Steve Reich’s Drumming: Magnetic intensity

Dubbed “the greatest living composer” by the New York Times and “the most original musical thinker of our times” by the New Yorker, the notion of reviewing *Steve Reich’s Drumming* was intimidating to say the least. I had high hopes for Tuesday night’s sold out show at Heritage Hall, part of the ongoing "PuSh Festival":http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=shows&spage=main&id=79#show. I was not disappointed.

David Pay, artistic director of "Music on Main":http://www.musiconmain.ca/, opened the show by aptly describing the _Drumming_ experience: musicians and audiences coming together. From the arrangement of the chairs that circled the stage and the performers who sat amongst us, to the intangible, hypnotic experience shared by all that evening, these opening remarks rung very true.

Performed by the Music on Main All-Star band, _Drumming_ is a powerful experience. Comprised of twelve astute musicians and divided into four distinct parts, it flows seamlessly and beautifully into over an hour of magnetic intensity.

Part one opens with four pairs of tuned bongo drums played by four composed drummers, who flow from methodical, rhythmic drumming to total chaos and back again without missing a perfectly choreographed beat: a theme repeated throughout the performance.

My partner, who was at the show with me, recently told me about the “sync theory” (I’m sure he will elaborate on this in his "review":http://plankmagazine.com/review/music/steve-reichs-drumming-hypnotic-del...). In essence, the sync theory demonstrates the tendency for all things to synchronize. I was intrigued by the theory at the time, but not until experiencing _Drumming_ could I understand the true power of synchronicity. Sure, the talented performers had likely spent a lifetime honing their craft and months rehearsing for this performance – but all talent aside, _Drumming_ has a sense of intuition to it. The performers were completely in sync; feeling the music – feeling each other. To say it was magical might sound juvenile, but it really was an enchanting experience.

Looking around the room, one could have mistaken the experience as something religious. The mixed crowd swayed to the music, some engrossed with heads bowed and eyes closed, while others watched in awe and reverence. The performers themselves performed with intensity and precision, while remaining completely calm and Zen-like.

Parts two, three and four all flow much like part one but with their own unique anarchy and order. Marimbas (think giant wooden xylophones) infiltrate the bongos, bringing us into part two. Musicians emerge, joining in on the marimbas, generating climatic crescendos before disappearing back into the audience. Two female vocalists weave haunting intonations through the vibration of the keys, adding texture and balance to the composition.

The transition into part three – the most aggressive part of the performance – occurs when three glockenspiels and a piccolo slowly replace the marimbas and vocals of part two. _Drumming_, for me, really culminated in this third section; the pitchy glockenspiels drudging up feelings of anxiety and angst (in a beautiful way, of course). Performers again gradually emerge from the audience, engaging all instruments in powerful and poignant conclusion, resulting in a lengthy and merited standing ovation.

_Drumming_ is certainly appropriately named. The performers drum continually without respite for the duration of the show. While we heard a few “well, that was a lot of drumming…” type of comments from the crowd, the overwhelming majority were awestruck by the evening’s performance – myself included.

_Steve Reich’s Drumming, part of the PuSh Festival, took place on Feb 3 & 4 at Heritage Hall, featuring Music on Main All-Star Band; Percussion: Vern Griffiths, Sal Ferreras, Robin Reid, Lauri Lyster, Jonathan Bernard, Martin Fisk, Aaron McDonald, Brian Nesselroad, Danny Tones; Piccolo: Mark McGregor; Vocals: Alicia Hansen. For more information beat a path to_ "here":http://pushfestival.ca/index.php?mpage=shows&spage=main&id=79#show.