Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble, Riley, T.: In C Remixed
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A wildly colored, prismatic view of Terry Riley's masterpiece
Terry Riley's 1964 piece In C is the work that ushered in the style of music now known as Minimalism. It consists of 53 short fragments of music played over a steady pulse; it can be played by any combination of instruments; to play the piece, everyone starts playing fragment 1, then moves to No. 2, on to No. 3, etc. Since not everyone chooses to move at the same time, no two performances of In C, even by the same ensemble, are ever the same. The piece is accessible, possibly psychedelic and definitely fun to play. Needless to say, there have been thousands of different performances, by rock bands, Japanese koto ensembles, a Chinese film orchestra, an early music ensemble and more.
But the Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble (please, someone give that band a new name) has taken Riley's piece a step further, recording the work and then passing on that recording to 18 different contemporary musicians, composers and producers, all charged with remixing the performance. The result is a wildly colored, prismatic view of Riley's masterpiece. The actual performance by this mostly-student band, led by the indefatigable Bill Ryan, is a story in itself. A school ensemble from the farmlands of the Midwest, the GVSU band burst upon an unsuspecting new music scene with their 2008 recording of Steve Reich's Music for 18 Musicians, making to the top of many critics' year-end lists. This sophomore effort proves that initial unlikely success was no fluke.
As far as the remixes go, it's an embarrassment of riches. Composer/video artist R Luke Dubois contributes the cheeky "Is In C In F?" (the note Bb appears in In C, suggesting the key of F major instead); DJ Spooky's "In Sea of C" reveals the piece's hidden dance-music heart; and producer Jad Abumrad, of public radio's Radio Lab program, steals the show with "Counting In C," in which the Grand Valley students meet an even younger musician — Abumrad's infant son.
