The Secret Life of the Orchestra: Percussion

The Orchestra is a mysterious beast. Developed over hundreds of years from instruments with diverse origins; assembling massive numbers of musicians playing instruments that require many years of practise to master; capable of changes in sound and colour that range from a whisper to a jet engine...

When it all comes together, the results can be startling, but how does it all work?  And where did it all come from?

Karl Steven continues his four-part investigation of the orchestra, this time delving with the experts into the exotic and far flung origins of the percussion family, which seems to include just about everything that’s ever been hit with a stick.