There is no substitute for hearing percussion music live, especially if the hall is wet and resonant, but this release at least comes close to an exciting and vital approximation. Drum Together is an interesting sampling of compositions for percussion, mixing the new and just-out-of-the-gate with some avant-garde standbys. The result is a CD that certainly grooves and grooves heavy.
The ensemble’s reading of John Cage’s Third Construction (which uses all manner of things as instruments, from the more conventional percussion to cricket callers and tin cans) is as exciting as any recording of this piece, finding the beauty and the menace in the work. If this recording of Xenakis’ Psappha, a solo star-turn, waxes dull, it is through no fault of Peter Sadlo, who infuses as much life as he can into this redundant and shapeless work. Minoru Miki’s Marimba Spiritual exploits the murkiest parts of the instrument, and Sadlo plays it with all the authority and austerity it requires.
Dean Wilmington’s Heat is dark and evocative, with a midsection that grooves without being cheap or derivative–and the composer himself plays the didgeridoo to great effect, dueling well with the marimba in the work’s terse opening. In Ghanaia, Matthias Schmitt, new-agey rainsticks aside, has created something that falls gracefully into the minimalist camp, full of sparkle and surprising harmonic turns. Nandor Weisz’s Improvisation Latino is an interesting, indeterminate piece full of organized material that allows room for invention, which the group does in an exciting and recklessly powerful fashion. It may not strike you as “classical”, but it will cause your toe to tap.
Each instrument was carefully recorded, giving a sound that has depth and is also specific, which is crucial in recording an instrument such as the marimba. If you listen to this disc at high volume, you might just feel like those drummers are in the room with you, and it makes for a gutsy, visceral experience.
