Music Practice Commons^™

Psappha By Iannis Xenakis: Developing Multiple Percussion Literacy, Owen Phillip Rockwell

Dissertations

Psappha by Iannis Xenakis was written for a solo percussionist in 1975, and since then has been performed almost exclusively by elite musicians. The work suffers from broad neglect by students and professionals alike, because the structure and notation are difficult to access. Through Psappha, Xenakis created an alternative approach to serialist and chance compositional techniques that enabled him to communicate what he believed was rhythm in its purest form. The notation is unconventional and challenges the performer to approach Psappha in a similar manner. The main thrust of this project was to re-imagine the work in a more …