Xkatedral Anthology Series I

Description

XKatedral Anthology I is the first volume in a series of reissues dedicated to the music of composers affiliated with XKatedral, working in the field of slowly evolving harmonic and timbral music. This double vinyl brings together pieces composed between 2010 and 2020. Four of them were initially released on cassette at the beginning of the label's history, while the other two are presented for the first time on this compilation. This record is released simultaneously with the reissues of XKatedral Anthology volumes II and III. The works Ir Himinn, Groœnn by Kristofer Svensson, Disquiet (Heart) by Marta Forsberg, and Lamé by Isak Edberg were initially released on the XKatedral Volume II cassette compilation in 2016. Svensson's piece, composed in 2014, subtly blends gamelan percussion and prepared piano, blurring the lines between the two instrumental groups. Forsberg's and Edberg's pieces both use a monolithic form to explore the timbral and harmonic spaces offered by the Düben baroque organ, located in the Tyska Kyrkan church in the heart of old Stockholm. Although similar in instrumentation, the two works differ formally: Lamé, composed by Edberg in 2010, uses the organ's registers to articulate a continuous spectral transformation, while Disquiet (Heart), by Forsberg (2014), works with sound blocks of varying opacity, saturation, and intensity. Glory, a piece for two electric guitars by Caterina Barbieri and Kali Malone, was composed and recorded at Tempo Reale, in Florence, Italy, and initially released on the XKatedral Volume III cassette compilation in 2016. This music takes the form of a constantly evolving hypnotic motif, shared by the two instruments and articulated in canon. Dissolving Ceremony, composed in 2012 by Edberg/Erlandsson/Lisinski, was first presented to the public on the self-produced album Stratum. The music on this album consisted of a gamelan percussion ensemble, enriched by two live electronic instrument ensembles, tuned to the harmonic structure formed by the metal percussion. Initially placed at the center of the album, between two long monolithic pieces based on the creative process, Dissolving Ceremony now stands on its own, as a testament to an era and a methodology of the recent past. The most recent piece in this set is Shipwrecks by Daniel M. Karlsson. Although recent, this work by Karlsson makes him one of the precursors of the musical expression present in this set. Active in the field of contemporary music for twenty years, his strong musical ideas and constantly evolving savoir-faire have given rise to a considerable body of work, and have inspired many of his fellow composers. This piece is a celebration of transposition and its immense transformative capacity.