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Re: [microsound] new autechre



> too long ago someone posted here that s/he could not
> seriously listen to xenakis without knowing all the
> mathematical tables were there, something allegedy
> ensuring its validity as a "work". while i have
> studied xenakis' "tables", i would never say that
> cage's i-ching threads (computer-generated or not)
> would make me feel more inclined to listen to his
> work. 
I was referring to the mathematicality in the music of
iannis xenakis, and how it is an integral part of his
process, and thus the music itself.  I don't think you
can use mathematicality to "ensure validity" in a work
of music, as you say, but it can provide a layer of
information that the interested observer may find
intriguing.    I know the math was there because he
wrote a rather dubious book about it.  Cage was also a
prolific writer, and I would argue that a good number
of Cage fans are in love with his ideas, not his
music.  Both Xenakis' tables and Cage's i-ching were
merely interesting ways to get notes, just like the
12-tone system before them.  They provide a structure
for atonal music, so that the composer isn't accused
of "randomness".  The reason that the music of Cage
and Xenakis turned out sounding interesting was
because they were able to devise aestheticized
algorithms for generating probabilistic composition. 
You can't avoid making some decisions somewhere.  I
think it's very similar to the recent discussion about
converting images to sound.  Whatever the source of
data, the decision about how to map it is the vital
aspect of making interesting material from aleatorical processes.

Andrew Benson
www.cloud-machine.com


		
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