The voices in Drumming do not sing words but precisely imitate the sound of the instruments, causing patterns to rise and fade in the music.
Composition History
Steve Reich's Drumming, composed between 1970 and 1971, is his longest piece, lasting 55 to 75 minutes depending on repeats.
Compositional Technique
Drumming is divided into four parts, each featuring different instruments: tuned bongo drums, marimbas with female voices, glockenspiels with whistling and piccolo, and finally, all instruments and voices combined.
Interpretation
Kuniko undertook the challenge of performing Steve Reich's Drumming, a work typically for twelve musicians, entirely by herself through multi-tracked overdubbing.
Composer's Artistic Vision
Steve Reich's visit to Africa in 1970 confirmed his intuition that acoustic instruments could produce genuinely richer sound than electronic ones and reinforced his natural inclination towards percussion.
Performer Biography
Kuniko, the performer on this album, is a Japanese percussionist who graduated summa cum laude from Rotterdam Conservatorium as the first percussionist in its history.
Critical Reception
Steve Reich himself praised Kuniko's recording of Drumming, particularly the glockenspiel part, calling it the best he had heard.
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