This was Reich's breakthrough masterpiece, inspired by his studies of African drumming. The patterns throughout this music are so powerful and hypnotic that, once you get involved, it's a shock when it ends an hour later. I have enjoyed this piece most in concert when Reich's ensemble used the maximum number of repetitions allowed (optional in the score). I regret somewhat the decision used in making this recording, which held the timing to under an hour. The first recording of Drumming ran to nearly 90 minutes. But it also ran onto a second CD, and it's no longer available. Meanwhile, for anyone open to the power of this music, this is a disc not to be missed. --Leslie Gerber