Synergy Percussion’s Hiérophonie, said Artistic Director Ian Cleworth, aimed to showcase each fundamental unit of the percussion family. Skin, metal, wood.

Nestled within the new Neilson Nutshell, a large set of percussion instruments arranged on the stage gave us vague promises about what such a program might hold.

Xenakis’s Okho made for a driving start to the night. As Cleworth explained, Okho originally called for three djembes in its instrumentation but players often favour a “collection of familiar drums” for a stronger performance.

Underpinned by a beautiful synchronicity between the players on an imposing concert bass drum, this choice proved a welcome one with melodic contours shaped through the individual characters of a range of different drums. Cleworth, Rebecca Lloyd-Jones and Joshua Hill skipped sure-footedly through shifts in dynamics and tempo; swapping between mallets and fingers throughout, before arriving at a thunderous ending. 

Rebecca Lloyd-Jones, Alison Pratt, Salina Myat and Joshua Hill performing Melody Eötvös’s Hellscape. Photo © Jared Underwood.

For the world premiere of her work Hellscape,