Terry Riley - Cadenza on the Night Plain (The Kronos Quartet)

When most people think of Riley, they think of six-hour piano improvs or the innovative-but-too-random In C. Riley was one of the fathers of minimalism, and he wears his hippie colors proudly, as is evidenced by such titles as “Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector” and “Gathering of the Spiral Clan.” Cadenza on the Night Plain is a classic recording that’s been out of print for almost ten years. The folks at Ryko have finally acquired the rights and reissued it with an excellent remastering job. Like In C, the construction is somewhat modular, consisting of several fragments that can be played in varying order. Such an approach is more like a jazz arrangement than a classical score, but Riley favored this approach and the Kronos jump into it with real eagerness that readily shows that their approach suits the music well. At various times, they are called upon to be aggressive, then pastoral, while at others, they imitate eastern instruments. They manage all sorts of fascinating textures (check out the syncopated ponticello at 4:50 on “Mythical Birds Waltz” or the long, harmonized pedal-tones and glissandri in the title track) and never seem to lose their footing.

Tracklist

1. Sunrise Of The Planetary DreamCollector
2. G Song
3. Mythic Birds Waltz
4. Cadenza On The Night Plain


Kronos Quartet:
David Harrington (Violin)
John Sherba (Violin)
Hank Dutt (Viola)
Joan Jeanrenaud (Cello)

Gramavision: R2 79444