During the week-long international exhibition and congress FORUM in Barcelona in 2004 an amazing performance by the Japanese drummers Shumei Taiko took place in a city schoolyard. As I arrived by bus at the venue, the children were already assembled in front of the school and all drums were carefully installed. It was not allowed to take photos or videos without permission so I approached the responsible person and explained that I came from Switzerland and would be most grateful to record the event on video. At that time I only had a small Sony video camera and no sophisticated sound equipment. But I was there, in the middle of action and was capturing the musicians as close-up as possible. It was a unique experience I will never forget. In post-production I made several video versions and tried to improve the sound as much as possible. Over the years the videos of the drum event are became my no. 1 video on YouTube with a total of over 3 million views. The soundtrack is by Vidyutonnati Spitzer.
In ancient Japan, the beat of a drum or “taiko” accompanied petitions to God. Today, the ceremony lives on and is called “Mikotonori,” in which the sound of drumming bridges the divide between the human and the divine. The thunder of taiko is pure. It cleanses both the senses and the surroundings of those who pray. Mikotonori is a prayer in which the hopes and thankfulness of those participating rise straight to God. Such occasions of transcendence are known as ” kanno doko ,” moments in which the spiritual and physical worlds speak to each other and are entwined with divine light. It was at such a moment that the Shumei Taiko Ensemble was born. Since its founding, the Shumei Taiko Ensemble has come to occupy an eminent place in the world of the performing arts. Not only acclaimed for its mastery of traditional technique, the Ensemble is also lauded for engendering a pure, strong, and dynamic form of music that is both modern and original.
I had no news of the group in the past years so I am not sure if they still exist, but the video remains a historical document.
I also add a video of the FORUM exhibition in Barcelona, which happened together with the international Parliament of the World’s Religions.
