Xenakis - Nekuia (1981) out of print recording

Iannis Xenakis (1922-2001) Nekuia (1981) for mixed chorus and orchestra Kölner Rundfunkchor Kölner Rundfunk-Symphonieorchester Michel Tabachnik, conductor Sleeve note: With Nekuia (funeral ceremony, necromancy) in 1981, commissioned by the Westdeutscher Rundfunk (Radio Cologne), Xenakis brings us a score for choir and orchestra of rare expressive power. An authentic festival of sound, it conveys breathtaking visions of the end of the world. One of Xenakis' most moving works, Nekuia attains almost metaphysical dimensions, through a subject marked by its humanity. By its very theme, “a funeral ceremony and a magic rite in which the spirits of the dead are called forth and questioned on life in the future. The general idea of this music is the profound cry of the ideologies crossing the surface of our planet, often to the noises of street demonstrations, explosions and shouts, under a sky that is sometimes dark, but sometimes of a splendid azure.“ In a climate