Steve Reich: Drumming

by Colin Currie Group, Colin Currie, Synergy Vocals

Overview

Steve Reich's Drumming, inspired by musical studies in Ghana and on the Indonesian island of Bali, was composed in 1970 and 1971 and has remained one of the touchstones of minimalism's first wave. The work merged polyrhythms and the rhythmic cycle idea with the phase shifting of Reich's early works, painting the whole thing onto a large canvas with four interlocking sections of indeterminate length. The work is instantly appealing and is often performed by percussion ensembles. It has been recorded a number of times, beginning with a realization at Town Hall in New York involving Reich himself, in 1971. What has caused this version by the Colin Currie Group to jump onto classical sales charts? You get several features here that are sometimes imperfectly developed on earlier versions. First is the comparative brevity of the performance, which clocks in at just over 55 minutes (the work contains optional repeats). This is shorter than the 1971 Reich recording, but it's worth noting that it's very close to the length of the 1987 version by Steve Reich and Musicians, released on Nonesuch, and it seems to find the right balance between the sections of different instrumentation. Second, the engineering here is extraordinary, all the more so because the album is on the performers' own label. It is not technically an audiophile album, but the transparency and dynamic range are top-notch. Sample the magical entrance of the three marimbas as the bongo drummers fade out at the beginning of Part II. Finally, these musicians have long familiarity with Reich and with this work, and it shows: they are comfortable in the music's framework, in its skin. Highly recommended. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	03/09/2018
Label:	Colin Currie Records
UPC:	0811043030127
Rank:	189772

Tracks

1. Drumming~Part I: Four Pairs of tuned drums (4 musicians)
2. Drumming~Part II: Three marimbas, Vocals (11 musicians)
3. Drumming~Part III: Three glockenspiels, whistling, piccolo (6 musicians)
4. Drumming~Part IV: Four pairs of tuned drums, three marimbas, three glockenspiels, vocals, piccolo (12 musicians)

Album Credits

Performance Credits

Colin Currie Group   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Synergy Vocals   Primary Artist,Vocal Ensemble
Colin Currie   Primary Artist

Technical Credits

Colin Currie   Liner Notes
Ian Dearden   Mixing,Producer,Mastering
Daniel Halford   Mixing,Engineer,Mastering
Chris Gloag   Cover Image
Andy Doe   Executive Producer,Cover Design,Cover Image
Steve Reich   Composer
Ben Larpent   Back Cover