i’ve just finished listening to a stunning rendition of one of my favourite pieces of what some of my acquaintances term “difficult music”. the “difficult” being a descriptor of the fact that it’s not easy to categorize, sometimes it’s not easy to listen to, and then sometimes it’s not fun, pretty, nice, or memorable. fair enough. this morning’s listening is “music for eighteen musicians” written by minimalist composer steve reich.
the piece combines winds (clarinets/bass clarinets), percussion (marimbas, xylophones, vibraphone, maracas, pianos), four women’s voices and two strings (violin and cello). like most twentieth and twenty-first century minimalist music there are strands of repeating cycles that overlap and trade places creating a shimmering effect. i find that as i listen to works by reich, i move around inside the piece finding whole strands and riding them until i feel the urge to move to another strand, and then sometimes allowing the whole to cascade through me.
the unfortunate feature of this music (if there is one) is that it - like organ music - is best experienced live for its physicality. however, this particular recording translates well into headphones. what's truly amazing about this recording is that the group performing this has an astonishing background being comprised of amateur musicians who devoted an entire year of their lives to learning this piece.
here is the homepage of the new music ensemble.
a trailer of their cd and project can be viewed and listened to (right here)
if you’d like to know more about steve reich then go to his homepage.
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