Composto tra il 1987 e il 1989, Rebonds b utilizza un set misto di strumenti a membrana e wood blocks. Un aggressivo ostinato ritmico, interpolato da violenti accenti, viene via via interrotto da veloci figurazioni eseguite sui wood blocks, fino al progressivo disfacimento in forti rulli. Nella coda finale un’ulteriore linea sui wood blocks è progressivamente sovrapposta all’ostinato iniziale, in un contrappunto che evolverà nell’esasperazione sonora delle ultime misure. [Davide Anzaghi da Novurgia]
Psappha (1975) by Iannis Xenakis performed by Adélaïde Ferrière.
The title pays homage to the ancient Greek poetess, Sappho, whom the composer credits with introducing “metabolae” (shifts of meter or pattern) into the rhythmic structure of her poetry.
In approaching Psappha, his first solo work for percussion, Xenakis decided to forego any peripheral effects and concentrate solely on rhythm. Xenakis does not specify any particular instruments (with the exception of the bass drum). Rather, he defines categories of timbre, including skin, wood, and metal, each meant to fill three registral zones, each of these zones being comprised of three distinct instruments.
Psappha is organized in five main sections, each being distinguished by shifts of tempo, timbre, and texture. There are passages in which the pulse continues as a regular beat, colored with patterns of accents and shifting instruments. Set against these are the rarer moments in which the pulse is dispersed through widely varying rhythmic durations or much sparser densities.
