“Mallets are personal,” says Budapest multi-percussionist Dániel Janca, who will be packing up his mallets to fly to Taiwan. He will perform on May 25th in the prestigious 11th Taiwan International Percussion Convention, whose subtitle is “Stay true. Embrace change.”
As a mallet instrument fan, Janca’s musical predilections embody those bywords, as his adaptations of baroque chorales for marimba and vibraphone attest, as do his unconventional, theatrically choreographed pieces. “True…change” are appropriate words for almost all percussionists these days, as what has developed for those artists is an exponential growth in what novel elements they can add to their performance spectrum.
Janca, who just recently gave his doctoral concert at the Liszt Academy in partial fulfilment of his Doctorate degree, clued me in on what’s been happening in the percussion world since I once attempted to play tympani back in my conservatory days.
– Your doctoral recital at the Academy reminded me of a percussion ensemble I heard in Istanbul around 10 years ago: they incorporated electronic devices, found objects, choreography, and vocalisms. Then just recently at Müpa, Martin Grubinger’s tour-de-force performance with 30+ instruments indicated to me that the performance spectrum is becoming limitless for percussionists now. True?
– Well, my concert’s title was “Extended Percussion Music” because not only was I using acoustic instruments, but I added live effects and pre-recorded sounds. I performed four compositions: the first, “Cricket Tala” by Aurél Holló, displayed a host of different electroacoustic relationships, as even the artist is producing electronic sounds too —triggering pre-recorded sound samples with a MIDI-keyboard — and in some sections plays an accompanying role to pre-recorded spoken konnakol rhythms.
The second piece, by Emma O’Halloran, had no pre-recorded material; instead, the electronic layer consists of the special live digital delay effect applied to the marimba — so in a sense, the machine reacts to the human player.
The third piece was a mime [where the artist catches and throws an invisible ball]. The fact that I’m often merely mimicking the sounds creates an entirely new relationship with the electronic material. It’s as if one is only illustrating the other. Its French title is a fun take on René Magritte’s 1929 painting “Ceci n’est pas une pipe,” changing the last word to “balle,” and its a part of a larger theatric performance entitled “Black Box,” by Compagnie Kahlua, a trio of fine percussionists.
The fourth piece was a part of a longer piece, “DANIMO,” which I wrote with my father. The electronic component is based on the Fibonacci Code and each of its rhythmic motifs resemble these notes. The software sometimes softens the entrance of the digital noise and often makes them sound like strings rather than something percussive. I improvise, so the connection is reversed from what we’ve seen in the second piece: this time the human reacts to the machine.
– The Taiwan International Percussion Convention — how did they find you?
– It’s organized by Ju Percussion Group, a large group who are quite famous. I met them nine years ago here in Budapest. I performed with them and alongside others here at Müpa. In January, they emailed me and asked me to perform in Taiwan on May 25th. It will be a split concert: my solo show will be followed by the well-known Polish percussionist and teacher Marta Klimasara.
– How do percussion players travel or tour — I mean, all those instruments!
– Usually, I need to pack only my mallets and a few small instruments, most of which can fit in a carry-on because the halls have their own collection of instruments that we can use; or if not, then renting something locally is still often a better solution than flying large stuff. For Taiwan, I had to send them three pages of instrument requests, which might sound a lot, but sometimes even the little accessories holding the actual instruments need attention, as we pursue the best possible performance. And these can add up quickly.
– How many mallets are in your travel pack?
– Eight pairs, which is a very low amount. For an orchestral concert, even 12 or more is not unusual, although not per person, but for the timpani and percussion players combined. Mallets are personal and unique to each player, because they can be different on so many levels. Length, size, materials (like cork, wood, rubber, or plastic), and the heads are unique to each field. They usually have plenty of natural materials so there are slight differences. Some guys make their own, but I’ve found ones that I like.
– What will you play in Taiwan?
– I’ll play a longer version of what I played in the Liszt Academy. The final piece, “DANIMO,” will be extended by another 9 minutes. In this piece I wanted a birdsong to be included on the pre-recorded tape as a reference to Respighi’s “Pini di Roma,” being a very early – if not the earliest – example of combining pre-recorded audio with acoustic instruments. If it’s indeed the earliest, then, at the exact moment of the birdsong appearance in our new piece, this birdsong is the completion of both the first and the last electroacoustic music in history. “Cricket Tala”’s multi-percussion setup and vibraphone will be center stage, including a small table for the computer which drives the electronics for the whole concert. I always enjoy playing electroacoustic music, maybe because my early experience of playing along to my favorite music on drumset.
– What are other examples of the addition of pre-recorded audio to live acoustic instruments?
– Although the pieces I’ll play in Taiwan are recently composed, others have appeared way earlier. The technology has actually been around for more than 80 years, and “Pini di Roma” dates back to 1924. In its third movement’s nightingale song, Respighi exactly calculated it with a specific playback device and recording to be used. As this composition might well be the first example of pre-recorded sound plus live acoustic performance, John Cage’s “Music for Carillon” No. 4, from 1958, also might be the first electroacoustic composition with live sound effects: it has a feedback effect with mics, despite feedback being normally avoided at all costs by sound engineers. In the mid-20th century, it started to explode: Xenakis, Ligeti, Stockhausen, and others also started experimenting with combining acoustic and amplified sounds, often using percussion instruments — I assume partly because of overtone compatibility.
– Since there are so many percussion instruments to choose from, which is your favorite?
– It would be varied, especially for a solo program, but I love mallet instruments, like the vibraphone because of its ability to sustain the sound; and the marimba, which has a larger range, especially in the bass region.
– What do you hope to accomplish in your Taiwan experience, as the only representative from Hungary?
– My goal is that everyone finds a connection to something in the concert program, be it the fun or the contemplative pieces, and my hope is that it will be a valuable experience for them. I think it’s a very colorful program. Not only does each piece show a different instrument, but a different relationship of the acoustic and electronic sounds. The digitally played dulcimer tremolo, paired with the acoustic vibraphone, is a special example of this.
I wouldn’t say I represent the playing style of [all] Hungarian percussionists; however, of course, I’m absolutely thrilled to represent Hungarian percussion music by playing the two Hungarian pieces – „DANIMO” and “Cricket Tala.” I think Aurél’s piece is genius and I think that our piece is at least really unique.