Péter Eötvös

Speaking Drums

Talking whilst playing the drum is not something unique. We can find it in traditional Indian percussion, and in jazz when musicians accompany their play with 'Sprechgesang'. This piece goes the opposite way: It begins with the percussionist speaking nonsensically, the emphasis on the rhythm, which he then passes on to his instrument. Like the pure, childish joy of repeating the same word in a different tune, the soloist teaches his instrument to speak until the drums start to talk themselves. Several poems form the basis; in the first two movements it are three poems by Sándor Weöres, and in the third movement it is a poem by Jayadeva. Each sentence has a more complex form than the one before. Rhythms form words, words form sentences, and sentences create a narrative. ' (Ann-yi Bingöl)