When I first started to get to know the music of Iannis Xenakis, I quickly gained an intuitive sense, without knowing much about either him or the technical bases for his work, that there was a structural coherence and formal depth there. Even though it was possible to compare his texture-based sonorities with those, say, of Krzysztof Penderecki, the music of Xenakis was different in some profound way. Penderecki's music seemed to be telling a story, and Xenakis's seemed to be unfolding an architecture. As I got to know his music better, I realised that his musical thinking was informed by complex mathematical techniques and a multi-dimensional (nonlinear) conception of form. Somehow, the materials of the music always seem to matter in an integral way. The same applies to his electroacoustic music, where from the earliest works at the Groupe de Recherches Musicales his concern for sonority as allied with form was paramount. The compositional materials are not a means to some expressive end, but are fundamental to the expression, tied to the temporal organisation. Each piece is characterised by the choice of ‘sonic entities’ (mostly not themes or motives) and the ways in which they relate to each other through variation of parameters such as density, register, texture, and so forth, along with the way they are presented over time.
When I learned that Xenakis had studied engineering and had worked at an architectural studio for many years, my intuitive understanding of his music began to make more sense. An engineer, or architect, must treat the materials of the project with the utmost care, not only for aesthetic reasons but also for structural ones. If the materials are not chosen and deployed carefully, the building will fall down! The structural integrity of Xenakis's music is one of the most striking aspects of his work, along with the amazing originality of his sonic imagination.
The new publication from Pendragon Press, Music and Architecture, translated, compiled and presented by Sharon Kanach, is an important resource for anyone seeking insight into the ‘architectural’ quality of Xenakis's music, although it is not primarily about sound. It is also valuable for painstakingly presenting all of the architectural projects (some involving music, some not) Xenakis worked on. A good amount of this work has been quite public, and discussed elsewhere by Xenakis and others, but other projects were more private, or undocumented until now. If there was a common understanding in the new music community that the young Xenakis worked for Le Corbusier only until he could afford to go into music full-time, whereafter his only design work related to his multimedia ‘polytopes’, this volume should do much to correct that misconception. As one reads through the accounts here of all his various projects, it becomes clear that Xenakis remained creatively and critically engaged with architecture throughout his career.
The book, first volume in the new Iannis Xenakis Series published by Pendragon Press and overseen by Sharon Kanach with Makis Solomos and Benoît Gibson, is organised in four parts: ‘The Le Corbusier Years’, ‘Writing on Architecture’, ‘Independent Architectural Projects’ and ‘The Polytopes’. Four useful appendices are also included: ‘The UPIC’, ‘Synoptic Table of Xenakis’ Life and Works’, ‘Catalogue Raisonné of Xenakis’ Architectural Projects’ (contributed by architect Sven Sterken) and ‘Selected Bibliography’. The volume opens with a foreword by Toronto-based architect David J. Lieberman. He draws valuable attention to the ‘performity’ of space, that our perception of architecture requires time and movement, thereby connecting it to music.
Xenakis published Musique. Architecture (Casterman) in 1976, but it contains, according to Kanach, only three articles on architecture. As is recounted in the introduction to this new book, there was much else in Xenakis's papers that had not been published, and Kanach worked first with Xenakis in his final years to sort through his archives and find a way to put this material forward. This work carried on after his death in cooperation with his widow, Françoise Xenakis, and through the period of moving the archives to the Bibliothèque nationale de France and beginning the cataloguing process. This volume is more than a collection of articles, it is also a treasure trove of photos, sketches and diagrams, practically on every other page (and many in colour), along with careful notes and contextual information from Kanach.
The work described in the section on the ‘Le Corbusier Years’ is most well known. Even so, there are details presented here on all the projects Xenakis worked on, and much of this work has not been well described before. His major architectural contributions to Le Corbusier's studio are the Philips Pavilion and the Monastery of La Tourette. But there is more, and the details make for interesting reading. This was no ordinary day job! For any who missed it elsewhere, Xenakis here outlines the Modulor concept, as developed by Le Corbusier. The incorporation of related proportioning in Xenakis's music is worth further study, as it is certainly an important element in his compositional approach. This connection is discussed in the article, also included here, Xenakis wrote for Le Corbusier in 1955 discussing his orchestral work Metastaseis (1954) and its connection to graphic–architectural concepts along with the Modulor. In addition, some of the personal communications that arose from the projects he worked on and the relationships connected to them, including the eventual difficulties Xenakis had with Le Corbusier, make for interesting reading, and provide the reader with precious insights into the person of Xenakis.
This first section of the book takes up more than one-third of the volume, as that period was when Xenakis was most fully involved in architectural work. Readers will want to refer while going through the book to the chronological listing of Xenakis's work in Appendix B, which lists architectural projects, musical works, written publications and details from his life. This highlights parallels in his work across disciplines, and may point the way to further study of concurrent ideas across disciplines.
The second section, ‘Writings on Architecture’, is a compilation of articles previously published, with the exception of one article that discusses some ideas relating to Xenakis's polytopes, most likely written in 1970. Most of these entries appeared in publications in different countries and would be next to impossible to track down. Along with taking on the work of compiling these writings for us, Kanach has included numerous photos, sketches and footnotes that help to contextualise the articles.
The section on ‘Independent Architectural Projects’ is perhaps the most valuable of this volume, as many of these projects would otherwise be unknown to anyone beyond those people immediately concerned. Thanks to Kanach's patient combing through the archives, we can see models, sketches and photographs of designs for Hermann Scherchen's Auditorium (not realised), François-Bernard Mâche's summer home in Greece, René Schneider's summer home in Corsica, the Cité de la Musique in Paris (not realised), Roger and Karen Reynolds’ desert home in California (not realised), and the Xenakis family summer home in Corsica. It is interesting to note that Xenakis collaborated with composers on these architectural projects, of his many acquaintances and patrons across many disciplines and professions. The section also contains texts relating to a few other projects, most notably the Arts Center in Shiraz-Persepolis, Iran (not realised). As Kanach observes, Xenakis poured much into his design for the new Paris music centre at Parc de la Villette for the architectural competition in 1984, and he was bitterly disappointed to not be successful in the award. The details of his work as presented in this volume show his unique approach, hailing not only from his visual and architectural orientation but also from his vast experience as a musician with deep knowledge of acoustics and sound.
The final section, ‘The Polytopes’, looks at all Xenakis's multimedia works, both those involving architectural design (or installation) and those not. These have been described elsewhere (including Xenakis: Les Polytopes by Olivier Revault d'Allonnes), but, again, the compilation here, and the photos and diagrams make it worthwhile to include discussion of the polytopes in this volume. Especially valuable are Kanach's notes on the polytopes that were proposed but not produced: Mexico and Athens. Politically minded readers may be particularly interested to read, among the documentation gathered in this section, Xenakis's open letter to Le Monde in December 1971 where he defends his work in Iran, having been accused of supporting the Shah's regime.
For many, Xenakis's major electroacoustic works are known from recordings. But these compositions were originally conceived as part of multimedia presentations: Concret PH (1958) for the Philips Pavilion, Brussels World Fair; Polytope de Montréal (1967) for the French Pavilion, Montreal World Expo (the music for this work is not strictly electroacoustic, but it was played from loudspeakers and its focus on texture and spatialisation closely relate the score to Xenakis's studio-produced works); Hibiki-Hana-Ma (1970) for the Steel and Iron Pavilion, Osaka World Fair; Persepolis (1971) for the Shiraz Festival, Iran; Polytope de Cluny (1972) for the Cluny Museum, Paris; La légende d'Er (1978) for Le Diatope, Paris; Mycenae alpha (1978) for the Polytope de Mycène, Greece. These works stand very well on their own as electroacoustic compositions, but the documentation provided in this volume, including interesting sketches and notes, provides context that ought to be helpful to listeners and researchers. The unfortunate part is that the multimedia presentations that Xenakis designed these works for are no longer able to be experienced as they were intended (although various reconstructions or reimaginings have been or are in the process of being put forward).
The Appendices provide valuable information for readers and sources for researchers. The introduction to the UPIC in Appendix A will be of special interest to musicians, as it was one of the first graphic interfaces for creating computer music. The technical details are not provided in this volume, but references to those details are provided. In lieu of a full index the volume closes with an index of Proper Names. A proper index may have provided assistance for finding specific entries, but the careful organisation of the book should make it relatively easy to navigate the contents.
Along with recognising the contribution of Sharon Kanach, whose dedication to this project is apparent on every page, we must signal the dedication of Pendragon Press not only for publishing this volume (and for committing to publish the others in the Xenakis series) but for finding a way to include the large, and extremely valuable, collection of images while still keeping the book's price at a reasonable level. We should all be buying a copy, to signal our thanks!
