introduced during the early colonial period by African slaves. This argument, which is not undisputed, rests mainly on the similarity of the marimba de tecomates (the original form of the Guatemalan instrument) to African xylophones, the African derivation of the word ‘marimba’ and the lack of archaeological evidence for the existence of marimbas in pre-Columbian America. The earliest account of the marimba in Guatemala is found in the work of Domingo Juarros, a 17th-century historian, who lists it among instruments played by Amerindians in 1680. During the 18th century it became widely dispersed among Amerindians, and its presence is noted at public events, both civil and religious. The growing popularity of the marimba among Ladinos in the 19th century led to the expansion of the keyboard to five and, later, six and seven octaves, allowing the addition of a fourth player to the normal practice of two or three players. During the celebration of national independence in 1821, the marimba took its place as the national instrument. In the highlands of Chiapas in Mexico, in Guatemala, in north-west Costa Rica and south-west Nicaragua near Masay, marimbas show resemblance to African xylophones. The marimba de tecomates is a xylophone consisting of a keyboard of parallel tuned wooden bars or percussion plates suspended above a trapezoidal framework by cords which pass through threading pins and the nodal points of each key (fig.10). Beneath each key hangs a tuned calabash resonator, near the base of which a vibrating membrane of pig intestine is fixed to a ring of wax surrounding an aperture. This functions as a mirliton or sound modifier that produces a characteristic buzzing called charleo when the keys are struck. The older form of this marimba, the marimba de arco, is portable, and is carried by means of a strap attached to the ends of the frame and passing across the player’s shoulders. The keyboard is kept from touching the player’s body by an arched branch (arco) which is fixed to the framework on the plane of the keyboard. A later type has four legs and lacks the arco. The nearly diatonic keyboard contains 19 to 26 keys. A key’s pitch may be raised during performance by applying a lump of wax, sometimes mixed with bits of lead, to its underside. For this reason such marimbas are called marimba de ceras (‘of wax’). The keys are struck with mallets (baquetas) made of flexible wooden sticks with strips of raw rubber wrapped round the ends to form a ball. The tips of the mallets intended for bass keys are soft; those for treble keys are harder and smaller. From one to three players hold a mallet in each hand, or two in one hand, and one in the other, the pair of mallets held in one hand often striking different keys at the same time. Other pitches may be produced by striking the extreme ends of the keys with the wooden end of the mallet. While the marimba de tecomates is now seldom played by Guatemalan Ladino musicians, who prefer the more Westernized forms of the instrument, in Amerindian highland Guatemala the surviving repertory is different from that of the rest of Mexico and Central America, some of it distinct from European tradition. It serves in both public and ritual contexts. During the last quarter of the 19th century, the marimba sencilla was developed, in which cajones harmonicos, wooden boxes constructed to resemble gourds, were substituted for the gourd resonators. In other particulars of construction and tuning, the marimba sencilla is identical to the marimba de tecomates. During this period, the marimba de cinchos (also called marimba de acero, marimba de hierro) with metal keys and box resonators, became popular, and was played with guitar accompaniment. Types with glass keys, and others with bamboo-tube resonators, were also developed. The addition of chromatic keys to the diatonic keyboard was a late 19th-century development, usually attributed to Sebastian Hurtado in 1894. The name of this type, marimba doble, refers to the double row of keys for diatonic and chromatic pitches. Unlike the arrangement of a piano keyboard, in which sharp keys fall to the right of their corresponding naturals, in many Guatemalan instruments the sharps are placed directly behind the naturals. The marimba doble is often played in pairs: the larger, the marimba grande, has a range of six and a half octaves (about 78 keys) and uses four players; the smaller, the marimba cuache (also called marimba picolo, marimba requinta, marimba tenor), has a range of five octaves (about 50 keys) and uses three players. To these two instruments are often added a three-string bass, snare or bass drums, cymbals, accordion and wind instruments such as saxophones, trumpets or clarinets. While the folkloric character of contemporary marimba doble ensembles is somewhat obscured by the influences of popular Latin American and North American styles on its instruments and repertory, highland village marimba sencilla ensembles still maintain traditional style and repertory. The marimba in Colombia may have as many as 25 keys or as few as 21, though 24 is usual. The keys are made of various palm woods, but most frequently of chontaduro. Each key has a resonator consisting of a section of guadua bamboo. The keys are placed on the frame in a single row in groups of four, each group being separated from the other by a pasador (crosspiece) of chonta. The pasadores are part of the framework that supports the keys and resonators and also function as points of visual reference for the players. Beginning at the top of the keyboard with the smallest key and moving downwards, the groups of four keys are known alternately as tablas duras and tablas blandas (i.e. hard and soft). In a group of eight the highest dura and the lowest blanda form an octave. A keyboard of 24 keys is thus composed of three disjunct octave segments: 8765 4321, 7654 3217, 6543 2176. The seven highest keys are tuned to produce approximate neutral 3rds between keys 8, 6, 4, 2 and keys 7, 5, 3. The remaining keys are tuned in octaves with the keys above them. On the marimba itself the keys are of course arranged in reverse order from that indicated above. The highest octave segment is to the right and the lowest to the left. Each of the two players uses two sticks tipped with small balls of raw rubber; one plays the bordón (an ostinato lower part), the other the requinta or tiple (upper part). The marimba-orquesta, an ensemble incorporating a marimba, is widespread; such groups are widely popularized in Mexican tourist centres. The instruments are frequently municipal property, and musicians may be exempt from certain other civic responsibilities by virtue of their service in these groups. The ensemble plays music from the son repertory, and makes constant use of Corrido accompaniments. The tradition is strongest in the state of Chiapas and, until recently, in the southern half of the Isthmus of Tehuantepec where it is being replaced by ensembles playing música tropical. The term marimba refers both to the instrument and collectively to the musicians of the ensemble, while the musicians individually are called marimbistas. In the urban centres of Mexico and Guatemala, the marimba ensemble is principally an interpretative medium rather than a primary source of original music. In its repertory, the marimba is greatly influenced by popular styles but itself exerts little influence on other styles. It is a regional ensemble, but unlike others, it has an unlimited eclectic non-regional repertory, as well as a small, limited core repertory of sones exclusively typical of marimba ensembles. Marimba ensembles commonly play mainstream popular music including rock, tropical and other styles. The ensemble is flexible and may include electric guitars, electronic keyboards, etc. National popularity and prestige are won by those who are recorded commercially, most of whom are recruited in Chiapas, Mexico, where marimba ensembles develop markets through public performances. The majority of marimba ensembles are financially marginal. The marimba players wear no traditional costume, and seldom have accompanying singers, although the combination of mariachi ensemble and marimba is gaining popularity. In Colombia and Ecuador, the marimba tradition is found exclusively among peoples of coastal African cultures. Xylophone BIBLIOGRAPHY General and european BladesI MersenneHU PraetoriusSM, ii PraetoriusTI SachsH C. Sachs: Handbuch der Musikinstrumentenkunde (Leipzig, 1920, 2/1930/R) C. Sachs: Geist und Werden der Musikinstrumente (Berlin, 1929/R) G. Jacob: Orchestral Technique (London, 1931, 3/1982) A. Schaeffner: Origine des instruments de musique (Paris, 1936/R, enlarged 3/1994) A. Schaeffner: ‘L’orgue de barbarie de Rameau’, Mélanges d’histoire et d’esthétique musicales offerts à Paul-Marie Masson (Paris, 1955), ii, 135–52; repr. in Essais de musicologie et autres fantasies (Paris, 1980) B. Sárosi: Die Volksmusikinstrumente Ungarns (Leipzig, 1967) E. Richards: World of Percussion (Sherman Oaks, CA, 1972) L. Kunz: Die Volksmusikinstrumente der Tschechoslowakei (Leipzig, 1974) J.A. Strain: ‘Published Literature for Xylophone (c1880–c1930)’, Percussive Notes, xxxi/2 (1992), 65–98 Africa E.M. von Hornbostel: ‘The Ethnology of African Sound-Instruments’, Africa, vi (1933), 129–57, 277–311 P.R. Kirby: The Musical Instruments of the Native Races of South Africa (London, 1934, 2/1965) O. Boone: Les xylophones du Congo Belge (Tervuren, 1936) S. de Ganay: ‘Le xylophone chez les Sara du Moyen Chari’, Journal de la Société des africanistes, xii (1942), 203–39, pl.8 B. Costermans: ‘Muziekinstrumenten van Watsa-Gombari’, Zaire, i (1947), 515–42, 629–63 H. Tracey: Chopi Musicians: their Music, Poetry and Instruments (London, 1948/R) W. Fagg: ‘A Yoruba Xylophone of Unusual Type’, Man, l (1950), 145 only F.-J. Nicolas: ‘Origine et valeur du vocabulaire designant les xylophones africains’, Zaire, xi/i (1957), 69 F.J. de Hen: Beitrag zur Kenntnis der Musikinstrumente aus Belgisch Kongo und Ruanda-Urundi (Tervuren, 1960) D.T. Niane: Soundjata: ou l’épopée mandigue (Paris, 1960; Eng. trans., 1965/R) L. Bouquiaux: ‘Les instruments de musique Birom (Nigeria Septentrional)’, Africa-Tervuren, viii/4 (1962), 105–11 A.M. Jones: Africa and Indonesia: the Evidence of the Xylophone and Other Musical and Cultural Factors (Leiden, 1964, enlarged 2/1971) P.R. Kirby: ‘The Indonesian Origin of Certain African Musical Instruments’, African Studies, xxv (1966), 3 Folclore musical de Angola/Angola Folk-Music, ii: Povo Quico area do Camissombo, Lunda/Chokwe People, Camissombo Area, Lunda District (Lisbon, 1967) [incl. recordings] L.A. Anderson: ‘A Reassessment of the Distribution, Origin, Tunings and Stylistic Criteria in African Xylophone Traditions’, African Studies Association XI: Los Angeles 1968 [unpubd paper] L. Anderson: The Miko Modal System of Kiganda Xylophone Music (diss., UCLA, 1968) P.R. Kirby: ‘Two Curious Resonated Xylophones from Nigeria’, African Studies, xxvii/3 (1968), 141–4 F. Bebey: Musique de l’Afrique (Paris, 1969; Eng. trans., 1975 as African Music: a People’s Art) G. Rouget: ‘Sur les xylophones équiheptaphoniques des Malinké’, RdM, lv (1969), 47–77 H. Zemp: Musique Dan: la musique dans la pensée et la vie sociale d’une société africaine (Paris, 1971) G. Innes: Sunjata: Three Mandinka Versions (London, 1974) P.-C. Ngumu: Les mendzang: des chanteurs de Yaoundé: histoire, organologie, fabrication, système de transcription (Vienna, 1976) N. McLeod: ‘Musical Instruments and History in Madagascar’,Essays for a Humanist: an Offering to Klaus Wachsmann, ed. C. Seeger and B. Wade (New York, 1977), 189–215 M. Omibiyi: ‘Nigerian Musical Instruments’, Nigeria Magazine, cxxii–cxxiii (1977), 14–34 J. Gansemans: Les instruments de musique Luba (Shaba, Zaire) (Tervuren, 1980) J. Meel: ‘Verspreiding en verscheidenheid van de xylofoon in Afrika’, Africa-Tervuren, xxvi/3 (1980), 79 A.A. Mensah: ‘Gyil: the Dagara-Lobi Xylophone’, Journal of African Studies, ix/3 (1982), 139–54 Latin america V. Chenoweth: The Marimbas of Guatemala (Lexington, KY, 1964) L. O’Brien: ‘Marimbas of Guatemala: the African Connection’, World of Music, xxiv/2 (1982), 99–104 R. Garfias: ‘The Marimba of Mexico and Central America’, LAMR, iv (1983), 203–32 L. Kaptain: Maderas que cantan (Tuxtla Gutiérrez, 1991) J.B. Camposeco Mateo: Te’ son, chiab’ o k’ojom: la marimba de Guatemala (Guatemala City, 2/1994) Xylorimba [xylo-marimba, marimba-xylophone]. Name given to an instrument of the Xylophone family with a compass sufficiently large to embrace the low-sounding bars of the Marimba and the highest-sounding bars of the xylophone (it is classified as an idiophone: set of percussion plaques). The normal compass of the xylorimba is five octaves: C to c''''. As the marimba-xylophone it was a popular instrument in the 1920s and 30s, particularly in vaudeville. The lower notes of the xylorimba sound more like a xylophone than a marimba on account of the bars being thicker and narrower than those of a modern marimba (the bars of the xylophone and the marimba are shaped differently to emphasize different overtones; see Acoustics, §V, 2). The terms have been a source of confusion. Many composers have called for ‘xylorimba’, including Berg (Three Orchestral Pieces, op.6, 1914–15), Boulez (e.g. Le marteau sans maître, 1953–5, rev. 1957) and Messiaen, but invariably the parts were written for a four-octave xylophone. Stravinsky’s The Flood (1961–2) includes a part for ‘marimba-xylophone’, but a marimba was intended. The parts in Roberto Gerhard’s Hymnody (1963; with two players at one instrument) were originally labelled ‘xylorimba’, but this was later changed to ‘marimba’. Boulez wrote for two true xylorimbas (each of five octaves) in Pli selon pli (1957–62); the parts have sometimes been played on two xylophones and two marimbas. JAMES BLADES/JAMES HOLLAND Xylosistron. A 19th-century Xylophone. Xyndas [Xyntas, Xinda(s), Xinta(s)], Spyridon (b Corfu, 8 June 1812/14; d Athens, 11 Nov 1896). Greek composer and guitarist. He studied in Corfu with Mantzaros and in Naples with Zingarelli at the Conservatorio di S Pietro a Majella (1834–7). On his return to Corfu he taught singing at the Corfu Philharmonic Society for nearly 20 years. As a virtuoso guitarist he toured extensively in Italy and around the eastern Mediterranean. He settled in Athens in about 1886 and died blind and in dire poverty. In his lifetime he was one of the most popular composers of the Ionian school founded by Mantazros. His most notable work, and the only one of his operas to survive, is O ypopsifios vouleftis (‘The Parliamentary Candidate’), the first Greek opera to a Greek libretto. It is a fresh work revealing the dichotomy between corrupt politicians and destitute peasants on the eve of the union of the Ionian Islands with Greece (1864). Its première in Athens, by the Elliniko Melodrama company on 14 March 1888, is generally considered to represent the birth of Greek lyric theatre. The opera's realistic subject matter, unusual for comic opera, is enhanced by language rich in colourful idiomatic expressions. Some charming and unpretentious orchestral writing, suggesting the folk music of the Ionian Islands, differentiates the work from the Italian buffo archetype. Most of his works were posthumously destroyed, but several of his songs are extant, and some published. They show a gift for unaffected melodic invention, some with a flavour of Ionian folk music (such as Nani-nani, ‘Lullaby’). Others, extended and in bel canto style, are full-length arias, whose dramatic qualities give an invaluable hint not only to the nature of Xyndas's lost operas, but also to the language of other Ionian composers in the 1850s, for example Edouardos Lambelet. WORKS (selective list) Operas
Other works
BIBLIOGRAPHY MGG1 (John G. Papaïoannou) ‘S. Xyntas’, Asty, no.105 (20 Sept 1887) D.G. Thémelis: ‘I moussiki sylloghi apo tin idhiotiki vivliothiki tov Othona tis Elladhos’ [The music collection in King Otto's private library], Ellinika, xxxi (1979), 453–83 T. Hadjipandazis: To komidhyllio [The (Greek) Vaudeville] (Athens, 1981) G. Leotsakos: ‘Spyridon, Xyndas’, Pangosmio viografiko lexiko [Universal biographical dictionary], vii (Athens, 1987), 414–15 K. Baroutas: I moussiki zoi stin Athina to 19o aeona [Musical life in Athens during the 19th century] (Athens, 1992) G. Leotsakos: ‘I haménes ellinikés operes, i o afanismos tou moussikou mas politismou’ [The lost Greek operas, or the destruction of our musical civilization], Epilogos '92 (Athens, 1992), 398–428 GEORGE LEOTSAKOS Xanthoudakis, Haris (b Piraeus, 18 June 1950). Greek composer and musicologist. He studied with Varvoglis at the Hellenic Conservatory, Athens (harmony, 1964), privately with Papaïoannou (composition, 1966–71) and with Adamis (electronic music, 1972–3). After working under Hadjidakis at the Third Programme of Hellenic Radio, he undertook further studies in France with Xenakis, at the Centre d'Etudes de Mathématique et d'Automatique Musicales (CEMAMu) and at the Group de Recherches Musicales (1979–85). After returning to Athens he taught at the National Conservatory (1985–6) and the Athenaeum Conservatory (1987–93). In 1989 he co-founded (with the composer Kostas Moschos) the Institute of Research in Music and Acoustics. As a professor and coordinator of its music department, at the Ionian University, Corfu (from 1993), he gave a new impetus to research on Greek art music after the fall of Constantinople (1453) and 19th-century Ionian music. Initially shaped by his keen interest in serialism and electro-acoustic technology, Xanthoudakis's compositions are characterized by emotional restraint and profound humour. By applying serial procedures to tonal material, in works such as the widely performed Tango Plus-Minus and the double bass concerto (1991, rev. 1996), he has found an unorthodox way in which to recover the trajectory of musical tradition. Such procedures aim, according to the composer, to unmask the fraud inherent in the aesthetic position of the serial avant garde. WORKS (selective list)
WRITINGS ‘Mia ennoiologhiki anadifissi sti theoria tis moussikis’ [Semantic research in music theory], Echos, no.13 (1974), 56–9 ‘Kinimatografos ke moussiki: i periptossi tou Mauricio Kagel’ [Cinema and music: the case of Mauricio Kagel], Film, no.18 (1979), 111–19 Aspects de la signification du timbre dans la musique du XXe siècle (diss., U. of Paris, 1981) ‘Les origines de l'orchestration moderne’, Revue internationale de musique française, no.18 (1985), 22–8 ‘Et in Arcadia ego: metamodernismos ke paradossi sti simerini moussiki’ [Et in Arcadia ego: postmodernism and tradition in today's music], O politis, nos.81–2 (1987), 110–11 Keimena ya mia litourghiki theoria tis moussikis (Athens, 1992) ‘Mantzarou tychae’ [Destinies of Mantzaros], Porphyras, no.75 (1995), 25–34 ‘I proti istoria tis neoellinikis moussikis’ [The earliest history of modern Greek music], Porphyras, no.79, (1996), 83–90 GEORGE LEOTSAKOS Xenakis, Iannis (b Braïla, ?29 May 1922). French composer of Greek parentage. He belongs to the pioneering generation of composers who revolutionized 20th-century music after World War II. With the ardour of an outsider to academic musical life, he was one of the first to replace traditional musical thinking with radical new concepts of sound composition. His musical language had a strong influence on many younger composers in and outside of Europe, but it remained singular for its uncompromising harshness and conceptual rigour. 1. Early life. 2. Architecture. 3. Musical research. 4. Works overview. 5. Early works. 6. ‘Metastaseis’. 7. Macroscopic stochastic music. 8. ‘Symbolic music’. 9. Ancient theatre and Polytopes. 10. Microscopic stochastic music. 11. ‘Morphological’ compositions. 12. Globally tempered sieves and cellular automata. 13. Electro-acoustic works. WORKS WRITINGS BIBLIOGRAPHY PETER HOFFMANN Xenakis, Iannis Early life. The eldest child of a Greek businessman, he was born in Romania, and at the age of ten was sent to a boarding school on the Greek island of Spetsai. An outsider there, he immersed himself in science and Greek literature, both of which were to become lifelong interests. His early musical experiences were various: at home he heard classical piano music played by his mother and the music of gypsy bands; on Spetsai he encountered Byzantine liturgical music and Greek folk music and dance; he also sang in the school choir (whose repertory included works of Palestrina), and absorbed classical music from the radio. Later, during World War II, a comrade in the Greek Resistance was to introduce him to the music of Bartók, Debussy and Ravel. In Athens at 16, while preparing for the civil engineering entrance examination to the Athens Polytechnic, Xenakis took lessons in piano and music theory. He entered the Polytechnic in the autumn of 1940, but it closed following the Italian invasion of Greece in November of that year, and closed again several times during the course of the war. At first Xenakis took part in right-wing nationalist protests, but at the end of 1941 he joined the resistance of the communist-led National Liberation Front (EAM) against the German occupation (April 1941 to October 1944). He took an active part in mass demonstrations against, among other things, the German confiscation of all food supplies (which caused thousands of deaths in the winter of 1941–2) and the attempts to deport Greeks to carry out forced labour in Germany in February 1943. One photograph of this time shows Xenakis marching in the front row of a demonstration (Matossian, 1981). Later in his life, the composer was to speak of his experience of acoustic mass phenomena in these events, such as the way rhythmically regular shouts turned into chaotic screams of fear when the Nazis opened fire. British forces arrived in Greece in mid-October 1944 to eliminate the EAM and restore the Greek monarchy; and in December of the same year, as a student in the ‘Lord Byron’ unit, Xenakis took part in street fighting against British tanks. He was seriously wounded when a shell hit him in the face. While he was in hospital, the EAM lost its political and military power, whereupon the ‘White Terror’ was unleashed on former Resistance members. In spite of his wartime experiences, Xenakis gained his diploma in February 1946. He was then conscripted into the national armed forces, where he heard for the first time of the concentration camps to which former Resistance fighters were being sent; he deserted and went into hiding. Condemned to death (his sentence was in 1951 commuted to ten years’ imprisonment) and stripped of his Greek citizenship, he managed to reach Italy with a false passport in September 1947, and illegally crossed into France in the hope of reaching the USA. However, he was forced to remain in Paris as an illegal immigrant with no material resources of any kind. Xenakis, Iannis Architecture. To earn his living, Xenakis worked until 1959 in Le Corbusier’s studio, at first as an engineer, but gradually playing a greater part in architectural design. He designed the kindergarten on the roof of the residential block in Nantes-Rézé, parts of the government buildings in Chandigarh, India, the rhythmically articulated glass façade of the monastery of St Marie de La Tourette, near Lyons, and the greater part of the chapel there. Finally, he was responsible for the unique shape of the Philips Pavilion at the 1958 Brussels Exposition Universelle, based on a sketch of Le Corbusier. Most of his later architectural projects were intended for musical uses: a concert hall and studio for Scherchen’s musical centre in Gravesano (Ticino) in 1961 and the same for the Cité de la Musique in Paris in 1984; but the only design to be realized was the Diatope, one of his invented Polytopes. The space for a unique sound-and-light experience, it comprised a tent-like construction which was erected outside the Centre Pompidou in Paris for its opening in 1977 and later re-erected in Bonn for a Xenakis festival. Xenakis, Iannis Musical research. In Paris, Xenakis tried to compensate for the musical education he had missed during the war through self-directed study by taking lessons with Honegger and Milhaud. He also attended Messiaen’s analysis course at the Conservatoire (1950–52). Between 1955 and 1966 Scherchen repeatedly invited him to Gravesano, where he met musicians and experts in electro-acoustics (including Max Mathews). The articles Xenakis contributed to Scherchen’s Gravesaner Blätter formed the basis for his book Formalized Music (the first edition, in French, appeared in 1963). From 1957 to 1962 he worked in Schaeffer’s Groupe de Recherches Musicales (GRM; until 1958, Studio d’essai de la Radio-Télévision Française), where he realized his early electro-acoustic works. Invited to Japan in 1961, he received there enduring impressions of Asian musical culture which strengthened him in his idea of ‘universal musical structures’. In 1962 Xenakis composed a group of instrumental works with the help of a computer at IBM Paris (Schmidt, 1995, Baltensperger, 1996). In order to extend his research into the nature of sound itself with the help of the computer, he founded EMAMu (Equipe de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales) in 1966, which in 1972 became CEMAMu (Centre d’Etudes de Mathématique et Automatique Musicales). From 1967 to 1972, Xenakis taught at Indiana University in Bloomington, where he also directed a Center for Mathematical and Automated Music. He was a visiting professor at the Sorbonne (1973–89), and was awarded a doctorate there for his interdisciplinary research (Arts/Sciences: alliages) in 1976. Xenakis, Iannis Works overview. Unusually, Xenakis’s first compositions were for orchestra, a medium which enabled him to realize his conception of sound masses; only later did he turn to smaller ensembles and solo instruments. He initially preferred writing for strings because of their abundance of sound colours and ability to move seamlessly between pitches. But from the late 1960s on, he has also required woodwind and brass to play glissandos. He did not turn to the piano until he began to use ‘finite’ sets of pitches in Herma (1961). Beginning with Nuits (1967–8), Xenakis treated the human voice like an instrument with pizzicato-like accents, consonantal and guttural articulation of abstract phonemes, and extremely demanding ranges in dynamic and pitch. At the same time he entertained an ideal of untrained, ‘peasant’ voices, especially for his musical conception of ancient theatre, in which singers also play bells, gongs, stones and so on. His writing for percussion began in earnest first with Persephassa (1969) and then in a series of powerful, innovative works in the 1970s and 80s (for Pléïades he invented a new instrument – the ‘Six-Xen’). Of singular importance to Xenakis’s work is the dimension of physical space. The first signs of this were in Pithoprakta (1955–6) in which the concluding unison is distributed around the string section in very high harmonics. The brass sounds are similarly treated in Eonta (1963–4), while in Terretektorh and Nomos gamma the audience is placed among the members of the orchestra who are dispersed around the performance space. Nevertheless, Xenakis subsequently concluded that the best way to control the spatial dimension was through the use of loudspeakers, as with the several hundred used in the Philips Pavilion, or in several of his later Polytopes, above all in the Diatope (1977). Though Xenakis’s music is often extremely elaborate in detail, that detail is essentially at the service of the whole, this is particularly evident in the specific manner of the creation of the compositional algorithms ST (Free Stochastic Music) and GENDYN (Dynamic Stochastic Synthesis). Form never emerges from the development of thematic cells but from the collage-like succession or superimposition of segments that display strong internal connections, although heterogenous material is sometimes interpolated as well. The proportions of the parts and the ebb and flow of tension in a work are determined with an infallible instinct for musical dramaturgy. Xenakis, Iannis Early works. This period includes everything before Metastaseis (1953–4), which was detached from a triptych called Anastenaria to mark the beginning of the ‘official’ output. (Anastenaria also comprised two other quite substantial works, Procession aux eaux claires and Sacrifice, inspired by northern Greek festivals of pre-Christan origin). Youthful essays in composition appear not to have survived, though among them Xenakis has mentioned the monodies Odes de Sappho (Varga, 1982). The early works have not been published (although they have been studied, by Mâche in Restagno 1988; Solomos, 1996; and Baltensperger 1997), with the exception of Zyia, which was printed and performed in 1994. These pieces reflect Xenakis’s early ambition to emulate Bartók by founding a contemporary ‘Greek’ music, and approaching the traditional musical heritage with a systematic analytical eye, without renouncing contemporary compositional techniques of Western modernism. This project was expounded in the article ‘Provlimata Ellenikis Mousikis Synthesis’ (‘Problems of Greek music composition’). The elements of Greek folk music that were adapted include the use of certain modes, parallel 4ths, the specifically northern Greek type of vocal polyphony, and the unequal additive rhythms (aksak). Xenakis’s sense of structure and ‘formalization’ reached its peak in Sacrifice, a ‘mechanism’ based upon a Messiaenesque mode de valeurs with the help of a Fibonacci series (see Fibonacci series). Fibonacci series also determine the time structures of Metastaseis, which resemble, in some respects, the rhythmic spacing of glass panels on the façade of the monastery of La Tourette (cf Baltensperger, 1996, p.303). Xenakis, Iannis 6. ‘Metastaseis’. Most of the fundamental musical problems, as he perceived them, were confronted by Xenakis in Metastaseis. In effect, he laid the foundation here for his entire musical career with the concept of ‘sound composition’, described in the essay ‘Les Métastassis’: ‘The sonorities of the orchestra are building materials, like brick, stone and wood … The subtle structures of orchestral sound masses represent a reality that promises much’. In the same essay Xenakis translates the Greek metastaseis as ‘transformations’, referring to the continuous evolution of massive glissando structures on the one hand and the discontinuous transpositions and permutations of pitches on the other. The concept of ‘transformation’ – in a strictly mathematical sense the interrelations between musical structures (where structure is to be understood as a set of relationships between musical parameters) – is central to Xenakis’s thought. Its manifestations include transformations of geometrical figures (group theory), scales (sieve theory), melodic outlines (random paths), polyphonic structures (arborescences), spectral screens (granular synthesis) and wave forms (stochastic synthesis). Xenakis's plotting of the massed glissandos of Metastaseis on ruled millimeter graph paper reflects his basic concept of a musical ‘space-time’: with pitch on the y axis ‘ordinate’, and time on the x axis, a two-dimensional space is created in which potentially time-independent musical structures can be contained in a temporal setting. As in Einstein’s theory of relativity, time becomes a mere dimension in a homogeneous, isotropic space, not distinguished in any way from the dimension of pitch. (This is very important for the later geometrical transformations of such structures as arborescences). For the composition of the middle section of Metastaseis Xenakis developed a highly idiosyncratic dodecaphonic technique. In his space-time concept, the pitches are associated with ‘differential’ durations from the Fibonacci series. Pitch manipulation within 12-tone rows is determined by the systematic use of mathematical permutations of row segments; the transposition of rows through rotation; and the concept of the ‘diastematic series’ based on the six interval classes rather than the 12 pitch classes. Metastaseis is the first work in which Xenakis constructed ruled surfaces in a two-dimensional projection. These surfaces may be understood as straight line paths bent along curved trajectories. Besides their use in later works (such as Syrmos and Stratégie), they define the unique shape of the Philips Pavilion, conceived by Xenakis as the setting for Varèse’s Poème électronique, and Le Corbusier’s picture projections for the Brussels Exposition Universelle of 1958. Xenakis, Iannis Macroscopic stochastic music. In his article ‘La crise de la musique sérielle’ (1994), Xenakis rejected serial method as unsuitable for his compositional objectives. At the same time, like the serialists, he followed Messiaen’s example in retaining the independent structuring of individual musical parameters. This manifesto was, in fact, less of a polemic against serialism and more the renunciation of traditional polyphonic part writing, in order to establish the complete independence of sound events within sound masses. This independence is the theoretical precondition for the applicability of the kinetic theory of gases to musical composition. (According to this theory, the temperature of a gas derives from the independent movement of its molecules.) Xenakis focussed his compositional process upon the large-scale features – such as outline, density or temperature – of whole ‘clouds’ of sounds, like the pizzicato-glissando clouds in Pithoprakta, and their alteration in time. By means of stochastic distribution functions the macroscopic properties of the mass are linked to its microscopic structure: each sound-particle of the score is precisely defined, yet contributes to the overall sound impression in its own individual way. In Achorripsis (1956–7) Xenakis formalized his stochastic method to a point where it could be automated by means of a computer programme, with the help of which he was able to generate the family of ST compositions in 1962. In addition, he experimented with ‘injecting memory into the stochastic method’ (Varga, 1982): by means of transitional probabilities (the Markov chain), he established a dynamic equilibrium between musical ‘states’ and then disrupted it, following a predetermined plan (e.g. in Syrmos, Analogique A and B). Stochastics were also used to create sound textures employed in the musical ‘games’ Duel (1959) and Stratégie (1962), using a mathematical game theory developed for the simulation of situations of military or economic conflict (Schmidt, 1995); for the presentation of unordered pitch sets in Herma (1961); for the piano solo of Eonta (1963–4); and for the gigantic glissando fields of Nomos gamma (1967–8). Such ideas continue to play a part in Xenakis’s most recent music, though no longer necessarily applied with precise calculation. Xenakis, Iannis 8. ‘Symbolic music’. Stochastic music may have led to the control of sound masses, yet the determination of the notes themselves had no other foundation than the application of the kinetic theory of gases to musical objects. In this crisis of fundamentals, Xenakis turned to logic and sets – much as mathematicians had around 1900 (Eichert, 1994). The goal of this project, entitled ‘Symbolic Music’, was the foundation of a musical high-level calculus in which the concrete dimensions (i.e. the musical parameters) are abstracted and rendered into algebraic forms. Only after this process are they given a musical interpretation. This ‘syntactic’ treatment of musical structures entailed emptying them of any significance normally attributed by musical tradition. The abstract formalism underlying the manipulation of pitch sets in Herma, for example, was subsequently extended to the investigation of the regular proportions of complex scales (sieves), by imposing a group structure on the sets (the set of whole numbers). In Nomos alpha (1966) and Nomos gamma (1968) regular proportions (symmetries) are also explored in two and three dimensions with the help of geometrical transformation groups, which guide the sound-constellations in time or in a multiple counterpoint. Unlike Messiaen’s modes, which establish symmetries within the octave, sieves explore asymmetrical scales which reject octave equivalence and generate seemingly chaotic structures. The analysis and synthesis of the sieves was later automated by a computer programme (given in Formalized Music). During the 1960s and 70s, Xenakis’s preference was for sieves constructed of microintervals (some as small as eighth-tones). ‘Tempered’ sieves appeared later with the pelog-like scale of Jonchaies (1977), Aïs (1980) and Shaar (1983), and applied to other musical parameters as well, especially to duration. Xenakis, Iannis |
Последнее изменение этой страницы: 2019-04-19; Просмотров: 212; Нарушение авторского права страницы
cl, db cl, dbn, hn, pic tpt, trbn, tuba, perc, vc, 1992; Sakkas, cond. Tabachnik, Athens, 3 May 1992 [scene from Oresteïa: see choral]