Ambient Pressure

To mark the 30th anniversary of Giacinto Scelsi’s death, Onassis Stegi presents ΤΕΤΤΤΙΞ ensemble on 6 and 7 December with Ambient Pressure, an ambient performance at the Exhibition Hall, in which the spectators-listeners are left free to immerse themselves in the music or simply to follow it from a distance. Every composer calls forth different expressive means: imperceptible changes made by increasing or decreasing the density of the musical material or emphasizing a particular sound color and instrumental register.

Guided by the music’s atmosphere, its "minimalist" aesthetic and its impact, which moves between the hypnotic and the stimulating, Panagiotis Tomaras plays with the fundamental qualities of light. Using reflections and gradations of intensity and color, he weaves subtle optical illusions and creates a singular environment for each work.

Credits

Concept, Realization: Michalis Paraskakis
Artistic direction and programming: Katerina Konstantourou, Michalis Paraskakis, Nikos Galenianos, Nikos Ioakeim
Light & Stage Design: Panagiotis Tomaras
Sound engineer: Brian Coon

TETTTIΞ: Ana Chifu (flute), Εirini Amanatiadou (clarinet), Guido de Flaviis (saxophone), Rhea Pickios (bassoon), Sissi Makropoulou (harp), Katerina Konstantourou (piano, qanun), Mislav Režić (guitar), Stamatis Pasopoulos (accordeon), Panagiotis Ziavras (percussion, santur), Charis Pazaroulas (double bass), Michalis Paraskakis (composer, voice), Nikos Ioakeim (composer), Nikos Galenianos (composer).

Conductor: Konstantinos Terzakis

*Strobe lights will be used during the performance.

Program

Brian Eno (b. 1948)
“Ambient 4: On Land_ Lizard Point” (1978-82) – transcription for ensemble

Giacinto Scelsi (1905-1988)
“Okanagon” (1968), for amplified harp, tamtam and double bass

Zesses Seglias (b. 1984)
“Let the music go down” (2013), for bass clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, percussion and double bass

Nikos Ioakeim (b. 1978)
“Væsanus!” (2014), for flute, bass clarinet, saxophone, bassoon, percussion, guitar, double bass

Brian Eno
"Ambient 4: On Land_ A Clearing” (1978-82) – transcription for ensemble

Peter Adriaansz (b. 1966)
"Fraction" (2011), for amplified saxophone, el. guitar, qanun and santur

Giacinto Scelsi
“Maknongan” (1976), for any low instrument

Michalis Paraskakis (b. 1980)
“Skostok” (2015), for ensemble

Brian Eno
“Ambient 4: On Land_ Lantern Marsh” (1978-82) – transcription for ensemble

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The music

In “Okanagon” and “Maknongan”, Scelsi, the “Master of the yet smaller transition” presides over a primeval drama through his meditation on sound.

In “Fraction”, Peter Adriaansz creates a rite of industrial sounds whose languid repetitions randomly synchronize.

In “Vaesanus!”, Nikos Ioakeim sets out to explore the potential available in the vicinity of a single note.

In Michalis Paraskakis's “Skostok” an irregular pulse is used to perturb the static character of sustained sounds, setting this way the musical dramaturgy in motion.

In “Let the music go down”, Zesses Seglias explores music’s tendency to head downwards from a dramaturgical point of view, whatever form this may take: moving towards the lower register of an instrument, slowing the pulse, changing the coloration and, of course, the mood.

The evening ends with works by the “godfather” of ambient music, Brian Eno, recomposed for acoustic instruments.

A few words about the ensemble

TETTTIX (with three Ts) was founded by a group of young musicians who share a love of contemporary music as well as years of knowing and working together. A key feature of the ensemble is that most of its members have lived and studied in the Netherlands, a country with an especially dynamic contemporary music scene. Having experienced such a multinational, open and active music-making environment, TETTTIX wants to bring it to Greece — to Athens and beyond.

As an ensemble, TETTTIX differs from established line-ups in its singular combination of instruments. This singularity feeds into an emphasis on the creation of new repertoire through commissions to young composers from Greece and abroad. The ensemble also seeks to extend the life of new works beyond their premiere performances. TETTTIX also focuses on the performance of important works from recent decades that remain unknown in Greece, while simultaneously setting out to revive neglected or forgotten 20th-century gems.

At the same time, as a child of its time, the ensemble flirts with improvisation and other music genres (pop, rock, rebetika, electronica, jazz and traditional music).

Aware that the visual and scenic dimension of a concert is an integral part of the musical experience, the members of TETTTIX, all of whom have experience in this field, treat their performances as unified spectacles, inviting artists from the theater, film, architecture, dance and the visual arts to input into the staging of their concerts. With music and sound at the epicenter of their art, their use of space, movement, lighting and on-stage action produces unexpected artistic admixtures.