Steve Reich: Phases (A Nonesuch Retrospective) (2006)

When the history book is written on the minimalist scene that emerged in the 1960s, it’s likely that composer Steve Reich will emerge as the most influential figure. Certainly artists including Philip Glass and Terry Riley have made extremely significant contributions to contemporary classical music and have evolved, like Reich, beyond the inherent constraints of the genre. But Reich’s influence can be felt in music by artists as diverse as German bassist Eberhard Weber, guitar legend Pat Metheny and British progressive rock groups Soft Machine and Gentle Giant. Even Mike Oldfield’s classic Tubular Bells had considerable precedent in Reich’s work.

This box set manages to include almost all of Reich’s best-known and influential work. “Drumming” (1971) relies heavily on, no surprise, percussion instruments (tuned and untuned) to evolve its 56-minute, four-movement form. Reich’s interest in utilizing lyrical fragments in repeated form to act as the foundation for long-form composition is well-represented on the 1994 version of “Tehillim” (1981) and the more advanced “You Are (Variations).” What’s not necessarily evident when listening to these vocal pieces, as well as “Different Trains” (1988), which features the Kronos Quartet and recordings of voices from before, during and after World War II, is the amount of effort required of Reich to find just the right phrases that would not only work from a rhythmical perspective, but in their actual meaning as well. “You Are (Variations)” works best, with the music integrating perfectly with the phrases that make up the four movements (two in English and two in Hebrew): “You are whatever your thoughts are”; “I place the Eternal before me”; “Explanations come to an end somewhere”; and, perhaps the most revealing movement, “Say little and do much.”

Tracklist

Disc 1: Music for 18 musicians (1976)
for 4 female voices & 16 instruments

Steve Reich Ensemble:

Jeanne LeBlanc (Cello)
Les Scott (Clarinet)
Evan Ziporyn (Clarinet)
Rebecca Armstrong (Soprano)
Cheryl Bensman (Soprano)
Jay Clayton (Alto)
Russ Hartenberger (Percussion)
Bob Becker (Percussion)
Garry Kvistad (Piano)
Steve Reich (Marimba)
Thad Wheeler (Percussion)
Nurit Tilles (Piano)
Edmund Niemann (Piano)
Phillip Bush (Piano)
James Preiss (Vibraphone)
Elizabeth Lim (Violin)
Timothy Ferchen (Percussion)
Marion Beckenstein (Soprano)

Nonesuch 79962-2



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