| Title | 12. Activating Sound Phenomena in the Music of Iannis Xenakis |
|---|---|
| Contributor | Mauricio Garcia de la Torre(author) |
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.11647/obp.0390.14 |
| Landing page | https://www.openbookpublishers.com/books/10.11647/obp.0390/chapters/10.11647/obp.0390.14 |
| License | https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/ |
| Copyright | Mauricio García de la Torre |
| Publisher | Open Book Publishers |
| Published on | 2024-10-09 |
| Long abstract | Acoustic energy is a fundamental resource, although little studied, in the music of Iannis Xenakis. This approach is articulated within the concept of activating sound, a notion from psychoacoustics. According to Eggerman, this is one of the underlying mechanisms that enables emotional responses to music. For this author, musical listening is the final stage of a process of acoustic energy transfer, which has a direct correlation with the sympathetic nervous system and as a response generates a certain orientation, as well as physiological arousals towards the stimulus. Xenakis's music invokes an overwhelming physicality, a by-product of sound constructions endowed with a power emanating from the composer's design and realization strategies. With the intent of displaying how this remarkable quality guides Xenakis's creative endeavor, in this chapter I present a descriptive analysis of some iconic passages in which the Greek musician employs the resource of acoustic energy with exceptional mastery. |
| Page range | pp. 199–212 |
| Print length | 14 pages |
| Language | English (Original) |
Mauricio García de la Torre is a composer, researcher, and pianist. He holds a PhD in music composition from Mexico’s UNAM and a Master’s in Music Composition from McGill University, Canada. He graduated in piano performance from the Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes’ (INBA) Superior School of Music in Mexico. He is currently a Professor in Composition and Theory at Pan American University and the Superior School of Music. As a researcher he has studied subjects related to music cognition, phenomenology of music, physics and psychoacoustics. He is currently Editorial Director of UNAM’s PILACREMUS periodical, Co-editor of the website www.musicaenmexico.com and founding member of the collective Transdisciplinarity, Art, and Cognition (TACo).