eMusic Review 0
This is the piece that started it all. And by “it,” I mean not only the style of music known (for better or worse) as Minimalism, but also the careers of a generation of groundbreaking musicians and composers. Terry Riley’s In C is a grand etude, or study, in rhythm, pulse, heterophony, tone color and ensemble playing. (And we call that Minimalism?) The first performers of the piece included Riley’s friends in the Bay Area; people like Steve Reich, Ramon Sender, Pauline Oliveros and others who would go on to productive careers in music and who would consider their In C experience a formative one. This recording — the original Columbia Records release from 1968 — features future new music stars like trumpeter Jon Hassell, trombonist Stuart Dempster and composer David Rosenboom (here on viola).
Written in 1964 in a single burst of inspiration, the work consists of 53 short musical fragments, and a set of simple instructions: everyone starts with fragment No. 1, plays it until they feel like moving to No. 2, then on till they reach No. 53. The instrumentation is open, and at this point, In C has been played by countless different ensembles, from… read more »
