Work of the Week #1: Terry Riley - "In C"

cornbb

A quick introduction from the All Music Guide:

Terry Riley's In C is not only a seminal work of minimalism, its influence has enormous range -- from progressive rock ensembles such as Can and Tangerine Dream to soundtrack composers through younger classical composers who, while not minimalists as such, have drawn heavily from Riley's ideas as presented herein. His central premise was beguilingly simple yet protean in actuality: 53 short melodic fragments (varying from a single note to about 20) that may be played by any number or type of instruments, repeated any number of times, and played at any desired tempo. The sole restriction is that they be played in order from one to 53 and that the musician listen to his fellow performers. Additionally, a steady pulse (here played on piano) is maintained throughout, providing a "stem" from which the other phrases sprout. The piece ends when the final instrumentalist plays the last phrase for the last time. Thus, individual performances will vary enormously while retaining an essential character unique to the composition. The melodic phrases written by Riley tend toward a Southeast Asian, especially Balinese feeling, a sense reinforced by the healthy representation of marimbas and vibraphones in this recording. As the work progresses, a huge aural image of diverse and complicated activity is presented, very much like a view of an industrious city (or anthill) as seen from above, each action following an independent line but the whole somehow achieving a strong sense of direction. While In C has since been recorded on several occasions, this was the initial release of the piece and there's an extra added spark or excitement in the air as these musicians (including Jon Hassell, David Rosenboom, and Stuart Dempster) were clearly caught up in the creation of a kind of music unheard until this point. Along with Steve Reich's Drumming, Philip Glass' early piano studies, and La Monte Young's works for justly tuned piano (and arguably more than any of them), In C is one of the most crucial minimalist compositions and simply one of the major works of 20th century music. This album belongs in the collection of every contemporary music fan regardless of preferred genre.

Click here to hear audio clips.

And this is an excerpt via Youtube:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P7xL46igMdw

So although I'd heard of Riley's other stuff before, I only heard this for the first time today. Riley tends to compose a more obscure style of minimalism than the likes of Steve Reich/Philip Glass but I thought this wasn't far off their style. Anyone with stronger opinions on this than me care to comment?

John

I'll comment tomorrow when I give the version of "In C" I have a listen (by the Japanese psych rockers Acid Mothers Temple).

Sinfonia

I like this programme cover

We discussed this piece in class on Friday, and my mind has completely drawn a blank...
I'll have to consult my notes.

John

I've never really listened to much Riley before, gave that YouTube version of "In C" a listen there and it's very different to the Acid Mothers Temple version I was listening to last night (which is awesome and highly recommended!). This is what I like about a lot of 20th century composers, the scores are more a suggestion on how to play, not what to play.

cornbb

Ok, Sunday evening has come and passed, I think maybe Work of the Fortnight of Month might be more in order til this thing gathers a bit more momentum

Riley's stuff is pretty cool from what I've heard, In C is most like the Glass/Reich brand of minimalism than any of his other stuff I've heard, its pretty radical as far as minimalism goes but it predates most of Glass and Reich's famous stuff so respect is due for that.

Its worth checking out Riley's drone-based stuff, its totally different. Might be especially interesting for fans of the Velvet Underground

John

What other pieces can you recommend? I honestly only know "In C" by Riley, I've heard more stuff but haven't a clue what it was.

cornbb

Christ, I started typing this and then realised I'd been confusing Riley with John Cale (see the Velvet Underground reference above). No matter.

Anyways, the only other Riley stuff I know is drone-based, unlike In C. Try Chanting the Light of Foresight which is pretty easy-going jazzy droney stuff with little melody but tons of cool harmonies.

Riley, La Monte Young, Tony Conrad, John Cale (of Velvet Underground fame) and several others formed an ensemble called the Theatre of Eternal Music in the early 60s. These guys were hugely influential in drone-based minimalism circles, if any Riley or drone-music fans fancy branching out then its worth checking out music from these other guys. "Important" (I hate that word ) pieces include Young's "The Second Dream of The High-Tension Line Stepdown Transformer" (a pretty heavy piece) and Conrad's "Four Violins". Cale went on to play viola with The Velvet Underground so its pretty cool to hear his drone influence there in songs like Venus in Furs.

And if drones aren't your thing and you would prefer to go down the In C direction, Steve Reich is the way to go.

John

I'm all about the drone, I love LaMonte Young, Conrad, etc. I bought the first Inside the Dream Syndicate based on the fact John Cale was in them and that Angus MacLise was the original drummer for VU and I was floored by it. Terrible recording quality but monumentally powerful music. Tony Conrad is the one who best captured my ear, I love his solo stuff and the albums he did with Faust and the new one with Charlemagne Palesting, pure drone bliss.

Nyquistic

Sorry for coming to the party late.

I think the point is that by creating a piece that incorporated chance and chaos, yet leaving some restricted options for the performing musicians, Riley was setting something loose in the world that could adapt to the environment in which it was performed, thus flourish and grow ... or not. Recorded performances of this piece go from stellar all the way down to embarrassing.

Increasing the number of performers seems to help, but also, reducing the ratio of strictly classically trained personnel and/or the amount of direction seems to lead to happier performers and a more pleasing sonic experience.

Just my 2c.

Undergod

Sorry to drag this up, but came across a score for this piece, can be found here, along with Riley's directions for the performers.

cornbb

Undergod wrote: »

Sorry to drag this up, but came across a score for this piece, can be found here, along with Riley's directions for the performers.

Hell, don't apologise for that!

Experimental scores are always interesting and the topic probably deserves a thread of its own.

Can anyone guess what piece this score is for?


More here.

Anyone fancy learning how to play this one?

Nyquistic

The second one's gotta be Zappa!

(if that's not the right answer .... can I have a taste when it's done?)

cornbb

The second one is a piss-take - the first is:

John Cage - 4'33"

Undergod

Yeah, I've seen that first one before! Great stuff.

Nyquistic

Couldn't get to a web browser in time to tell you all about this, and give those of you within FM reception the heads-up, but I'm currently listening to the dying moments of the March 16th 2008 edition of Nova on Lyric FM, and Bernard Clarke's interview with Terry Riley .... can I say "OMG!!!!" :eek:. Congrats to Bernard on an excellent, insightful, and above all in context exposition of not just Riley, but of modern music in the 20th century in general.
Makes me remember why got me excited about music in the first place!
Cannot praise enough!

John

I had company last night but had that on in the background. I couldn't really pay attention to the interview but the music was nice. Seemed like a great show this week, wish it was podcasted or something.