| Okho | |
|---|---|
| by Iannis Xenakis | |
 Iannis Xenakis c. 1970 | |
| Period | Contemporary music |
| Occasion | Bicentenary of the French Revolution |
| Composed | 1989 |
| Dedication | Trio Le Cercle -Willy Coquillat -Jean-Pierre Drouet -Gaston Sylvestre |
| Performed | 1989 |
| Published | 1989 |
| Publisher | Salabert |
| Duration | 13 minutes |
| Scoring | Three djembes and a large-sized African membranophone |
Okho is a composition for three percussionists by Iannis Xenakis completed in 1989.
In the months before the creation of Okho, Xenakis spent some time with other percussionists such as Jean-Pierre Drouet, who first presented the djembe and the zarb in his studio. During this time, Xenakis and other percussionists worked on the different techniques used for playing some African instruments. The title Okho, unlike many other titles from Xenakis's output, is a pure combination of phonemes and has no meaning. [1] The piece was a commission from the Festival d'automne à Paris and the Caisse des Dépôts et Consignations, with the support of the Government of France on the occasion of the celebration of the bicentenary of the French Revolution. Since the score calls for three djembes and an African bass drum, some scholars have highlighted the possible ironic reference to French colonialism, even though no such references were made explicit in the press. [2] [1]
Okho was completed in July 1989. It was dedicated to the percussion trio Le Cercle, formed by Willy Coquillat, Jean-Pierre Drouet, and Gaston Sylvestre, who gave the premiere that year on the ceremony celebrating the bicentenary of the Revolution . It was eventually published that year by Éditions Salabert. [3]
Okho is scored for three djembes and a large-sized African membranophone that are meant to be played with the hands except where otherwise noted. Because of its difficulty, some percussion ensembles choose to play this piece with sticks and drums with different pitches. It has a total of 138 bars an approximate duration of 13 minutes.
As is customary in other works by Xenakis, Okho presents a series of predefined sounds determined both by the position of the hands on the djembe and the distinct modes of play for each of these positions. Xenakis uses up to six different sounds:
These six sounds are meant to be interpreted as different pitches, and Xenakis further specified three different pitches for bord clair in three additional sections: bars 25–32, 52–54, and 56–57. Xenakis also used accents in order to further differentiate some loud sounds and called for certain passages to be played with the nails and the wrists (extended techniques) in order to make glissandi. The bass drum is only played twice throughout the whole piece and is listed in the score as a basse profonde. [3]
The piece is cast in one movement and there are no explicit section markings anywhere in the score. However, it has many tempo changes and some scholars agree that, in formal terms, the piece can be divided into five parts. The first part is a canon between the three musicians, marked "♪ = 120 environ". It uses a rhythmic pattern that Xenakis called "Tititi tata" in his sketches. However, from bar 13 onwards, the development process was automated using a program Xenakis developed throughout his career to build his musical language called GENDY (GEN for "generation" and DY for "dynamic") or GENDYN. In bar 25, Xenakis changes the tempo to ♪ = 56 and then alternates both tempos every few bars. Xenakis called these interspersing sections "χάος" (chaos). [4] [2]
The second section begins on bar 59, where the tempo changes to ♪ = 80. Here, Xenakis develops patterns that are based on the Fibonacci series. For example, the first percussionists starts a pattern with 21 thirty-second notes, then repeats the pattern with 13, then 8, and so on, until there are no more numbers left in the series, where he uses a roll ("ondulation" or glissando with the wrist) to turn around the series (first 1, then 2, then 3, then 5...). One of the only two appearances of the African bass drum is made near the end of this section. [4] [2]
The third section begins on the third beat of bar 80, marked ♪ = 66. Here, Xenakis requires the percussionists to use a stick for high-pitched sounds and the hand to low-pitched sounds. He uses a "melodic-percussive rhythm" that was also used in Idmen B . [4]
The fourth section begins on the second beat of bar 104, marked ♪ = 92. The material in this section was developed using the same means as the automated material from the first section. [4]
The final section begins on bar 117. Even though Xenakis initially used ♪ = 70, he later changed his mind and used a slower tempo, ♪ = 56. According to Xenakis, the material used in this section is an exact copy of the music used in one of his other pieces for percussion, Rebonds A , composed that same year. The composer used different rhythms played over quintuplets and had two sections with polyrhythmic lines at tempo ♪ = 60 (bars 124-126 and, again, 130–132). Xenakis also used this method in Peaux . The piece ends at ♪ = 56, with a loud strike of the bass drum. [2] [1] [4]
Following is a list of some of the most notable recordings of the piece.
| Percussionists | Record company | Year of recording | Format |
|---|---|---|---|
| Pedro Carneiro, Mathew Rich, and Stephen John Gibson | Zig-Zag Territories | 2004 | CD [5] |
| red fish blue fish (Terry Longshore, Brett Reed, and David Shively) | Mode Records | 2006 | CD [6] |
A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Excluding zoomusicological instruments and the human voice, the percussion family is believed to include the oldest musical instruments.
Sextet is a composition by American composer Steve Reich. The piece was written and first performed in 1984, and slightly revised in 1985.
Metastaseis is an orchestral work for 61 musicians by Iannis Xenakis. His first major work, it was written in 1953–54 after his studies with Olivier Messiaen and is about 8 minutes in length. The work was premiered at the 1955 Donaueschingen Festival with Hans Rosbaud conducting. This work was originally a part of a Xenakis trilogy titled Anastenaria but was detached by Xenakis for separate performance.
Persephassa is a piece for six percussionists composed by Iannis Xenakis in 1969. The piece was commissioned jointly by the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) and the Shiraz Arts Festival, held at the historic site of Persepolis. The title is one of the variant names of the goddess Persephone / Proserpina, and also refers to the names "Perseus", "Perceval", and "Persepolis". It was performed in its premiere by Les Percussions de Strasbourg (France) for whom it was written.
Evryali is a piece for solo piano composed by Iannis Xenakis in 1973. It is based on a technique Xenakis invented in early 1970s, called arborescences—proliferations of melodic lines created from a generative contour. The title refers to the name of one of the Gorgon sisters, and is also Greek for open sea.
Psappha is a musical composition for multi-percussion solo by Franco-Greek modernist composer Iannis Xenakis. The work does not include specific instrumentation, although the composer calls for three groups of wood and/or skins and three groups of metal instruments. The actual printed performance score is written in a unique graph notation and consists of 2,396 segments. It presents a greater demand on the performer due to this unique style. Together with Rebonds, composed between 1987 and 1989, Psappha is one of the two compositions for solo percussion by Xenakis.
Pléïades is a composition for six percussionists composed in 1978 by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis, originally commissioned by the percussion ensemble Les Percussions de Strasbourg. It is notable for its use of the sixxen, an instrument Xenakis had constructed specifically for the piece.
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Komboï is a 1981 stochastic composition for amplified harpsichord and percussion by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis. It is one of the two compositions for harpsichord and percussion written by Xenakis, the other one being Oophaa.
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Synaphaï is a composition for piano and orchestra by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis. It was finished in 1969 and premiered in 1971.
Aroura is a composition for strings by Greek/French composer Iannis Xenakis. It was composed in 1971.
Antikhthon is a ballet for orchestra composed by Iannis Xenakis in 1971.
Keqrops is a composition for piano and orchestra by Greek/French composer Iannis Xenakis. Due to the prominent role of the piano soloist, it has often been classified as a piano concerto. It was completed in 1986.
Oophaa is a composition for amplified harpsichord and percussion by Iannis Xenakis, finished in 1989.
Khoaï, also referred to by its original Greek title, Χοαί, is a 1976 composition for solo harpsichord by Iannis Xenakis.
Phlegra is a composition for ensemble by composer Iannis Xenakis. It was composed in 1975.
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Aïs is a composition for amplified baritone, solo percussion, and large orchestra by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis written in 1980.
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