Drum of the Deathless (Solo)

This virtuoso work for solo percussion is a reduced instrument version of the original work for an ensemble of 4 or 5 percussionists.  It was inspired by the ritual early-morning drumming of a Korean monastic drummer. It takes its cue from the famous lines uttered by the Buddha:

“I beat the drum of the deathless in a world gone blind.” These lines were spoken soon after his Enlightenment, as the Buddha went forth into the world to look for disciples to impart to them the practice leading to Enlightenment.

In February 2015, I was invited to visit South Korea in a project devised by Korean Music Project, and curated by the distinguished Korean composer Unsuk Chin. The purpose of this visit was to make acquaintance with Korea’s rich and diverse musical culture. There was a special emphasis on percussion music and instruments. One of the most memorable highlights of this visit was a 24-hour stay at a Korean Buddhist monastery, and this proved to be a high point of my visit to Korea. The beauty of my experience at this traditional, working monastery with its exquisite buildings and wood-carved sculptures will remain forever etched in my memory.

The wake-up call in the morning was at 3 am and at 3.30 am visitors had to proceed to the early morning ceremony in the Buddhist cathedral, located on the higher slopes of the mountain. On our way we passed the gigantic, open-air drum that was being ritually sounded in a vigorous rhythm by a monk with two wooden beaters. The robust sound of this enormous instrument resonating in the clear early morning air of the mountain is one of my most cherished musical memories ever, and directly inspired the sound-world of this piece.

The strident morning call to meditation is the guiding impetus of this work. Its use of metal instruments especially symbolizes the breaking of patterns of mental illusion, and therefore serves a ritualistic purpose. Drum of the Deathlesswas originally commissioned for percussion quartet, but now exists in two further manifestations: a quintet and a compact duo version. The quintet revision is a significant expansion of the original, and features more extensive tala recitation in one of the movements by all the five percussionists – using typical tabla sounds chanted dramatically by traditional tabla players in India. At cadential moments, rhythmic gestures are repeated three times in increasing intensity, in the manner of the classical “Tihai”. The work is structurally organised around idiosyncratic tala patters I created for the ensemble, though there are occasional hints of Teen Tala, a 16-beat pattern common in classical Indian music.

This new version for a solo player was made from the 5-percussion version. I am grateful for the suggestions from James Larter, who gave the first performance of this version.

The work is dedicated to Unsuk Chin.

Param Vir
1st April, 2022, London