The Drummers of Burundi - A - LIVE at Afrikafestival Hertme 2013

Performance - 7 July 2013 Considered as one of the best percussion ensembles on this planet, Burundi's top drummers have been touring the world since the 1960s. Their vibrant power and precision on sixteen drums originally accompanied kings of this central African nation. At home, their music is considered sacred and is linked to regeneration and fertility. But the heart-stopping rhythms have crossed social and cultural barriers worldwide. Spectators at their concerts rarely remain indifferent to the complex and compelling sounds and dance the musicians create. Here, this centuries-old group, who play huge ceremonial drums with heavy sticks and a staggering force and precision, unleash their thunderous, ritual-charged power. In Burundi, the drum is a sacred object, closely associated with fertility, the life cycle and nobility (the Burundi word ingoma translates as both "drum" and "kingdom"). The performance seems therefore doubly charged with significance and vitality, a feeling echoed in the ritual chants, cheers, and call and response woven throughout. While their way of drumming may strike the casual Western ear as somewhat monochromatic, the percussion is actually comprised of forty-one different rhythms-- pulses and counter-rhythms, varying tempos, harsh, clacking side-stick accents--and each rhythm represents an important concept of Burundi society: the recognition of important figures, peace, respect, unity and the progress of their country. "Rhythm Magazine" once wrote that their improvisations would be difficult for even the cream of western rhythmicists to match". Yet no one should underestimate the complexity of polyrhythm's in ceremonies that often last an entire night.