Xkatedral Anthology Series Iii

Description

XKatedral Anthology Series III is the third volume in a series of archival reissues dedicated to the music of composers exploring slowly evolving sounds and timbres. The pieces presented here emphasize the use of synthetic and acoustic sounds, as well as algorithmic composition, as tools for precise spectral exploration. This double vinyl, released to celebrate the label's tenth anniversary, compiles works from 2014 to 2025. Its release accompanies the reissues of XKatedral Anthology Series I and II. Kali Malone's "My Falling Sinks" is a stripped-down descending melody for organ, cello, and acoustic guitar, featuring Lucy Railton and Stephen O'Malley. This piece is a compositional sketch in septimal just intonation, created on an experimentally tuned organ at the Temple de La Tour-de-Peilz during a residency at La Becque in 2021. Maria W Horn's "Empyrean Flare" was composed in 2022 for choreographer Stina Nyberg's The Dawn Chorus. This piece uses Arvo Pärt's Tintinnabuli technique to animate four supersaw oscillators in slow diatonic arpeggios, revolving around a minor tonic chord. The harmonic structure is destabilized by glissandi and amplified by analog tape saturation. David Granström's "Tessellation" was composed using generative synthesis methods during the summer of 2017. The musical periodicity and harmonic movement of the piece emerge from fixed synthesized tape loops, exploring a space that opens between antithetical worlds. "To Whoever Shall Inherit the Earth" is Jessica Ekomane's first solo work, born, according to the composer, almost by chance. Recorded late at night about ten years ago, it captures a fleeting, fragile, and unique moment, preserved identically. Stephen O'Malley's "Smoking Mother" was created for Gisèle Vienne's Der Teich / L’Etang, staged by Robert Walser. Composed during a residency at the SMEM synthesis archives in Fribourg in 2018, it was produced at the EMS in August 2020. This piece draws inspiration from the works of Zia Mohuiddin Dagar, Krzysztof Penderecki, and Popol Vuh, while exploring the roots of minimalism. Mats Erlandsson's "Att böja själarna" was composed in 2018 and is featured in On Eternity, a collection of four texts and four ten-minute loops on cassette, released as a limited edition collector's box set in 2021 by Irrlicht Förlag. This work is performed by Gaianeh Pilossian on violin and Sara Fors on vocals. "This will be my last piece for organ" was composed by Theodor Kentros in 2025. This piece uses groups of interconnected oscillators via feedback to synthesize the fluctuating frequencies perceived to propagate in physical space when an organ is detuned. "Fault Lines" was composed by Daniel M. Karlsson using generative methods, with a res