An amazing musical instrument - it sounds like an ensemble while all the musician does is tapping it. I don't know if the video produces effect but our live impression was great:
Another interesting thing about hang (that's how it's called) is that it was invented in 2000 only though it totally looks like the ancient Oriental instrument.
When my parents were traveling in Barselona a few years back they happened upon a musician playing the hang. They were very impressed and bought the performer's CD. I've listened to the CD only once (it gets repetitive quite quickly dispite the novelty). Sometime after that, to my greatest amasement, I heard the instrument on a local market in Israel. Even before actually seeing the performer I knew this was the hang playing - the sound is too unique to be forgotten or mistaken. And in this oriental, mixed arabic-jewish atmosphere it felt to be in its rightful place.
ReplyDeleteSame thing - we bought a CD too and found all the melodies performed in the same manner, which is boring. Don't know if it is the limitation of the instrument or done by musician on purpose, but still.
ReplyDeleteBut the live sound is *very* original and distinctive - when you hear it for the first time, you immediately realize that you've never heard it before - quite an impression for that's an unlikely thing for a modern music consumer.