Après Rebonds
for percussion quintet
Après Rebonds by Luis Rivera is inspired by Greek composer Iannis Xenakis and his solo percussion work, Rebonds. Drawing on Xenakis-inspired melodies and grooves (and the familiar bongo drone used in several of his percussion works), Rivera has developed these flavors in a chamber setting for five skilled percussionists.
Unburdened by the constraints of a soloist having to execute the advanced choreography required of anyone performing Rebonds, Rivera has created a new way to experience the energy and essence of the piece through orchestration, the use of various implements, metric modulations, inventive new rhythms, and changes in texture.
The work was commissioned in 2023 by Dr. John Parks and the Florida State University percussion ensemble for their International Percussion Ensemble Competition showcase concert at PASIC that year. According to the composer, when Dr. Parks approached him about the project, he said, “I want something that shows what Rebonds could have been, something that grooves so hard it melts people’s faces off!” Et voilà!
Après Rebonds ships as a fully bound score and includes individual parts in PDF format for either printing or tablet viewing.
- 3 congas
- 2 toms (medium and medium-large)
- 2 mounted bass/kick drums
- 10 woodblocks/wood slats (graduated low to high)
- 15 metallophones (cymbals, opera gongs, pipes, bowls, brake drums, metal plates, etc.)
- 5 wood crashers (optional, described in performance notes)
Reviews
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Brian Nozny –
Composed for the Florida State University Percussion Ensemble and their 2023 PASIC showcase concert, the composer calls “Après Rebonds” a “modern repurposing” of the classic solo percussion piece “Rebonds” by Iannis Xenakis. Combining highly syncopated tutti passages with hocketed melodies passed between players, Luis Rivera has created a thrilling new work for percussion quintet.
Anyone familiar with the source material will immediately recognize the bongo drone used throughout this work. Rivera uses this throughout much of the work as a theme, but develops it in interesting ways, making it exciting and engaging with each new use. This drone also acts as a perfect listening point for the syncopated rhythms performed between the two pairs of other performers. Interspersed between these drone sections are moments of rhythmic gestures distributed between multiple players. These moments help to give variety to the work but happen often enough and with well-placed pacing that they fit naturally into the piece. The combination of these contrasting elements builds tension that is then released in the final section of the work with all players performing thirty-second-note passages with differing accents before a final climactic tutti gesture.
Musical and technical challenges abound, requiring performers who not only have chops and a well-developed sense of time, but also can handle a wide dynamic range as well as several metric modulations. Several sections place a single player on the drone while pairs of the other performers are placed together with the same musical ideas. This will be very helpful in solidifying these ensemble passages into a cohesive unit.
Ensemble directors looking for an aggressive and musically demanding quintet would do well to consider this six-minute work. Rivera has taken a staple of our percussion repertoire and created something entirely new that, while adequately paying homage to the original, elevates the material to a new work that helps to move our repertoire forward in new and exciting ways.
—Brian Nozny
Percussive Notes
Vol. 63, No. 1, February 2025