Ah, Steve Reich – favourite classical composer and key influence of many an electronic musician. A DJ friend of mine once declared that Steve Reich invented techno back in the 50’s, and often drops Reich into his club sets. It’s easy to hear why when you listen to Reich’s rich back catalgoue of textured, polyrhythmic compositions, and Drumming is an obvious choice for reverence by the percussively obsessed such as myself.
The Colin Currie Group performed the piece to a packed Queen Elizabeth Hall, part of the Southbank Centre in London. Centre stage was a row of bongos, which is where the piece begins. Several musicians hammer out an utterly hypnotic beat that starts simply enough but grows increasingly complex as more drummers join the frey. The nature of the piece is such that you’re ‘tripped up’ regularly as the beat you’re tapping along to is subtly skewed when a new phrase comes in. This gives the piece an unpredictable momentum despite it’s cyclical nature.
Seeing how some of the percussionists stood rigid and composed while others moved and swung with the groove was interesting. No doubt their movement (or lack of) was dictated by the parts they were playing as well as by their individual way of physically engaging with music.
After a mesmerising first part, the marimbas come in. Another fascinating aspect of Drumming is that the timbral quality of each new instrument is echoed in the preceeding one, so for instance you’re not sure whether you’re hearing an actual marimba or a marimba-like effect arising from layered bongos. The same is so when the female vocal and the piccolo come in – the vocal sounds like layered glockenspiels, and the piccolo sounds like a female voice. Very clever composition, and kind of amusing and rewarding at the same time for the audience!
After the marimba section it’s the turn of the glockenspiels. There are a few moments in Drumming where the generally wave-like, evolving and subtle sound is punctuated with a brisk and overwhelming change – one such moment is when the glockenspiels drop. The hall was suddenly drenched in a sweet, high pitched, metallic ringing after the steady, wooden plonk of the glocks.
The vocals and the piccolo ebb and flow throughout the piece bringing ethereal whisps of character and melody to an otherwise fairly mechanical piece. Having said that, the mechanical nature of the music (in other words its tight, repetitive rhythmic structure) never leaves it lacking warmth or vitality.
The crescendo sees all the instruments joining in for a truly breathtaking finale. The combined sound is simply beautiful and by this time I was so transfixed I just didn’t want it to end. Such a tangible, emotional and visceral effect from a performance is rare and was akin to meditation. But of course end it did, and I was left dazed, exhausted and wondering how it had been an hour already!
Following the concert was a talk with Steve Reich himself, lead percussionist Colin Currie and the Southbank Centre’s Gillian Moore. The piece has a clear West African influence and it was fascinating to hear how Reich travelled to this area and Indonesia where percussion take centre stage in the orchestra. On returning home he transcribed what he’d heard and set about composing a Western interpretation, the results of which can be heard in many of his pieces but most notably in Drumming. I was also interested to hear how the piece is scored leaving much room for interpretation by the performers, depending on how they feel on the night. No doubt this adds to the organic flow of the piece. Reich also revealed how his use of tape loops while composing Drumming accidentally lead to the timbral ambiguities described above. He was listening to a recorded section of marimbas, thought he heard a female voice, and thought “hey, why not add an actual female voice!” Magic and accident, as Matthew Herbert puts it.
Steve Reich remains a hero of mine – his use of rhythm is thrilling and inspiring and hearing Drumming performed by such an accomplished group of musicians was a treat indeed.
Watch a performance of Part 1: