Xenakis – Rebonds A and B
A short analyses
1
Xenakis 1922 - 2002
was engaged with poletics
was gree/romanian
mathemetics, music and architcture
worked after the 2nd WW already with computer
made connection between math and music
worked with Courboisier designing buildings
immigrated to france (paris)
translated architectural paintings into music scores
manipulated (composed) notes by a computer
in reaction to Boulez and Stockhausen (serialism) looked for natural-structures
Bruitism (bruit means sound in french)
varese was the first composer to use organised sounds (in stead of regular music)
other futurists
usa: varese '20/'30 using elctrisity
paris: xenakis
Russia: Mossolow (1915/1920, industry concerts)
Italy: Russolo (made new instruments)
rebonds
order is free this is called OPEN FORM
idea from the '50/'60-s
start= outlining the range of the instruments
highest calls up the lowest
exposing the material
sounds in between are explored in relation to the extremes.
bar 3-2nd bassdrum is a mirror point for end bar 1 - bar 5
(read backwards and forwards is the same music)
2
Webern started to use mirror structures, mostly in tone hights.
Messiaen n the '30/'40-s used also rythmical miror structures
(non retrogradable= miror or not, it stays the same)
all relations are reversed: lowest calls up the highest
natural exposure: all possibilities with these sounds are explored, with no preference (no personal
choice)
Ritual is something magic, honoring something.
bar 5, mirror point is the last hit in bar 5 of BD (last low b in the 4th beat)
2 mirrors = still exposition , creating a 'world' by itself.
find other mirrors
accents: could not find any regularity, but they occur every 4 or 5 or 6 sixteen-notes
accents are irregular
Strawinsky used additive rythms 1930, opposed to divisive rythms.
last count of bar 1, every 5 16nth notes is additive rythms (melodic-rythm)
but the repeat of the 5/16th frase is actually divisive.
Sacre (originally 1913): strwanisky reorganised the notation n 1940 to divisive bars, but changed it
back to divisive later.
Rebonds in 4/4 bars: the barline has a sole administrative function, to help you read.
find additive rythms
Process music-
mostly wellknown: Steve Reich
is expression out of nature, a natrual process - slow changes
non personal/expressive
3
the process in rebonds starts in bar 6, second count.
after the systematic exposition, (3rd beat of bar 5) the last 2 beats are 'on hold' and becomes a
reoccurung theme. (cell d-b)
the end of the exposition is the norm for the next section
-introducing sounds in between again like before
-bassdrums and high bongo still as extreme points
next new things is the triplet as a disturbing factor
the main line is 16th notes
note: the normal triplet (on his own) is not present.
about and why analyses.
in order:
analyses - Interpretation - Performance
the analyses is interpreted by the performer, and gives no steady rules for how to perform.
in the interpretatin each person has to make his or her own decitions.
In nature (natural process) also the reverse things happen:
hence the next mirror in bar 8
dbbd
new theme: (cell bd)
now using both cells (db and bd)
Bar 9 after beat 3 until next bar hogh bongo note is missing for the first time.
cell in bar 12: second bongo calls up 1st bongo cell eg
this ceel starts to grow
end of14/15 the reverse (ge) then using both
a new way to treate the bongos
(like the bassdrums before)
bass drums cells keep going
tom tom s still introducing the space in between (filling it up)
4
ongoing seperation between low and high
bar 16 read low notes only:
like the beginning until bar 18
the theme grows into 3 notes cell low/high/low
and this is on hold
with the other cells still remaining
this new cell starts to concuer the whole range of the set up
bar 20 eight note is new
ber 23 at the double accent here the second time without the bassdrum
in the middle of bar 24 starts to disintegrate
in bar 24, the note A, (snd half 2nd beat) the figure has moved to tomtoms only
end 24 the second tomtom (A) is entangled with the other notes now involved in fast figures
(completion of the disintegration)
Process:
the excisting situation ('world' 'norm' 'mode') changes graduallu until it desintegrates or collapses.
e.g. Pythoprakta (early piece by xenakis) has a long roman-empire-type of process followed by a
collapse (end with a crash).
here: the new fashion is the A tomtom and bassdrums now involved together
new material: introdcustion of the 2nd bassdrum, it comes back in 25, isolated.
this isolated cell starts to grow, it calls up after a while the 1st bassdrum
5
back to the beginning, to check the second layer (the busy layer)
layers are happening at the same time
cells are happening aftereach other, even when they overlap.
the piece starts with the extremes
end bar 12 the first bongo is following the second bongo: cell e-g
the music is always alternating, the norm is altereation
repeated notes are exeptions and could be considered as long tenuto notes.
bar 14 cell e-g
bar 14-15 it is reversed : g-e
after 15: both patterns and also e-g-e patterns
bar 17 increasing speed and introducing the fast rhythms.
there is always a mix of 4 64 nd notes, 3 32nd triplets or 2 sixteens notes.
there occurs an ambiguity:
the high notes are the goal (frase goes from low to high)
and: the high notes call up the low notes (frase goes from high to low)
bar 17 the high notes are very busy
bar 19 on 2nd beat there is a mirror
bar 20 at the end, the low notes are very busy
according to Strawinksy: there are evolution and revolution (as naturlal precesses)
here the appearance of the busy low notes is a revolution.
Xenakis: there is Mass and there is the Individual.
6
bar 20 the fast notes move through the register mixing timbre it stays stable
until 25, 26 but the other one is desintegrated
now there is only one layer!
bar 23, starts the disturbing factor
the only new thing is the 2nd bassdrum, it starts to go solo. (individual)
the mass is the busy layer, moving in timbre
the bassdrum is the individual
it gets a partner b-d (the second bassdrum)with an old theme: always occuring in 16th notes. until end
of bar 28.
new happenings: the individuals lost: 2nd bassdrum stops
and also bar 28/29the high bongo is missing (individual!)
it comes back en of 29
31-32-33 is stable, firmly establishing the busy layer (mass)
34 16th notes are back as a disturbing fastor
bar 35 4 repeated notes in the bongo, these repeated notes are an exeption.
(a held noise, long note, held by individual beats, like a tenuto note)
this will grow.
bar 36 the eight note is like a hold up in the machinery and after it occorus a burst of energy (and
notes)
7
bar 36 again repeated high bongo followed by a2nd
starting 35 the d-b- theme (cell) is growing.
the deviating cell d-b- grows
bar 37 2nd half of 2nd beat, the rhythm ! !!!! ! ! starts to grow.
also the zig zag figure starts to grow
the end of bar 38 and beginning of bar 39 the figure still grwong: ! !! ! !! !
bar 39 in the middle alsways starting with the middle tomtom
note the repeated notes are long notes !!!!
it becomes a cell (a motif)
halfway 40 the beginninges are also marked with a double accent.
bar 42, second half. it starts to start with a note earlier (eats its way backwards), with the low
BassDrum
from bar 43 it really starts with the low bassdrum
now: 2 cells in juxtaposition.
until 47 going arpeggio-up and staying zigzagging up there.
leaving from bar 47 it starts with a doublearpeggio-up
8
# is an extention of the double up start or it is a second cell
or it is a left over of the previous 2nd cell
bar 49 two times double start plus extentions
bar 50 two times double start plus extentions
bar 51 climax/crash / fall down
and back to the extremes like in bar 1
bar 53 summary of all the instruments
bar 55 2nd bassdrum calls up the first bongo (old theme)
note the irregularities of nature
dynamics are not (hardly) written.
Rebonds was written in the 1980's post modern piece letting old elements come back.
modern is:
1960: checking not to conform (beat pulse are concidered military, scanding ('we want more'))
Stockhausens last piece using regular pulse is Kreuzspiel
modern means in this way: non conformist, non regular puls
