Wednesday, 25 September 2019

Terry Riley - In C (1968)

One of the foundational texts of minimalism, and one that still gets interpreted afresh every so often.  A large part of the enduring appeal of In C to new generations of musicians is that the basic score is so open to interpretation: it simply consists of 53 phrases, to be played in numbered order; skip some if you like, and change the instrumentation around at will.

This, though, was the album that preceded them all.  Recorded just four years after Riley devised the score (with a little help from Steve Reich who suggested the underlying 'pulse'), this March 1968 recording was Riley's first album for CBS Masterworks, and significantly raised his profile.  Riley plays sax, Jon Hassell trumpet, Margaret Hassell 'the pulse', and the other instruments are oboe, bassoon, clarinet, flute, viola, trombone, vibraphone and marimbaphone.  The piece spends its opening minutes gathering momentum, and then opens out into a self-sustaining fractal web of hypnotic bliss.  More Riley next week.

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Previously posted at SGTG:
Rainbow In Cologne
Descending Moonshine Dervishes
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6 comments:

  1. musicyoucan25 September 2019 at 17:13

    This album of Terry Riley is the foundation of all the electronic music.I bought the vinyl in 1972 and since I took attention to EM each day of my life. Thanks for your post

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  2. pierre d'alai25 September 2019 at 20:19

    Arguably, the version that you posted will stand as the best ever: the Urtext, if you will.

    However, I think that the Boiler Room Amsterdam performance (also featuring the composer, incl. on vocals) is the one for the ages, with its eloquence and grandeur:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJPJywWfyGo

    African Express Presents Terry Riley's In C Mali (featuring cameo appearances by Brian Eno) is also worth checking out:
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_FXQ68ZkWVw

    And there's the BRM All Stars Perform Terry Riley's "In C" at Art Cafe, Brooklyn (ensemble featuring 2 sitars, 2 sarods, bansuri and 3 tabla players (and I'm sure they'd love to have had Pandit Pran Nath and La Monte Young with them)):
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6I_VUKmIB8c

    Honorable mentions go to the versions by:
    - Tiger Sushi (ear candy for techno fans),

    - Bryant Smith (version for solo trombone & electronics (owing a lot to Stewart Dempster's work with Deep Listening)),

    - and, for all you just-intonation militants, the version in just intonation Koto Ensemble,

    not to mention the ones for accordion ensembles, ukulele ensembles, and several for laptop orchestras.

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    Replies
    1. pierre d'alai25 September 2019 at 20:30

      P.S.: Admittedly in the Amsterdam performance they take some liberties with the original score, but after all, Riley himself was overseeing the proceedings.

      Delete
    2. Alan Burns26 September 2019 at 07:40

      Thanks for the links! Definitely demonstrates the versatility of the score.

      Delete
  3. Roz26 September 2019 at 01:16

    Thanks!

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  4. rev.b26 September 2019 at 06:10

    To my ears, African Express' interpretation outshines the rest, a hand in glove fit between the score and the style and instruments used to perform it. An inspired composition in any event that has and will indeed stand the test of time.

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