Uploaded March 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Tonal nagual (2019)
In the context of Toltec teachings, a Nagual (from the Nahuatl word "nāhualli") refers to both the unmanifested energy field of the universe and an individual with the ability to channel that energy for spiritual transformation. The concept is deeply tied to the energetic realms beyond the material world, known as the Tonal and Nagual. While the Tonal encompasses the rational, known aspects of reality, the Nagual represents the unknown and limitless potential of pure energy. The Nagual is not only a universal force but also a person who has achieved mastery over this force, guiding others through personal and spiritual evolution.
Art by Andrii Toderiuk
Tonal nagual (2019)
In the context of Toltec teachings, a Nagual (from the Nahuatl word "nāhualli") refers to both the unmanifested energy field of the universe and an individual with the ability to channel that energy for spiritual transformation. The concept is deeply tied to the energetic realms beyond the material world, known as the Tonal and Nagual. While the Tonal encompasses the rational, known aspects of reality, the Nagual represents the unknown and limitless potential of pure energy. The Nagual is not only a universal force but also a person who has achieved mastery over this force, guiding others through personal and spiritual evolution.
Art by Andrii Toderiuk


![Zreen Toyz - Rouille
Rouille (2003/2013)
Created in 2003 in Paris, Rouille was used as an ambient background for the sculptures exhibitions of Jean Tinguely and Alberto Giacometti. Twenty minutes shorter than the original, this remixed version (March 2013) is more focused on progression of the sonorous events. [suRRism-Phonoethics]
Art by Jean Tinguely Zreen Toyz - Rouille](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sUclaz1q1C8/mqdefault.jpg)
![Mathias Spahlinger - Apo do (van hier)
Apo do (van hier), for string quartet (1982)
I.
II. Quasi da capo senza fine [6:05]
III. Quasi da capo senza fine [11:04]
Arditti String Quartet
Spahlinger, who received his training in classical music and jazz has, by his own account, developed his own style. The string quartet Apo do from 1982 bears a resemblance to that of Helmut Lachenmann, but in this work Spahlinger uses silence much more as “sound.” The basis of the work was formed by a poem (From Here to the Sun) by the Greek poet Jannis Ritsos, which deals with the German occupation of Greece during the Second World War.
The music for the string instruments is not written for the usual sounds of those instruments. The participants play flautando, flageolet, press and rub strings and instruments, and sometimes also make their instruments produce sighing sounds. The music is “filled” with long general pauses. The difference with Lachenmann also lies in the fact that there is a unison tone in movements 1 and 2; the A-flat, which is supposed to provide rest but actually causes unrest in all movements, the unison tone falls out of tune.
The work consists of three untitled movements; however, the last two movements form a double coda to movement 1. The composer therefore leaves it ambiguous whether the work has a true ending. At the end of movement two or three, one can simply start all over again. The composer assumes that no two performances are alike. It also stands out as a performance with multiple repetitions, a kind of minimal music. The shortest performance (all three movements only once) lasts approximately 11 minutes.
The composer himself draws a parallel with Samuel Becketts play Play. In that play, the first performance also serves to give an impression of the entire work, but before one actually realizes it, the play starts all over again. One thus gets the impression that the play could go on forever.
Apo do was written commissioned by the Goethe Institute of Athens and also received its first performance there. [wikipedia.org]
Art by Eirene Efstathiou Mathias Spahlinger - Apo do (van hier)](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/sUmC-vjWg9g/mqdefault.jpg)



![Mario Davidovsky - Three Synchronisms
Three Synchronisms, for instruments and electronic sounds (1963-65)
No. 1 for Flute (1963) - Harvey Sollberger, flute
No. 2 for Flute, Clarinet, Violin, Cello (1964) - Sophie Sollberger, flute; Stanley Drucker, clarinet; Paul Zukofsky, violin; Robert L. Martin, cello; Efrain Guigut, conductor [4:21]
No. 3 for Cello (1964-65) - Robert L. Martin, cello [10:21]
Concerning the Three Synchronisms recorded here, Mr. Davidovsky notes that ‘‘They belong to a series of short pieces wherein conventional instruments are used in conjunction with electronic sounds. The attempt here has been made to preserve the typical characteristics of the conventional instruments and of the electronic medium respectively — yet to achieve integration of both into a coherent musical texture.”
“In the planning and realization of these pieces,” Mr. Davidovsky notes further, “two main problems arise — namely proper synchronization (a) of rhythm and (b) of pitch. During the shorter episodes where both electronic and conventional instruments are playing, rather strict timing is adhered to. However, in the more extended episodes of this type, an element of chance is introduced to allow for the inevitable time discrepancies that develop between the live performer(s) and the constant-speed tape recorder.
“To achieve pitch coherence between the conventional instruments which use the 12-tone chromatic scale and the electronic medium which is non-tempered, use is made of tonal occurrences of very high density — manifested for example by a very high speed succession of attacks, possible only in the electronic medium. Thus, in such instances — based on high speed and short duration of separate tones, it is impossible for the ear to perceive the pure pitch value of each separate event; though in reacting, it does trace so to speak a statistical curve of the density. Only in a very few instances have tempered electronic pitches been employed in the Synchronisms. Throughout all three pieces, the tape recorder has been used as an integral part of the instrumental fabric.” [CRI204 Stereo]
Art by Jarmo Mäkilä Mario Davidovsky - Three Synchronisms](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u4OIDF3s9t4/mqdefault.jpg)
![Wolfgang Rihm - In-Schrift
In-Schrift, for orchestra (1995)
Bamberger Symphoniker
Hans Zender
All spatiality should be circumscribed in the music. I attempted to outwit the resonance with a consistent harmonic system; the voices move for the most part within a firmly contoured framework of chords, so that even rapid music is possible without blurring.
The basic idea is succinct: an Inschrift [“inscription” or “epigraph”]. This occurs in writing [in Schrift], both musical and writing notational characters, written into the line like adages. The orchestration is darkened, thereby attaining focus. Wolfgang Rihm
Art by Pierre Bonnard Wolfgang Rihm - In-Schrift](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/u7Im3Ked-9Y/mqdefault.jpg)
![Harrison Birtwistle - Three Settings of Celan
Three Settings of Celan, for soprano, 2 clarinets, viola, violoncello and double bass (1989)
Christine Whittlesey, sopran
Ensemble InterContemporain
Pierre Boulez
At the close of the last century, the poetry of Romanian-born Holocaust survivor Paul Celan (1920-1970) drew the interest of many composers. In the 1990s Luciano Berio, György Kurtág, John Zorn, and Peter Ruzicka composed works on the poet, the latter producing a full-length opera. It was a culmination of Celan’s lifelong association with musical imagery beginning with his famous early poem Todesfuge (Death Fugue).
In 1989 Harrison Birtwistle set “White and Light” in response to a commission from England’s Composers Ensemble. Over the next several years he would return to Celan for inspiration to fulfill both vocal and instrumental commissions. In 1996 he combined nine poems and nine movements for string quartet into an hour-long work titled Pulse Shadows. From that he excerpted a smaller collection: Three Settings of Celan.
“White and Light,” “Night,” and “Tenebrae” are poems from late in Celan’s life, when he had moved away from a traditional lyricism to a more compressed and austere style. Utilizing English translations by Michael Hamburger Birtwistle’s score offers versions in both English and the original German.
“Pulse Shadows” is an apt image to describe the music. In “White and Light” there is a shadow play between the soprano and clarinet, which closely echo and anticipate each other’s melodic lines. The tempo and texture is unsteady and fluid, a quality reflected in Celan’s text by repeated use of the word “drift.” The soprano’s highest register is on full display in “Night,” while aggressive viola strokes provide an uneasy pulsation to “Tenebrae.” Long, sustained soprano notes – particularly on the many instances of the word “Lord” – lead the work to an enigmatic conclusion. [laphil.com]
Art by Anselm Kiefer Harrison Birtwistle - Three Settings of Celan](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/uKVb_rG7iCs/mqdefault.jpg)
