In C

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In C is a semi- aleatoric piece of musiccomposedby Terry Riley in 1964for any number of unspecified performers. It is often referred to as the first minimal music work.

composition

Riley says a group size of around 35 is "desirable". The piece can also be played with smaller or larger groups.

The piece can be seen as an answer to the abstract, academic-looking serial techniques used by composers in the mid-20th century. It is also often cited as the first minimalist composition.

In C consists of 53 short, numbered musical phrases with detailed instructions from the composer: each phrase can be repeated as often as desired, each musician decides for himself when to move on to the next phrase. Rhythmic shifts are desirable, as is the overlapping of neighboring phrases. However, the ensemble should not “fall apart” by more than 2 to 3 phrases and it must adhere to a common meter (which can also be played by one instrument). Riley allows (probably also for practical reasons) the octave transposition of phrases and, if necessary, their omission, he further explains that rhythmic augmentations can also have a good effect.

As detailed in some editions of the score, it is common for a musician ("traditionally played by a pretty girl," Riley writes) to play the note C (in octaves) in repeated eighth notes. This accompaniment function as a metronome is referred to as "The Pulse".

In C has no definite length; Performances can be of short (15 minutes) or long (several hours) duration. Riley points out that "performances last an average of 45 minutes to an hour and a half." The number of performers can also vary from performance to performance. The original recording of the piece was played by eleven musicians. (With the help of overdubbing , several dozen instruments were used.) Another performance in 2006 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall featured over 124 musicians.

The piece begins with a C major chord (phrase 1 through 13). At the beginning with a strong emphasis on the median E and the appearance of the note F. In phrase 14 an accidental symbol appears for the first time: f sharp. So the piece seems to have modulated in G major . On the other hand, a sequence of seconds from e to b (e – f sharp – g – a – h) appears in phrases 22 to 26, which can be interpreted as an E minor chord, but also as G maj with a missing fifth. An F sharp appears for the last time in phrase 28, before another C major chord appears in phrase 29. Compared to all other phrases, phrase 35 is tonally indifferent, since it contains both an f sharp and a b as well as an f and an b. The piece remains in C up to phrase 48, before modulating in phrase 49 with the appearance of a b to F major . From phrase 50 to the end (53) only the notes f – g – b appear, which can actually be interpreted for a g 7 chord with the fifth d omitted. However, it should not be forgotten that the “pulse”, i.e. octavated c, is constantly running in the background.

The polyphonic interplay of the various phrases against each other and against themselves in different rhythmic displacements is of primary interest. The future composer Steve Reich was involved in the world premiere of Riley's In C and suggested the use of the eighth pulse, which is now standard for the performance of the piece. The piece can be viewed as heterophonic .

Some recordings

In C from Bang on a Can

Numerous recordings of this piece were made:

  • State University Center of Creative and Performing Arts ; Recorded in 1968; Sony 7178
  • L'Infonie - Volume 33: Mantra; Recorded in 1970
  • Shanghai Film Orchestra, Wang Yongji ; Recorded in January 1989 at the Recording Studio of the Shanghai Film Industry; Celestial Harmonies 13026 (1989)
  • Piano Circus (piano ensemble); Recorded in 1990; Argo 430380 (1990)
  • 25th Anniversary Concert ; Recorded live on January 14, 1990 at the New Music Theater and Life on the Water, San Francisco; New Albion 71 (1995)
  • Ensemble Percussione Ricerca, Eddy De Fanti ; Recorded at Diamine Studio, Mestre-Venezia, Italy in 1983
  • Ictus ensemble ; Recorded live on May 31, 1997 at Chapelle des Brigitines, Brussels. Slightly overdubbed at Acoustic Recording Studio, Brussels .; Cypres (2006)
  • Quebec Contemporary Music Society, Raoul Duguay ; Recorded live on June 12, 1997 at the Salle Pierre-Mercure
  • Bang on a can ; Recorded live on November 20, 1998 at the World's Financial Center, New York; Cantaloupe 46243 (2000)
  • Repetition Orchestra : Recorded live on April 20, 2000 in DOM, Moscow; (2001)
  • The Styrenes ; Recorded on September 21, 2000 at Unique Studio, NYC; Enja (Soulfood Music) (2002)
  • Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso UFO ; Recorded at FTF Studio, Indo-yo and Acid Mothers Temple; Squealer 37th (2003)
  • Re-sound ; Recorded in Australia
  • European Music Project, Zignorii ; Recorded from April 19 to April 22, 2001 at Sendesaal des Funkhauses Köln .; Wergo ; 2002
  • Ut Gret - Recent Fossils; Recorded live at Tewligans in 2002; Ear-X-tacy Records ; (2006)
  • DésAccordes / d-zAkord ; Recorded on November 23, 2003 at Espace Culturel du Bois Fleuri, Lormont, France .; MUSEA / GAZUL GA8681.AR (2005)
  • Ars Nova Copenhagen (vocal ensemble), Percurama Percussion Ensemble (percussion), Paul Hillier ; Recorded on January 17, 2005 at Focus Recording, Copenhagen; Dacapo (2006)
  • Jeroen van Veen - Minimal Piano Collection; Brilliant Classics ; (2007)
  • Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble Remixed In C ; Innova Recordings (2009)
  • The Gothenburg Combo - Guitarscapes; Version for 22 acoustic guitars; CD on GBG Combo (2014)
  • Terry Riley, Roberto Cacciapaglia Ensemble ; recorded in Ferrara at Aterforum Festival 1988: Mirumir (2015)
  • Africa Express: Terry Riley's In C Mali recorded on African instruments with u. a. Adama Koita, Bijou, Cheick Diallo , Damon Albarn , Brian Eno , Nick Zinner and André de Ridder . Transgressive (2015)
  • Ragazze Quartet / Slagwerk Den Haag / Kapok Four Four Three ; Channel (2015)

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. Terry Riley: 'In C': Performing Directions , from the score for “In C”, 1989, Celestial Harmonies
  2. Resident Advisor: Steve Reich. In: https://www.residentadvisor.net/ . Resident Advisor, 2011, accessed December 7, 2019 .