[1] The piece was commissioned jointly by the Office de Radiodiffusion Télévision Française (ORTF) and the Shiraz Arts Festival (presided by the queen consort of Persia, Farah Pahlavi), held at the historic site of Persepolis.
"[7]) The dramatic impact of utilizing the performance space in this manner is evident in many passages throughout the piece in which accents or imitative rhythms are passed around the ensemble.
At one point, "Xenakis creates an enormous accelerando, building up as many as six layers of spiraling patterns swirling around the listeners.
The tempo of that passage winds up to 360 beats per minute, with one complete rotation of rolled accents around the six players every second... these mesmerizing patterns are enhanced by isolated dynamic accents and by interruptions of silence or stochastic clouds of percussive sonorities.
"[5] The percussionists use a wide range of instruments and sound effects during the piece, including sirens, maracas, and pebbles, along with an arsenal of drums, wood blocks (simantras), cymbals, and gongs.