After his first pieces for percussion ensemble, Persephassa (1969), and percussion solo, Psappha (1976), Iannis Xenakis went on to compose a number of other works for various combinations of percussion or percussion and other instruments. His second solo work, though, did not arrive until 1988. Rebonds was written for longtime colleague, Sylvio Gualda, who had also premiered Psappha and performed it (and other pieces) to great acclaim around the world. This piece is less ambitious (and utopic, in terms of performer difficulty!) than the earlier solo, but it is nonetheless a fascinating study of pulse and pattern.

Unusually for Xenakis, Rebonds is written as two autonomous movements. They can be performed in either order. The "A" movement begins with a repeating rhythmic phrase built from a continuous pulse. The pattern is varied as a matter of course, and the pulse is gradually filled in with faster and faster fills. As in Psappha, there are only a few instruments used in order not to distract or muddy the rhythmic structure: seven drums and five woodblocks. The momentum builds higher and higher, until the tension is dispersed with a fragmented return to the opening phrase.

Movement "A" is often performed after "B," which has a more complex design. The most obvious formal distinction is between sections featuring drums or sections featuring woodblocks (the final section combines the two). The organization within these sections is less linear than in "A," but there are variational processes used. The ongoing pulse is occasionally vaporized by the switch to continuous rolls, but there are also passages in which the layered succession of patterns creates fascinating textures of shifting accents.

© James Harley, All Music Guide