Pléïades is a composition for six percussionists composed in 1978 by French composer Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis

Iannis Xenakis was a Romanian-born Greek ethnic, naturalized French composer, music theorist, and architect-engineer. He is commonly recognized as one of the most important post-war avant-garde composers...

, originally commissioned by the percussion ensemble Les Six Percussions de Strasbourg.

Title

The title of this work is intentionally ambiguous: on one hand, the term comes from a word meaning "many", and which alludes to all of the instruments used by the six percussionists along the four movements; on the other hand, it refers to a myth in Greek mythology

Greek mythology

Greek mythology is the body of myths and legends belonging to the ancient Greeks, concerning their gods and heroes, the nature of the world, and the origins and significance of their own cult and ritual practices. They were a part of religion in ancient Greece...

: the Pleiades

Pleiades (mythology)

The Pleiades , companions of Artemis, were the seven daughters of the titan Atlas and the sea-nymph Pleione born on Mount Cyllene. They are the sisters of Calypso, Hyas, the Hyades, and the Hesperides...

 are the seven daughters of Pleione

Pleione (mythology)

Pleione was an Oceanid nymph. She lived in a southern region of Greece called Arcadia, on a mountain named Mount Kyllini. She married Atlas and gave birth to the Hyades, Hyas and the Pleiades.-The Pleiades:...

 and Atlas

Atlas (mythology)

In Greek mythology, Atlas was the primordial Titan who supported the heavens. Although associated with various places, he became commonly identified with the Atlas Mountains in north-west Africa...

 even though the greatest part of his inspiration may come from the astronomy, as the Pleiades were thought to be the stars from Taurus

Taurus (constellation)

Taurus is one of the constellations of the zodiac. Its name is a Latin word meaning 'bull', and its astrological symbol is a stylized bull's head:...

.

Structure and composition

The composition has four movements. Although Xenakis proposed two orders, there are many other recordings with different orders:

Order I (Xenakis): I. Mélanges' II. Métaux III. Claviers IV. Peaux

Order II (Xenakis): I. Métaux II. Claviers III. Peaux IV. Mélanges

Order III: I. Métaux II. Claviers III. Mélanges IV. Peaux

Order IV: I. Mélanges II. Claviers III. Métaux IV. Peaux

Three of the movements (Métaux, Claviers and Peaux) derive their names from specific instrumental types. In Métaux (French

French language

French is a Romance language spoken as a first language in France, the Romandy region in Switzerland, Wallonia and Brussels in Belgium, Monaco, the regions of Quebec and Acadia in Canada, and by various communities elsewhere. Second-language speakers of French are distributed throughout many parts...

, "Metals"), all of the six instrumentists play an instrument called SIXXEN (a blend

Blend

In linguistics, a blend is a word formed from parts of two or more other words. These parts are sometimes, but not always, morphemes.-Linguistics:...

 between "six", named after the six musicians, and "xen", named after Xenakis), which is an instrument Xenakis constructed specifically for this composition. The instrument in question consists of nineteen metal plates of irregular pitch made of brass, steel and other metals, and it is meant to be played with metal hammers. In Claviers (French: "Keyboards"), Xenakis uses vibraphone

Vibraphone

The vibraphone, sometimes called the vibraharp or simply the vibes, is a musical instrument in the struck idiophone subfamily of the percussion family....

s, marimba

Marimba

The marimba is a musical instrument in the percussion family. It consists of a set of wooden keys or bars with resonators. The bars are struck with mallets to produce musical tones. The keys are arranged as those of a piano, with the accidentals raised vertically and overlapping the natural keys ...

s, xylophone

Xylophone

The xylophone is a musical instrument in the percussion family that consists of wooden bars struck by mallets...

s, and xylorimba

Xylorimba

The xylorimba is a pitched percussion instrument corresponding to a xylophone with an extended range ....

s. In Peaux (French: "Skins"), only percussion instruments with skins are played (bongo

Bongo

Bongo may refer to:In nature:*Bongo , a species of forest antelope from AfricaIn geography:*Bongo Country, the name of several places in Africa*Bongo , Ivory CoastIn entertainment:...

s, tom-toms, drum

Drum

The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments, which is technically classified as the membranophones. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a shell and struck, either directly with the player's hands, or with a...

s and so on). In Mélanges (French: "Mixture), the composer uses all of the sounds above mentioned.

Notable recordings

Notable recordings of this composition include:

Ensemble	Conductor	Record Company	Year of Recording	Format
Kroumata Percussion Ensemble Kroumata Kroumata is a Swedish percussion ensemble founded in 1978 in Stockholm. The name derives from the ancient Greek word for percussion instruments....	Anders Loguin	BIS BIS Bis is a prefix or suffix designating the second instance of a thing, thus preceding ter.Bis can also refer to:* Bis , a Scottish pop band* Bis , a high-teens' magazine published by Kobunsha of Japan...	1990	CD
red fish blue fish	n/a	Mode Records Mode Records Mode Records is an AmericaContemporary classical music|n record label based in New York City, New York, whose primary focus is modern classical, avant-garde, and new music. Composers featured include John Cage, Morton Feldman, Iannis Xenakis, and Harry Partch. Performers include Aki Takahashi,...	2006	CD