Gendy3 is a famous electronic composition by Iannis Xenakis for computer-generated sounds. The Web offers many resources and documents related to this work, and not only.
After reviewing a Neuma release with two electronics works by Xenakis, I found on the web some resources about Gendy3 (1991), a composition published on that Cd.
It is not strange that the web offers many resources for Gendy3; we must remember that it is one of the most famous music work composed by Xenakis through an electronic medium, one of the most beautiful composition, for aesthetic reasons, and technicals, too. The Neuma’s collection includes alsoTaurhiphanie (1987-88), [one of] a work less interesting, in fact it is so difficult to find documents about this composition, not only on the web but outside, also.
The first supporting material that I find is a paper by Marie-Hélène Serra published on Perspectives of New Music, 1993: Stochastic Composition and Stochastic Timbre: GENDY3 by Iannis Xenakis. I know it is one of the most distinguished studies dedicated to Gendy3. Certainly it is clear as much as detailed. Very interesting also for those which want understand how works the synthesis algorithm developed by Xenakis for his work: dynamic stochastic synthesis.
Maybe I should have started by listening, but for this I link to this review, which contains already tracks to be listen.
It is important to note that Gendy3 is mentioned not only as electronic music work but also as synthesis algorithm, in this latter case it is written GENDY3, used by Xenakis for the realization of Gendy3. Programmers have appreciated this computer feature so much. So, I think it’s interesting to link some implementations realized of GENDY3 for others music software, like Supercollider and Max/Msp.
Nick Collins, composer and computer music researcher (as wikipedia writes), designed the SuperCollider implementation. Verily, he made a more complex work, realizing three different versions of the same algorithm. The first, Gendy1, is designed according to the historic algorithm of Iannis Xenakis. Next Gendy2 based on a GENDY3 variant designed by Peter Hoffmann and presented with the paper The New GENDYN Program, published on the Computer Music Journal, 2000. This is a preview. A clarification: Hoffmann writes GENDYN but it is GENDY3. Lastly, Gendy3, only a modified version of Gendy1.
The work done by Nick Collins was enriched with a version of three Gendy oscillators for Max/Msp, developed by Stephen Lumenta.
Recently I found also a Csound opcode version of GENDY3, available here. You know other implementations?
We come back to Nick Collins. The English researcher designed also an iOS app, that I reviewed in October. What’s the name? Obvious, iGendyn! This is the link to my review, and added to this a paper written by Collins to present his work for iGendyn and the Supercollider implementation of the GENDY3 algorithm: Implementing stochastic synthesis for SuperCollider and iPhone published on Proceedings of Xenakis International Symposium, 2001.
If you find a broken link, I like your report! The same if you find another resource!