giacinto scelsi - œuvres pour chœur et orchestre

Giacinto Scelsi/Wyttenbach/ Chœur et Orchestre de Cracovie
Œuvres Pour Chœur Et Orchestre
1988-90
Accord
[modern classical]

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I've actually already posted two thirds of this 3CD Scelsi box set (here). But this compilation is just so wonderful I feel like posting the complete thing. It features the three records Jürg Wyttenbach recorded with the Kraków Orchestra in the late 80s, easily the finest recordings of Scelsi's orchestral pieces I've heard thus far. The pieces here were written between 1959 and 1974. Unaware that these records were no longer out of print (as I falsely claimed in the original post), I was amazed to learn that they had been compiled in 2003 by Accord for this remarkable and totally essential box set. For less than $30 you get almost two and a half hours of the best music from one of the most fascinating composers of the 20th century.

The first and second discs features both the Kraków Orchestra and the Kraków Philharmonic Choir, interpreting such masterpieces as Konx-Om-Pax, Quattro Pezzi and my personal favourites, Uaxuctum (possibly the darkest orchestral piece ever written?) and Anahit. If you're new to Scelsi, either of these two discs is the perfect place to start. It's difficult to describe Scelsi's music (you are better off just experiencing it for yourself), but it's safe to say that it is very dark (I've read people describing it as dark ambient), rather slow in places and that it often has a heavy emphasis on the lower register of sound (lots of trombones, tubas, organs and dark, pounding percussion), while also utilizing brass and violins in certain pieces. The third disc, which I've yet to fully explore, follows in the same vein, but leaves out the Kraków Philharmonic Choir. This is totally unique, endlessly rewarding music that you need to buy before it's too late and it goes out of print again.