Reich: Drumming

On Friday I was truly wowed by listening to Steve Reich's Drumming. It has been ages since I really sat through the whole piece. But it was this Arte TV concert which gave me the appetite to do so.

One reason why I find this music so fascinating is because it is so radically simple. Basically it's built around shifts in rhythmic patterns and timbral registers. There's no melody, harmony, narrative programme or any other mesostructural device that make classical music so complicated. Well, there is harmony, of course, but it's static as the piece rests on just a few notes. There is also an overarching structure of four movements, and the notion of a finale in the traditional sense remains relevant to a certain extent. But that easily discernible structure reinforces the impression of simplicity that pervades the whole piece.

It's simple, but at the same time it's very complex too. Listening to this piece unfolding over considerable stretches of time (it takes just an under hour in this version recorded by Reich and Musicians in 1987) activates sophisticated pattern recognition routines in our mind. Whether we consciously want it or not, we start to discern ghost patterns in the harmonics swirling above the percussive plasma. Reich cleverly plays on this by inserting discreet voices or whistling in the dense textures. The timbral transitions between the main parts of the piece (drums, marimba, glockenspiel) can be gradual or sudden. In the former case they draw out our ability to anatomise colours and rhythms even further, in the latter they give us a adrenaline-rich jolt. As the piece progresses we lose our sense of time (good to turn the timer display on the CD off) and it is as if we are navigating a vast landscape. The finale is startling in its simplicity. Reich superimposes the three groups of instruments in a climax of percussive energy that is truly exhilarating.

What I also love is the theatricality of the performance. That is an element that is sadly absent when listening to the CD, but the Arte TV concert gives an idea of what is possible with good camera work. It's also tempting to supplement the music with creative visual elements, or with dance (as did ATDKeersmaeker). But simply looking at the musicians and imaginging how fiendishly difficult it must be to keep your wits about the subtle phasings (with players getting gradually out of sync until they lock into new patterns again) and the overall movement of the piece is already baffling enough.

When the final echo had finally died down I could not but exclaim 'what a great piece of music this is!'. A very satisfying listening session.