Quo Nunc?
What if the words sung in Gregorian Plainsong were secular, not religious? What if the words were nonetheless sung in Latin, in a space sounding like a cathedral, or a temple, thereby retaining the atmospherics and mystery associated with religious plainsong?
What if drums had not, for centuries, been more or less completely absent from Western European culture? What if huge, beautiful drums such as the taikos of Japan had always had a place in Western European music of the last thousand years or more?
What if a new, secular kind of Gregorian Plainsong were combined with the sound of those huge taiko drums?
This is something that Jonathan Kirby set out to explore and, with the help of Matthew Cann, is now able to demonstrate in recorded form:
Available to download on Bandcamp: click here
Available to stream on Spotify: click here
Overwhelmed by the troubles of this world
Be still and hear your heart beat
Follow the way of the drum
Have courage, be not afraid
But listen to the beat of your heart
You need to have courage
To understand the Language of the World
Follow the way of the drum
From the beating of your heart, as of a drum
You will learn courage
Follow the way of the drum
Do not ask others
What you wish to understand
Rather, the answers are within
If you dare to listen out for them
Having followed the way of the drum
Having followed the way of the drum
Available to download on Bandcamp: click here
Available to stream on Spotify: click here
taiko without borders
The two songs, Quo Nunc? and Viam Tympani can now be heard on the CD album taiko without borders. The album is available on Bandcamp, where individual tracks can be previewed for free, and purchased as digital downloads. taiko without borders is also available as a physical CD, from the same location.