Customer Reviews

Drumming

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Like many other 'minimalist' works, 'Drumming' is an amazingly delicious blend of subtlety and complexity; of static patterns and forward motion. For those unfamiliar with 'Drumming' here is a brief synopsis.

The process comprising the 'method' of this peice is called 'phasing.' There are about six percussionists (tuned drums, marimba, glockenspiel) that start off playing the same two bar pattern. While some of the musicians keep the pattern at a steady tempo, one or two others graudually speed up, getting ahead of the others. This happens untill the 'sped up' musicians are exactly one quarter-notes-pace ahead of the others; then they sync back up. Now what was once a unison pattern is a canonic counterpoint consisting of the same two bars played a beat apart. Different players 'phase' at different times throughout the plece and each 'phase' results in a seemingly new pattern (all the while the musicians are playing the same two bars worth of music).

The reason I go through this is because while this is one of the hardest percussion peices to play, it is one of the coolest to hear. The above description might strike some as boring and dry, but the phasing technique imbues this 57 minute piece with a remarkable forward motion.

This 'version' is done slightly faster than others I've heard and serves to keep the forward motion and excitement up. And as hard as this peice is to play, I am amazed at this ensembles crispness and accuracy. Particularly the third movement, which to me has always been the least exciting, posesses an undeniable energy that other recordings do not, to me, capture.

All in all, this is a quality recording. The only better one, it seems to me, is the Deutsch Grammaphone recording (which has a disadvantage in being a double, not a single, disc). If you are new to 'Drumming' get this so that you won't be.

A nice speedy rendition of Drumming. In my opinion, the order of recording I would go for would be the "original" DG version, then this, then the Nonesuch recording. As expected, this version is note perfect, and worth noting is its interesting timbre throughout the piece. The phase shifting is well done, and the sound is a very whole one. Recommended after the original.