For most Malaysians, including myself, Chinese drums are inextricably linked to Chinese New Year celebrations. According to customs, noisemaking is a must during the celebrations to shoo away bad spirits.
During the celebrations, the drums can be heard from far away signalling the impending arrival of Chinese lion dance troupes visiting Chinese houses to collect money packets for charity.
These loud drums are big barrel-like drums, played aggressively, accompanied by gongs and cymbals (and, before they were outlawed, firecrackers). The disturbing din is loud enough to make toddlers cry and adults block their ears. So it’s no surprise they are rarely played at other times of the year.
Perhaps, this is why it was such a sonic (and visual) revelation to audience members at a national dance festival in 1988 when the 24 Drums Team, formed by Mr Tan Sooi Hong, took to the stage.
“For the first time,” Bernard Goh (aka Xen Xiong) says, “Malaysian audiences saw the Chinese drums performed in a way that opened their eyes and ears to the possibilities of Chinese drums, which everyone thought was merely noise.”
Goh, who was one of the drummers of that seminal team, has since come a long way. He is now the artistic director of Hands Percussion, a percussion troupe formed in 1997 with a group of friends who shared his passion for Chinese drums.
Aiming to promote Chinese drum performance as a true art form, Hands Percussion has almost single-handedly (or more accurately, 24-multiplied-by-two-handedly,) pioneered Chinese percussion playing in this country.
Those who have seen Hands Percussion will know of their amazing dynamics and presence on the stage. Coupled with eye-catching costumes and arresting choreography, Hands Percussion is very much a treat for the eye as it is for the ears.
The troupe has rightly earned the adulation of a loyal following in KL and Chinese schools and communities from Seremban to JB. They’ve also walked off with various accolades, including winning the national championship title at last year’s Annual 24 Drums Competition.
Beyond the moving power of driving rhythms, however, drums are still drums. The sonic palette of percussive instruments, no matter their cultural origin, is still limited. It’s hard to make drums subtle.
But Goh and his troupe know this. And the challenge for Hands Percussion now is to convert the experience of drumming, using Chinese drums as the media, into something that transcends mere hide slapping.
This is the spirit behind Hands Percussion’s latest show, Ritual of Drums. The five compositions in the show explore different percussive textures and treatments, from the small ‘qin gu’ drums for the opening piece ‘The Wonders of Mother Nature” to the substantial Japanese ‘taiko’ for ‘Welcome to the Wedding Banquet of Gu and Ko”. A highlight would be the sound play of “Primitive Yet Pure”, a piece using bamboo sticks, stones, rattan and water.
According to Goh, the show can be considered as an anthology of the work Hands has done since the troupe’s inception as the five compositions collate new and previously performed pieces.
“The five pieces all have narrative concepts behind them and we’re going to do our best to communicate these to the audience. These stories have a lot to do with old Chinese traditions that most Malaysian Chinese don’t seem to know. But the audience doesn’t need to know all that in order to enjoy the show. When it comes down to it, drums are a pure expression of primal human energy and that is what we’re going to give to our audience.”
As for future plans, Hands Percussion, known to most people outside the Chinese community for their collaborative works with various performance groups (most notably with the Suara and Rhythm in Bronze gamelan ensembles last year), will continue to play drums and establish themselves further in the Malaysian arts scene.
“We would love to play overseas but the question of sponsorship is always there. However, we’re pleased with our efforts so far. At the moment, we’re just getting ready for the show and that has made all the members of the troupe very excited.”
Hands Percussion, in collaboration with The Actors Studio, presents Ritual of Drums, a performance at the Actors Studio Bangsar from April 4-7. Click here for more details.
First Published: 01.04.2002 on Kakiseni