Bob Becker, Ben Harms, Russ Hartenberger, Gary Kvistad, James Preiss, Steve Reich, Gary Schall, Glen Velez, Thad Wheeler — tuned drums, marimbas, glockenspiels
Pamela Wood Ambush, Jay Clayton — voices
Steve Reich — whistling
Mort Silver — piccolo
Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 238 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 88 mb
Scans @ 300dpi = 14 mb
Total playing time: 56:44
Recorded: May 1987, RCA Studio A, New York City
Released: 1987, Nonesuch 7559-79170-2
Track listing:
1. Drumming, Part I
2. Drumming, Part II
3. Drumming, Part III
4. Drumming, Part IV
Reviews:
Gramophone:
Those who know and love Drumming will be delighted by the first of these three new releases of music by Steve Reich. The composer and his ensemble have recorded the work once before (DG 2740 106, 1/75—nla), but only in a form that extends over four LP sides. To have the entire piece unbroken on a single CD is a particular pleasure, and it matters little that the new version, by taking up only some of the repeat options, plays for a good ten minutes less than its predecessor.
Repeats apart, Drumming is not a work that leaves much room for interpretation, and the two performances are in many ways similar. Reich's choice of tempo has not changed; he prefers a moderate, stately pulse to the stick high-speed playing one sometimes hears, and he is clearly more intent upon revealing the musical processes than on dazzling the listener with group virtuosity for its own sake. What has changed radically, however, is the quality of the recorded sound. With the benefit of close microphoning, each category of percussion instrument is now more sharply characterized: cleaner attack and less resonance in the sections for tuned drums and marimbas (Parts I and 2 respectively), a jangle of contact noises on the glockenspiels in Part 3, and a thrilling mix of bright sonorities in the Part 4 ensemble finale. Another advantage is that the reasonably wide stereo spread often makes it possible to fathom which player adds what to the densely woven rhythmic fabric. My one disappointment with the new version is that the singers, whistler and piccolo player who highlight resulting patterns within the counterpoint all too often become the focus of attention rather than aids to directing our listening.
Allmusic:
Simply put, Drumming is, along with some of Philip Glass' Einstein on the Beach, one of the most fascinating pieces of first-generation minimalism. The version recorded for Elektra/Nonesuch in 1987 ranks among Reich's masterpieces. The 60-minute continuous work features one basic rhythm pattern. Throughout four segued movements it is multiplied, played in canon on various percussion instruments. "Part I" is for four pairs of tuned bongo drums; "Part II" for three marimbas (played by nine players) and two singers mimicking the sound of marimbas; "Part III" for three glockenspiels, piccolo, and whistling (played by Reich himself); "Part IV" for all previous instruments, including voices. Transitions between movements are gradual, the whole piece being built on accumulation and reduction. When it is time to go to the next movement, players are slowly removed, quarter-notes replaced by rests, in order to make room for the new instruments. The piece almost comes to a complete halt at the end of "Part III," keeping only the most basic pulse before the whole process starts over, building up to the finale. On the original LP, "Part II" faded out before the end, resuming on side two so that the transition between "II" and "III" could be fully experienced. There is a sense of happiness and lightness irradiating from Drumming. It is a perfect example of the paradox of the simple and the complex, the easy and the challenging underlying minimalist music. Both cerebral and vitally tribal or ritualistic, this album is a must-have.
Click here to download
Pamela Wood Ambush, Jay Clayton — voices
Steve Reich — whistling
Mort Silver — piccolo
Lossless: Ape (img + cue + log) = 238 mb
Lossy: Mp3 (lame "preset standard") = 88 mb
Scans @ 300dpi = 14 mb
Total playing time: 56:44
Recorded: May 1987, RCA Studio A, New York City
Released: 1987, Nonesuch 7559-79170-2
Track listing:
1. Drumming, Part I
2. Drumming, Part II
3. Drumming, Part III
4. Drumming, Part IV
Reviews:
Gramophone:
Those who know and love Drumming will be delighted by the first of these three new releases of music by Steve Reich. The composer and his ensemble have recorded the work once before (DG 2740 106, 1/75—nla), but only in a form that extends over four LP sides. To have the entire piece unbroken on a single CD is a particular pleasure, and it matters little that the new version, by taking up only some of the repeat options, plays for a good ten minutes less than its predecessor.
Repeats apart, Drumming is not a work that leaves much room for interpretation, and the two performances are in many ways similar. Reich's choice of tempo has not changed; he prefers a moderate, stately pulse to the stick high-speed playing one sometimes hears, and he is clearly more intent upon revealing the musical processes than on dazzling the listener with group virtuosity for its own sake. What has changed radically, however, is the quality of the recorded sound. With the benefit of close microphoning, each category of percussion instrument is now more sharply characterized: cleaner attack and less resonance in the sections for tuned drums and marimbas (Parts I and 2 respectively), a jangle of contact noises on the glockenspiels in Part 3, and a thrilling mix of bright sonorities in the Part 4 ensemble finale. Another advantage is that the reasonably wide stereo spread often makes it possible to fathom which player adds what to the densely woven rhythmic fabric. My one disappointment with the new version is that the singers, whistler and piccolo player who highlight resulting patterns within the counterpoint all too often become the focus of attention rather than aids to directing our listening.
Allmusic:
Simply put, Drumming is, along with some of Philip Glass' Einstein on the Beach, one of the most fascinating pieces of first-generation minimalism. The version recorded for Elektra/Nonesuch in 1987 ranks among Reich's masterpieces. The 60-minute continuous work features one basic rhythm pattern. Throughout four segued movements it is multiplied, played in canon on various percussion instruments. "Part I" is for four pairs of tuned bongo drums; "Part II" for three marimbas (played by nine players) and two singers mimicking the sound of marimbas; "Part III" for three glockenspiels, piccolo, and whistling (played by Reich himself); "Part IV" for all previous instruments, including voices. Transitions between movements are gradual, the whole piece being built on accumulation and reduction. When it is time to go to the next movement, players are slowly removed, quarter-notes replaced by rests, in order to make room for the new instruments. The piece almost comes to a complete halt at the end of "Part III," keeping only the most basic pulse before the whole process starts over, building up to the finale. On the original LP, "Part II" faded out before the end, resuming on side two so that the transition between "II" and "III" could be fully experienced. There is a sense of happiness and lightness irradiating from Drumming. It is a perfect example of the paradox of the simple and the complex, the easy and the challenging underlying minimalist music. Both cerebral and vitally tribal or ritualistic, this album is a must-have.
Click here to download
Many thanks for your different post of Steve Reich.
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