Steve Reich - Works, 1965-1995 [1997] (10 x CDs)

STEVE REICH

Steve Reich - Works, 1965-1995 [1997] (10 x CDs)

Stephen Michael Reich, born October 3, 1936, is an American composer best known as a pioneer of minimal music in the mid to late 1960s. Reich's work is marked by its use of repetitive figures, slow harmonic rhythm, and canons. Reich describes this concept in his essay, "Music as a Gradual Process", by stating, "I am interested in perceptible processes. I want to be able to hear the process happening throughout the sounding music." For example, his early works experiment with phase shifting, in which one or more repeated phrases plays slower or faster than the others, causing it to go "out of phase." This creates new musical patterns in a perceptible flow.

His innovations include using tape loops to create phasing patterns, as on the early compositions It's Gonna Rain (1965) and Come Out (1966), and the use of simple, audible processes, as on Pendulum Music (1968) and Four Organs (1970). Works like Drumming (1971) and Music for 18 Musicians (1976), both considered landmarks of minimalism and important influences on experimental music, rock, and contemporary electronic music, would help entrench minimalism as a movement. Reich's work took on a darker character in the 1980s with the introduction of historical themes as well as themes from his Jewish heritage, notably Different Trains (1988).

Reich's style of composition has influenced many contemporary composers and groups, especially in the United States. Writing in The Guardian, music critic Andrew Clements suggested that Reich is one of "a handful of living composers who can legitimately claim to have altered the direction of musical history". (Wikipedia)

In June 1997, as the highlight to a nearly year-long international celebration of Steve Reich's 60th birthday, Nonesuch Records released a 10-CD box set retrospective of the composer's music. Entitled Works 1965–1995, the set includes a rich sampling of the works with which Reich had redefined contemporary classical music over the preceding three decades.

This compendium traces his journey from youthful experiments with found sound to multi-layered works for groups ranging from chamber ensembles to full orchestras, and from single-track tape to multiple-channel video. As Works 1965–1995 aptly demonstrates, the composer has remained faithful to the elements of his style while developing into one of the most important and influential musicians working today.

Of the composers generally referred to as "minimalist" (a label almost universally rejected by those to whom it is applied), three have had a substantial and direct impact on modern music both popular and classical since the 1960s: Philip Glass, Steve Reich and, to a somewhat lesser degree, John Adams. Glass has had the greater commercial success, and Adams has worked in larger forms with more prestigious orchestras, but Reich has made the most consistently interesting music in both harmonic and rhythmic terms, successfully setting repetitious, slow-changing patterns into interesting and musically compelling structures. As he has repeatedly and adamantly stated, his is not "trance" music; he expects the listener to pay close attention, and his music amply rewards those who do. This monumental ten-CD retrospective collects the original recordings of Reich's published music, except for the new recordings of "New York Counterpoint," "Eight Lines," "Four Organs," and "Music for 18 Musicians." It documents his progression from early tape pieces (deceptively simple, foreshadowing later work with phase shifting and canonic structures), to more recent choral/orchestral works that demonstrate conclusively that Reich's music is far from "minimal." His most famous works are included, notably "Music for 18 Musicians," "The Desert Music," and "Different Trains," widely regarded as his masterpiece. There are, however, some curious exclusions: His groundbreaking "Violin Phase" is missing, not to mention the charming "Music for Pieces of Wood" ("Clapping Music," from the same period, is included), and his gorgeous composition for flutist Ransom Wilson, "Vermont Counterpoint." Nevertheless, this box set is an essential purchase for anyone with a serious interest in modern art music. The packaging is beautiful, and the accompanying booklet includes full track and personnel listings, a chronology of Reich's career, appreciative notes from fellow musicians, and an excellent new interview by Jonathan Cott. (AllMusic review by Rick Anderson)

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Track lists

CD01

01 Steve Reich - Come Out 12:58

02 Steve Reich - Piano Phase 20:36

03 Steve Reich - It's Gonna Rain 17:55

04 Steve Reich - Four Organs 15:52

CD02

01 Steve Reich - Drumming (Part I) 17:31

02 Steve Reich - Drumming (Part II) 18:10

03 Steve Reich - Drumming (Part III) 11:12

04 Steve Reich - Drumming (Part IV) 9:50

CD03

01 Steve Reich - Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ 16:59

02 Steve Reich - Clapping Music 4:48

03 Steve Reich - Six Marimbas 16:19

CD04

01 Steve Reich - Pulses 5:26

02 Steve Reich - Section I 3:58

03 Steve Reich - Section II 5:13

04 Steve Reich - Section IIIA 3:55

05 Steve Reich - Section IIIB 3:45

06 Steve Reich - Section IV 6:37

07 Steve Reich - Section V 6:48

08 Steve Reich - Section VI 4:54

09 Steve Reich - Section VII 4:19

10 Steve Reich - Section VIII 3:34

11 Steve Reich - Section IX 5:23

12 Steve Reich - Section X 1:50

13 Steve Reich - Section XI 5:44

14 Steve Reich - Pulses 6:10

CD05

01 Steve Reich - Eight Lines (Octet) 17:36

02 Steve Reich - Tehillim (Part I) 11:45

03 Steve Reich - Tehillim (Part II) 6:01

04 Steve Reich - Tehillim (Part III) 6:18

05 Steve Reich - Tehillim (Part IV) 6:23

CD06

01 Steve Reich - First Movement (Fast) 7:54

02 Steve Reich - Second Movement (Moderate) 6:59

03 Steve Reich - Third Movement, Part One (Slow) 6:59

04 Steve Reich - Third Movement, Part Two (Moderate) 5:53

05 Steve Reich - Third Movement, Part Three (Slow) 5:54

06 Steve Reich - Fourth Movement (Moderate) 3:35

07 Steve Reich - Fifth Movement (Fast) 10:47

CD07

01 Steve Reich - New York Counterpoint (Part I) 5:03

02 Steve Reich - New York Counterpoint (Part II) 2:43

03 Steve Reich - New York Counterpoint (Part III) 3:40

04 Steve Reich - Sextet (Part I) 10:29

05 Steve Reich - Sextet (Part II) 4:12

06 Steve Reich - Sextet (Part III) 2:27

07 Steve Reich - Sextet (Part IV) 3:14

08 Steve Reich - Sextet (Part V) 5:59

09 Steve Reich - The Four Sections (Part I) 0:17

10 Steve Reich - The Four Sections (Part II) 2:29

11 Steve Reich - The Four Sections (Part III) 5:54

12 Steve Reich - The Four Sections (Part IV) 6:13

CD08

01 Steve Reich - Different Trains (Part I) 8:59

02 Steve Reich - Different Trains (Part II) 7:30

03 Steve Reich - Different Trains (Part III) 10:30

04 Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint (Part I) 6:51

05 Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint (Part II) 3:22

06 Steve Reich - Electric Counterpoint (Part III) 4:39

07 Steve Reich - Three Movements (Part I) 6:43

08 Steve Reich - Three Movements (Part II) 3:41

09 Steve Reich - Three Movements (Part III) 4:18

CD09

01 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part I) 2:58

02 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part II) 1:33

03 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part III) 4:42

04 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part IV) 2:32

05 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part V) 2:36

06 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part VI) 5:26

07 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part VII) 3:27

08 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part VIII) 1:20

09 Steve Reich - Act 1 (Part IX) 4:30

10 Steve Reich - Act 2 (Part I) 4:40

11 Steve Reich - Act 2 (Part II) 5:19

12 Steve Reich - Act 3 (Part I) 6:29

13 Steve Reich - Act 3 (Part II) 4:23

14 Steve Reich - Act 3 (Part III) 4:40

15 Steve Reich - Act 3 (Part IV) 4:04

16 Steve Reich - Act 3 (Part V) 4:28

17 Steve Reich - Act 3 (Part VI) 8:42

CD10

01 Steve Reich - Proverb 14:09

02 Steve Reich - Nagoya Marimbas 4:35

03 Steve Reich - City Life (Part I) 5:51

04 Steve Reich - City Life (Part II) 3:53

05 Steve Reich - City Life (Part III) 4:47

06 Steve Reich - City Life (Part IV) 3:59

07 Steve Reich - City Life (Part V) 4:42

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