Xi

This new Kairos disc is a reissue of  the 2005 release in the DG 20/21 series , which is still available. It is certainly welcome, as this excellent neuemusik deserves a wide audience -- with the Ensemble Intercontemporain as performers, this is avant classical music of the highest order.Unsuk Chin left Seoul to began her studies with Ligeti in 1985, and the earliest of the four compositions on this DG 20/21 disc is from 1991/1993. Each of these pieces is superb, and each is unique. "Akrostichon-Wortspiel" (Acrostic Wordplay -- 1991/1993 -- 15'48) features soprano vocals and ensemble. Playful in a way reminiscent of Ligeti, the vocals are unintelligible syllables extracted from Lewis Carroll and Michael Ende. "Fantasie mecanique" (1994 -- 12'37) for a quintet of trumpet, trombone, piano and two percussionists is a fast, rhythmic work which culminates in the interweaving of 7 different metres in a dense polyrhythm."Xi" (1998 -- 22'48) is an electro-acoustic work which "develops organically from a set of primordial cells (xi -- Korean for the smallest unit, or the origin of all things) in the form of a single vast arc." IRCAM's technology is used to produce very organic-sounding results, more similar to Murail than Boulez. The "Double Concerto" (2002 -- 20'39) for prepared piano, percussion and ensemble, is a restless, mysterious piece with darting piano. The last two pieces strongly bear out Chin's assertion that she "feels a great deal of affinity with non-European musical cultures...I always try to introduce a completely different colour...based on my experience of non-European music." While "Xi" invokes Xenakis, it nonetheless is more spacious, more horizontal -- drifting. The Asian perspective makes itself felt within the framework of the European avant-garde. It often seems these days that the postserialist avant-garde is slipping into the past as various largely tonal, Debussian styles have become prevalent among younger composers, so I am quite happy to hear the music of Unsuk Chin, proudly continuing the European modernist tradition of Ligeti, Boulez, and Xenakis. She joins Kaija Saariaho as a leading woman composer in contemporary music.Since this disc appeared in 2005 Chin has been documented with a DVD of an opera ( Alice in Wonderland ), which did not impress me at all (see my review), and with an orchestral disc featuring her  "Violin Concerto" , which won the 2004 Grawemeyer Award for composition. Most recently, a new work,  "Cantatrix Sopranica"  has appeared on a Wergo disc of sprechgesange compositions performed by the musikFabrik ensemble. If you enjoy creative, complex, innovative modern music, you should hear this music of Unsuk Chin!(verified purchase from the Cosmic Record Emporium)

Comme toutes les compositions d'Unsuk chin et ses interprétations, ce disque est un must à avoir das sa collection de musique de nos jours.

チン・ウンスク（陳銀淑 1961- ）UNSUK CHIN - Xi(01) Fantaisie mecanique (1994, rev. 1997) for five instrumentalists 12:37(02) Xi (1997/1998) for ensemble and electronics 22:48(03-09) Akrostichon-Wortspiel (1991/1993) 15:48Seven scenes from fairy tales for soprano and ensemble(03) Hide and Seek 3:19(04) The Puzzle of the Three Magic Gates 1:34(05) The Rules of the Game - sdrawkcab emiT 1:38(06) Four Seasons in Five Verses 1:52(07) Domifare S 2:38(08) The Game of Chance 1:25(09) From the Old Time 3:22(10) Double Concerto (2002) for prepared piano, percussion and ensemble 20:39TT: 72:23Piia Komsi soprano [3 - 9]Samuel Favre percussion [10]Dimitri Vassilakis piano [10]Ensemble intercontemporain [1 - 10]Patrick Davin conductor [1]David Robertson conductor [2]Kazushi Ono conductor [3 - 9]Stefan Asbury conductor [10]Recorded: 1999 / 2004KAIROS２曲目「Xi」というのはギリシャ語のクシーではなくて朝鮮語（韓国語）である。「In Korean "xi" means the smallest unit or the origin of all things」とリーフレットに書いてある。「Xi」を日本語に訳すと何なのか、分からない。「原子」とか「素粒子」という意味なのか・・・。「Xi」という作品は、大音量で聞くとまあまあ面白い音が聞けるのだが、作品としては、いまいち、ぱっとしない。「Xi」はチン・ウンスク自身が電子音を演奏している --- Electronic realization: Unsuk Chin --- だから演奏が作曲者の意図を表していないということはないと思うのだが・・・。むしろ３曲目「Akrostichon-Wortspiel」のほうが私は好きだ。「Akrostichon-Wortspiel」は大音量で聞くと面白い。これは大野和士の指揮がうまいと思う。Akrostichon [ドイツ語]折り句（の一種、詩などの各行頭の文字または語を連ねると一つの語または文になる）（新現代独和辞典 三修社より）４曲目「Double Concerto」は、はっきり言って全然面白くない。米国アマゾンに詳しいカスタマーレビューがある。