The Kodo Drummers of Japan managed to nearly fill the Palace Theatre last night playing little more than a bunch of drums.
For them, the drum is more than just lumbering thunder or even the connection of rhythm to the human psyche via the heartbeat. It is what led the musicians to isolate themselves on the island of Sato nearly 40 years ago to seek the spiritual in the ancient tradition.
Last night, the drums found that light in many realms of human activity. The group conjured emotions from sadness to joy, anger to compassion, and introspection to slapstick humor. With various-size drums, the odd bamboo flute (shakuhachi) and three-stringed lute (shamisen), the ensemble also stimulated vivid images and suggested story sketches.
Though the technique, endurance and passion of the drumming provided the biggest thrill, the rich imagery of many selections was the artistic highlight.
Of the most evocative pieces, one featured a delicate female vocal, the shamisen and shakuhachi and began with a slow drum beat that suggested walking. The image blossomed into a stroll in the forest, perhaps at fall with sunlight dappling the ground as leaves slowly fall. It was an idyllic image soon interrupted by a growing drum sound seeming to approach, drown out the peace and then pass away.
Another setting - seven drummers with small, tightly tuned tubs - suggested a gentle oncoming rain shower, then drops of water splashing concentric circles into the pools it created. A sonic storm soon followed.
As the piece dissipated, the sounds had a strange quality that, with eyes closed, might have been mistaken for electronic music, the free-form kind composed on analog synthesizers during the 1960s.
Whether or not that was Kodo's intention, it was an indication of the imagination working within this unique group.
03/26/09 >> 
