Now why would that interest me, you may well ask? For three reasons:
The first time I saw the Za Ondekosa, was during a visit to Japan where I attended a conference. Watching these people perform was one of the most moving and exciting experiences of my life. Man and drum become one instrument. Their motto, "running, drumming and dancing on the earth," is not just a slogan but a way of life. Founded in 1969 by director Tagayasu Den on Sado Island, Japan, the group lives together, trains together and has created world-renowned shows using their taiko drums --- these are huge big drums -- in fact taiko means big in Japanese.This specific group, the Za Ondekoza, is one of the best drumming troupes on earth.
They made their debut 1975, after years of practicing and defining their mission, when they jumped on stage to drum straight after running the Boston Marathon. After several more years, they decided to weave running and performance into the medium they have created: the marathon tour and since they have been drumming and running marathons in equeal measure. Not surprising really, as when you watch them perform you realise they must be super fit and very strong.
Za Ondekoza's first marathon tour started at Carnegie Hall, New York, in 1990 and ended there three years later, after 355 performances, 1,071 days, and 14,910km of running. Their first marathon tour in Japan was held after the death of founder Tagayasu Den in 2001. His pupils ran 600km from Sado Island to Fuji, near where the group is now based.The next running tour planned is Long Journey, a trip of 12,500km in China, which will hopefully be completed by the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
Za Ondekoza also performed at the opening ceremony of the Paralympics in Nagano in 1998 and in an unprecedented collaboration with the fashion industry at the Christian Dior fashion show three years ago, when their sounds were combined with those of DJ Jeremy Healy. They have collaborated with many other groups, including the Boston Symphony Orchestra.
The sounds, motions and treks of Za Ondekoza may turn heads but its their silences and stillness that make them so captivating and popular. In Japanese, the word for such silence or space is ma, and in taiko drumming the word describes the period between drum hits.
Ma heightens the drama of the beats in the same way that the stillnesses of the performers accentuates their physical aptitudes. Ma, the silence or stillness, is where the bodies of the performers and the drums serve the same purpose and find common ground.
Ma is often inspiration for thematic rhythms, such as in oroshi, when hits on the taiko are at first spread apart but gradually are played closer together until ma is minimized in a fast roll that creates seemingly constant noise.
The second reason this little news item caught my attention, was because it was about the Fes Music Festival. I have never attended the music festival, but have visited Fes and absilutely fell in love with the city and its beautiful medina. And one of the place that really stole my heart, was the Musée du Batha in Fès -- the third reason why this event tomorrow was of such interest for me.
This beautiful building Le Musée du Batha à Fès is situated close to the lovely Boujloud gate -- the blue gate. It was built at the end of the last century (which in my mind is still meaning the end of the next to last century -- in 1873-1894) by the then sultan Moulay Hassan I and was where royal audiences were held during summer. The building was completed by his son and successor Moulay Abdelaziz around 1908.
(Photograph by Suzanna Clarke)
Already as early as 1915 the palace was converted into a museum. the Spanish-Moorish architecture and the large central courtyard where a tree stands that still appears in my dreams, it was that impressive -- I seem to remember that it was a Juniper tree -- form the perfect backdrop to the beautiful plaster and woodwork, carpets, embrouderies, jewelry, the zellige tile examples, an iron forge and of course the magnificent Fes Blue ceramics. It is no doubt one of the museums I have most enjoyed spending time in. Almost every exhibit took my breath away. -- It is wonderful!
Apparently the current exhibit there "The Magic of the Earth", is well worth a visit.
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