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Iannis Xenakis - O-Mega, for percussion and 13 instruments (1997) International Contemporary Ensemble Conductor - Steven Schick Percussion - Steven Schick In 1997 Xenakis composed what was his last score. The title, O-Mega, the final letter of the Greek alphabet and often used to signify an endpoint, was a strong signal of his intent to cease compositional activity. The occasion was a commission from superstar percussionist Evelyn Glennie. As a featured guest at the 1997 Huddersfield Festival in England, Xenakis decided to unite Glennie and the London Sinfonietta, an ensemble for which he had already written three major scores: Phlegra, Thalleïn, and Waarg. O-Mega, then, is a concertante work for solo percussionist and large ensemble. It is, however, extremely terse, clocking in at under four minutes. This is not to say that the music is not dramatic. For it is, decidedly. The soloist, who performs exclusively on eight drums of different sizes, launches the piece with solemn rhythms and rolls on the drums, replete with dramatic crescendos and accents. The ensemble provides a harmonic backdrop for the drums, ranging from closely-voiced, dissonant sonorities to more open, spaced chords. The instrumental families--woodwinds, brass, strings--play off each other to produce shifting colors as the piece proceeds. The soloist carries on throughout the piece, with just one break to allow the ensemble to enter the fray. The end, as they say, is like the beginning. In a sense, one senses that O-Mega is but a brief glimpse into the mind of the composer, the music entering the sonic realm and then disappearing again. Percussion has been one of Xenakis's favored sonorities, so it is fitting that he would finish his career with the rich, evocative rolls of the drums. Join the Score Video Creator Discord Server: Support me on Patreon:
