Iannis Xenakis is responsible for making music so effective at turning people away from a love of earthly things that Le Corbusier enlisted his help in the designing of ‘Sainte Marie de La Tourette‘, a Dominican order priory. Perhaps his greatest achievement was, ‘Akanthos‘, an impressive piece for reproducing the precise sound and atmosphere of listening to opera whilst a wasp’s nest is dropped onto the stage. After this untimely event, the orchestra mostly attempt to carry on playing despite the vocalist’s obvious and somewhat embarrassing expressions of pain. Occasionally, a wasp will land on some instrument or another and be swatted off with a bow or some other implement. The singer, unable to remember her lines, simply runs backwards and forwards across the stage sounding like a brave little girl having antiseptic applied to a grazed knee. Mostly, the music goes on as intended, but now and then some virtuosic trumpeter or violinist will attempt to lessen the singer’s embarrassment by playing over her screams. These short riffs and melodies are unrehearsed, but a considerate and thoughtful touch.
Xenakis’ music is certainly ground-breaking and intelligent. I am sure it has inspired many truly brilliant pieces of musical art. This particular track, however, is still completely horrendous. As for the singing, it’s awful, but probably painful screams are better than the words Mozart has put in the mouths of classical musicians.

And Elijah turned to the people and lifted up his voice with a shout, “When you meet together to celebrate the feasts, do not serve wine and steak as the pagans. I shall not permit you any longer to come into the assembly with your feet unshod. Let a cloth be woven with an intricate and skilful pattern. Let it be sown into a tube and given to the elders. Let them wear it as a sign and remembrance under their sandals, so that you may remember that you were brought across the red sea on dry land. Remember that your shoes did not wear out, nor did your feet travel unprotected through the wilderness where you wandered in sin those 40 years. Let your food be quiche and your drink Robinson’s barley water all the days of the feast.” And a great cry came up from all the children of Israel, for the yoke of Elijah was hard, and his words as the midday sun in the wilderness.