Mercy! Mercy! That Dang Nabed PERCY!

More of Rouen

Rat-ta-tat-tat

Edith Hamilton, who wrote the Greek Way, and other fascinating books about Greece, had a formative influence on my life. One of the characters of our ancient past she introduced me to was Hesiod. He was a contemporary of Homer and they both wrote about 500 BC. He was very down to earth and offered those in his letters, a lot of practical advice. In one to his brother he writes….

There are three types of men; those who can create excellence, those who know it when they see it and those who can do neither.

This to me was a profound statement. While there are few who can create this thing called “Excellence,’’ we can all aspire to knowing it when we see it. This sets apart those of us who presume to be, “Silver Citizens,” from those in the bronze category. If you are clueless to what I’m referring to and have an interest, then read Plato.

While we were in Rouen, walking around the festival, we heard a beating of drums and at first couldn’t figure out where the music was coming from. At length we rounded a corner and there was a group of players, dressed in colorful orange/yellow costumes. The music and beat were unlike anything I’d heard before. I thought I had a fair grasp of what good drumming was, having listened to everything from rock drummers to the black college bands at football games. So in my own inimitable way I considered myself something of an expert.

However, nothing I have ever heard, done with percussions, prepared me for the music I was listening to. This group had a sound that was animated, primordial and astonishing. The way they played and the enthusiasm they demonstrated resulted in a rhythm and beat that was totally foreign and spellbinding. In the light rain they played compositions so uniquely different that they might have been composed on a different planet. The Rat-tat-tat went right to the core of the listeners and I felt it harken me back to forgotten times when mankind first emerged from the trees and expressed their humanity in music. It was primitive and compelling… something that has to be heard to be appreciated.