Terry Riley: In C

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Sometimes simplicity is the mother of invention, and with In C, Terry Riley composed nothing short of a classic. A cornerstone of minimalism, Riley's 1964 composition is little more than a loose guideline for musicians. Driven by the repeated pulses of even octave eighth notes played on the top two C keys of the piano, each member of the ensemble runs through 53 simple phrases at a self-determined pace. Gradually, swarms of instruments find themselves playing in unison, always to be overtaken by the perfect pacing of the pulsing piano. The entire composition gradually moves from C to E to C to G and, when performed correctly, the effect is otherworldly.

This recording from 1968 features Riley himself on saxophone and a small ensemble of musicians from the New Music Center in Buffalo, New York. Overdubs were employed to keep the flow going and the effect of all this repetition is nothing short of mesmerizing, albeit slightly clinical. An even jazzier recording of this composition exists, the 25th Anniversary Concert on New Albion. On that live recording, a larger ensemble of jazz and classical's elite (including members of Kronos and Rova) invigorate In C with a full sound and plenty of gusto. --Jason Verlinde

Tracks:

In C

Amazon.com

Bang on a Can prove once again why they're one of the most exciting New Music ensembles performing today with this riveting version of Terry Riley's In C. There are a handful of recordings available of this minimalist masterpiece, but Bang on a Can's--featuring violin, chimes, clarinet, mandolin, and bass at the fore--is easily one of the best. The delicate tremolo of Scott Kuney's mandolin gives the entire recording a nervous energy that's much needed on this New Music warhorse. The piercing violin of Todd Reynolds is haunting, and Mark Stewart's electric guitar gives the ensemble added sonic punch. Throughout, Bang on a Can sound less like they're jamming and more like a taut musical machine bursting at the seams, running through Riley's motifs with abandon. It's a new, slightly ominous take on In C, but one that was much needed. Recommended. --Jason Verlinde

Album Description

In 1964, Terry Riley kicked off a revolution with his landmark piece, "In C" -- inspiring such young composers as Philip Glass and Steve Reich. Now, Bang on a Can reinterprets this minimalist claassic with an explosive combination of instruments from around the globe, propelling this transcendental 60's masterpiece into the future.

Customer Reviews:

In C: You never forget your first girl.......2006-11-10

(Never mind that the America-market tagline is from St. Pauli Beer, and when they came up with it, they were no doubt laughing themselves silly because St. Pauli is the red light district of Hamburg.)

Never mind all that, because "In C" is one of the very few musical pieces that will still be regularly played in the year 3000. The score is a single page of scribbles. When that page is put in front of 57, or 30, or 96 musicians, and they dive in, it allows us, when we listen...

...to directly understand part of our place in the Universe.

Here is a group of closely-crowded egotistical people with problems, warts, compromises, mortgages, divorces, inappropriate lusts, intestinal problems, attitudes, fears, hopes. You and I probably wouldn't much enjoy their company. Some are probably aggressive enough to cut you off in traffic and give you the finger. Meanwhile, they are all looking at the same page of scribbles, communicating seamlessly with each other, and creating the closest thing to the Music of the Spheres that has ever been heard on this Earth.

How are we, as a race, capable of doing this thing? Communicating in this way? I wrote a review of the original recording that I poncily titled: "From What Mystical Grammar Springs This?" The phrase has since been stolen by many Riley-appreciation sites. I don't mind, but the question is real.

30, 60, 90 people looking at one sheet of paper and individually banging away on their musical typewriters for 30, 60, 90 minutes, and what they create is more profound, and is more beautiful, than Shakespeare at his best? Yes.

OK: It's a difficult piece to appreciate. Some of my brightest music-loving friends have recoiled in horror, but all it needs is a truly open mind. (I freely admit that a few hits of decent ganga doesn't hurt, either, but it's not necessary.)

But this is a review of Bang on a Can's version, not the original. Let's get back to my title: "You never forget your first Girl." I was astonished, almost immobile for several days, upon hearing the original recording. I've since collected all of them, including the rather rigid one from the Chinese film orchestra. Some are just wonderful, like the 25th Anniversary version, but you never forget your first girl. If this version becomes your first girl, then so be it. After all, it's just Life, the Universe, and Everything.

WOW!! This version is beautiful in sonority and timbre and.......2004-06-25

in the energy of the performance. I've had the original recording for a long time, and have enjoyed it as the first "definitive" sound of the piece. But this Bang On A Can version brings out the real inner beauty of the piece. WIth fewer musicians, and such diverse instrumentation, the individual lines stand out clearly while still blending into the overall mix and wash of sound.

I just listened to this for the first time and I am in total rapture from it.

All I can say is WOW.

This is an excellent recording of In C, not to be missed.

Good, very good, and it varies.......2004-02-24

This is a good rendition of In C. There are so many different versions played by so many very different groups whose approaches vary greatly. Each performance has its "moments". There are a great many "moments" on this album, to be sure. You can pick your favorites too, after a few listenings. There is so very much going on during this recording. Your favorites might even start to vary.

Thumbs up to Bang on a Can!

If you like this one, check out the Shanghai Film Orchestra Version.

Bang on a Can ought to record Olson III.

It will leave you speechless........2003-11-08

Something that has always struck me about In C is that it is, at its core, all about the joy of making music. I do not know whether this was Riley's intention or not. Nevertheless, no other recording captures that element so energetically and resoundingly as Bang on a Can's performance.

From the very start, it is obvious this is going to be a very different experience than what fans might expect. The first thing that caught my attention, and made me smile, was the piano in there playing parts instead of being relegated to its usual position as an expensive metronome. This version seems also to have many more crescendos and decrescendos during its forty-five minute length. It is so much fun to listen to one instrument suddenly give rise a powerful presence and the others build around the base, then peel off into their own tangents. It is like a great swelling and ebbing of chaotic tides. I smiled as, like old friends, I heard familiar melodies bursting forth in new ways.

As another person put it, this recording makes the listener feel happy to be alive, especially if they find joy in music. I would also go so far to suggest that those who are new to In C might find this a better place to start than the classic renditions. They all have their own strengths. However, something about the richness and sizzling energy mixed with effortless delicacy and foreboding in BoaC's version makes the composition extremely accessible, despite its decidedly experimental basis.

Since I found this disc three days ago, I have already listened to it countless times. Sometimes focusing on the pounding C note is fun, letting everything else flower around it; other times following one or two musicians is fun; or just letting the whole cacophony wash over at once. To the power of the bass, the sizzle of the mandolin, the soaring of the violin, and the dancing of the saxophone-- highly recommended!

A minimalist classic in a bold new rendition.......2003-07-31

Usually the pianist in this piece is saddled with "the pulse," a series of repeated octaves acting as a rhythmic spine holding the score together for its mesmerizing 45 minutes. Fortunately in this case, the outstanding Australian artist Lisa Moore is given more interesting tasks, while the monotony of banging out these notes is handed over to a laptop computer.

For those who are inclined toward Riley's pioneering experiment, this will be arresting and rewarding listening. The score fits on a single page, and consists of a series of 53 short instrumental figures, designed to be played in order by any combination of instruments. Each musician performs a given figure as many times as desired before moving on to the next one. The score is designed so that all figures mesh with each other, resulting in a huge wall of sound, slowly evolving as the musicians reach new plateaus.

Compared to the relative innocence and sunshine of the original, this one has a raucous, fiery quality that I like even better. The go-for-broke Bang on a Can crew gives it a loud, intense performance that is especially satisfying in the climactic thickets, when the entire group seems immersed in throbbing harmonic waves. It would be hard to single out musicians, but Evan Ziporyn's beautiful clarinet cannot go unnoticed, as well as David Cossin's excellent work on glockenspiel and vibraphone, and Maya Beiser on cello. But pretty much everyone here seems to be having a great time, and the effect is flat-out exhilarating.

The original version, still available on Sony, has its own charms, and there is an intriguingly delicate one with the Shanghai Film Orchestra (Celestial Harmonies), but this is now my favorite -- involved, committed and extremely powerful. Cantaloupe's sound is crystal-clear, and the lively packaging is excellent, too -- mostly bright orange and green graphics that do both Terry Riley and the group proud.

Riley: In C
Average customer rating:

A Unique, Stunningly Original Rendition: via Reich & Indonesia

Riley: In C

Manufacturer: Da Capo [Naxos]
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Customer Reviews:

A Unique, Stunningly Original Rendition: via Reich & Indonesia.......2007-03-09

A local newspaper classical music critic called this recording "ravishing beautiful" and the effect "stupendous." What? How can that be? I was curious. Riley's In C is a composition with a set of instructions rather than a score per se. He set up 53 different melodies, short and long, in a sequence to be played by any assortment of instruments, each independently per number of repetitions of each stanza and transition to the next. There have been many recordings of In C, all different. I have the original recording on CBS and one with Bang on the Can that seemed more precise in tempo and less chaotic with expanded instrumentation, including Wu Man on pipa. Now, this Ars Nova rendition takes a page from fellow minimalist Steve Reich with sole use of voices and marimbas. What an amazing difference! It reminds me of Javanese gamelan music and, in fact, there is a Balinese gong among the percussion; the mentioned critic thought it much like Medieval vocal music. If you like Reich's works, such as Music for 18 Instruments and Drumming, then this recording belongs in your collection, no matter how many versions of In C you have. Beautiful and stupendous? Remarkably, yes, indeed. In C, that seminal work, once again proves how special it is, for despite being 40-years old, it is yet ageless, continually reinventing itself.

Average customer rating:

fresh
Still the Best Recording
Different but Classic
Hard to listen to
A minimalist classic

Terry Riley: In C

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Drumming
Terry Riley: In C
Early Works

ASIN: B0000024Q8
Release Date: 1990-10-25

Tracks:

In C

Amazon.com

Sometimes simplicity is the mother of invention, and with In C, Terry Riley composed nothing short of a classic. A cornerstone of minimalism, Riley's 1964 composition is little more than a loose guideline for musicians. Driven by the repeated pulses of even octave eighth notes played on the top two C keys of the piano, each member of the ensemble runs through 53 simple phrases at a self-determined pace. Gradually, swarms of instruments find themselves playing in unison, always to be overtaken by the perfect pacing of the pulsing piano. The entire composition gradually moves from C to E to C to G and, when performed correctly, the effect is otherworldly.

This recording from 1968 features Riley himself on saxophone and a small ensemble of musicians from the New Music Center in Buffalo, New York. Overdubs were employed to keep the flow going and the effect of all this repetition is nothing short of mesmerizing, albeit slightly clinical. An even jazzier recording of this composition exists, the 25th Anniversary Concert on New Albion. On that live recording, a larger ensemble of jazz and classical's elite (including members of Kronos and Rova) invigorate In C with a full sound and plenty of gusto. --Jason Verlinde

Album Description

Terry Riley's In C, one of the most influential compositions of the past quarter century, has been played by almost every conceivable combination of instruments; however, the Shanghai Film Orchestra's version ranks as one of the most exciting and exotic interpretations. It marks the 25th anniversary of the piece, and represents the first time a Western new music piece has been recorded in China. In C is a rhythmic, energetic work, but it also echoes the mystical, embroidered music of the Near East and India. By staying in or around the key of C, this 1964 work creates a model sound that can be seen as a forerunner of today's minimalist and world music styles.

The Shanghai Film Orchestra plays this contemporary Western work on traditional Chinese instruments. The tuning is different, and the tone colors of the ancient Chinese bells and strings lend a new vibrancy to the piece. The construction of this version is equally striking. Instead of following the score straight through, earlier parts are brought back and woven into a tapestry of sound even more mesmerizing than Riley's original recording.

The talented Chinese-American composer, David Mingyue Liang, contributes two works that extend the orchestra's range to include the ethereal sounds of bowed vibes and the haunting resonance of China's only complete set of mangluo gongs. This remarkable recording, the result of a cultural openness in China, proves that the East and West have much to say to each other.

Customer Reviews:

fresh .......2006-11-16

I am not shure if any of the reviewers here are reffering to this recording... This is not the "original" recording of In C - this is a performance od Shanghai Film ORchestra, adding another two "eastern" compositions to the CD.

This performance is extraordinary, a flowing of soundscapes, real musical streams, In C sounds even more like some ethereal far-eastern music when played by all those chinese instruments and the other two compositions fit together with it perfectly. I think this is a really gorgeous contemporary music.

Still the Best Recording.......2005-12-30

Minimalism has produced five masterpieces: Philip Glass' "Music in Twelve Parts" and "Einstein on the Beach," La Monte Young's "The Well-Tuned Piano" (good luck finding that one!), Steve Reich's "Music for 18 Musicians," and Terry Riley's "In C." Although there are several recordings of "In C", each with a different orchestration, this one is probably still the best recording after all is said and done. (I only wish Mr. Riley would make a much longer recording, AT LEAST two hours long.)

Different but Classic.......2005-07-01

In C is a launch pad for a group of students form New Yock and is composed by the great Terry Riley.For some reason this album is good to listen to on a rainy day,the clutter of insterments playing and interweaving the musical bits and pieces together is soothing to. Also good to fall asleep on. For the length of the album it never gets tirering and the funny thing is the c note on the piano begins,plays all the way though and ends the piece but the string is broken.I recommend this to anyone wanting something new to listen to.

Hard to listen to.......2002-12-04

So...it seems that this record, along with Henry Cow's "Western Culture", sparks a lot of controversy among the crowd at amazon. But unlike some of my fellow reviewers, I am actually going to DESCRIBE the music insted of argue about it.

From the beginning you can tell that this recording has suffered from the ravages of age (either that or they're using a very cheap piano). That's really too bad, because this might have been a very good performance, were we only able to hear it better.

"In C" is a very hard piece to play, both mentally and physically. The subtle, ever-shifting patterns demand that you not "listen", to the music, but just play it in the background, "tuning in" from time to time. But I have a problem with Riley's instrumentation: he always uses way too many woodwinds and mallet percussion, making the piece sound like an indonesian gamelan orchestra. If you like the gamelan sound, then you won't have any problem with that, but if you find it somewhat annoying, then watch out.

Instead of this album, I would recommend the superb version recently released by Bang on a Can. They eliminate the gamelan effect and almost all of the wind instruments, using mostly strings such as Double Bass, Mandolin, and Electric Guitar.

Listen for Jon Hassel playing trumpet on this release (with the mouthpiece on, I presume), sixteen years before his collaboration with Eno on "Fourth World Possible Musics". Hmmm. Interesting.

A minimalist classic.......2002-04-16

The first time I heard this recording, some twenty-five years ago, I was a bit shocked - it was utterly unlike anything I had experienced in "classical" music. But after a few listening sessions it began to grow on me. The repetitions and subtle pattern changes will either enthrall or bore you; one person's trance is another's monotony. Whatever the case, there is much to admire in Terry Riley's classic experiment with structure and instrumentation.

Since this landmark recording, there have been other noteworthy versions. I own an interesting one by the Shanghai Film Orchestra, which includes a number of Chinese instruments which create a uniquely shimmering texture. And the recent recording by the superb Bang on a Can All-Stars is not to be missed. But this one was the first, and has its own place in history.

Terry Riley: In C [Germany]
Average customer rating:

Superb - but cover art is missing the "score"

Sounds better than the CBS CD!

But where's the rainbow?

From what mystical grammar springs this?

Few Pieces Composed This Century Are Better

Terry Riley: In C [Germany]
Terry Riley
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B0000259OD
Release Date: 2000-06-23

Tracks:

Terry Riley In C

Album Description

Reissue of the 1968 album by this minimalist pioneer/ avant-garde/ ambient/ classical composer. The recording is one 42:01 long track, mastered using Super Bit Mapping (SBM) technology. Also features the original cover art. 1999 release.

Album Details

Early Minimalism from One of the Founders of the 'new' Classical Music. Similar in Style to Philip Glass, with Flowing Repetition of Arpeggios Abounding. In C is a Vertiable Classic in Itself.

Customer Reviews:

Superb - but cover art is missing the "score".......2006-11-09

The music here is superb and the mastering sounds fine to my ears. However I entered this review simply to mention that the Amazon review overstates the case regarding the original album art. The LP that I have has the score printed on the inside of the gatefold, and this is missing from the CD artwork. Possibly a big deal for the musicians in the crowd.

Sounds better than the CBS CD!.......2003-08-20

It was years ago when I read about some piece called "In C." It wasn't until some years later when I got into it (as well as other advant-gard works like Riech's "Music for 18 Musicians," George Crumb's "Music for a Summer Evening" and "Deep Listening" by Oliveros, Dempster and Panaiotis). I agree that it's not for everyone. But I would be one of the people who could listen to music that's so unlike Baroque, Classical, Romantic and Impressionistic.

I thought I get this import release (call it the "Rewind" edition) since I've read about this "Super Bit Mapping" technology. Well, nowhere on the cover or on the CD did it mentioned this "SBM" thing. But I compared the sound quality with the CBS CD. I listen carefully and noticed that the Rewind does sound better! So for the sound quality (even though it costs more) the Rewind edition is worth getting. Just be aware that the recording itself is not quite state-of-the-art hi-fi stereo.

One thing you might as well be aware on the Rewind: The orange CD label mentioned "A Rainbow in Curved Air / Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band" besides "TERRY RILEY: In C." A correction needs to be made since there's ONLY the 42-minute track, "In C." If you want the "Rainbow" and "Poppy Nogood," you could get them in a separate CBS CD (If these pieces will someday be on the Rewind edition with SBM, I'd get that, too).

But where's the rainbow?.......2000-10-17

I heard "A Rainbow in Curved Air" on a late-nite radio station while traveling in Europe in 1973. As soon as I could, I looked up this unknown artist (to me) in the Schwann music catalog. There I found "in C" and "A Rainbow in Curved Air". I bought them both. While "In C" is quite good, I am partial to "A Rainbow in Curved Air", which is why I'm so surprised that it is apparently no longer available. Maybe I have weird taste?

Anyway, if you like Terry's "In C", try to find a copy of his follow-up "A Rainbow in Curved Air". You'll be in for a treat.

From what mystical grammar springs this?.......2000-09-19

Certainly not for everyone, but extremely accessible nonetheless. If you are ready for a little chaos, cacophony, and conflict along with the more tidy minimalist patterings of a Reich or Glass, there may be nothing to match it save Life itself.

I'm still shivering from my first hearing, three days ago. I dearly wish I knew musical notation, so that I might understand how one person's scribbles can cause a group of people to make this ... thing. And yet I must already understand, because while it still played, I came to foresee where it might go next. Within its timeless fabric, small rebellions arise and fall, ideas appear and are absorbed, and the ocean rolls on, unabated.

I suspect that "In C" has the same relationship to its score as a dancer to her DNA.

Few Pieces Composed This Century Are Better.......2000-08-16

This record is sheer magic. It is absolutely accessible, and must be acquired by anyone who has found her/himself on this "information page." I had the good fortune of seeing this piece performed early on this summer as a part of the Lincoln Center Arts Festival 2000 with all electronic instruments. As I had properly adjusted my attitude beforehand, it ended up being more entertaining than an evening at the Led Zep laser show. It is white-hot, and will force you to recognize this bit of perfection as just that.

Riley: Reed Streams, Untitled Organ, In C / Boudreau

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Riley: Reed Streams, Untitled Organ, In C / Boudreau
Walter Boudreau
Manufacturer: Cortical Foundation
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000IJPC
Release Date: 1999-04-20

Tracks:

Untitled Organ
Reed Streams: Dorian Reeds
In C (Mantra)

Amazon.com

Thanks to the Cortical Foundation, the lost works of minimalist kingpin Terry Riley are finally seeing light of day. It's truly a revelation. Take Reed Streams, Riley's first LP, originally released in an edition of 1,000 on the Mass Art label in 1966. Consisting of Untitled Organ and Dorian Reeds--both remastered here from their original tapes--the album marked the first appearance of Riley's Time Lag Accumulator (the composer's system for making tape loops). The first piece is hypnotic, with Riley's rapid keyboard notes softly pulsating over the course of its 20-minute span, never really letting up. "Dorian Reeds" takes a similar approach, but furthers the use of tape recorders. The effect is dizzying, varied, and almost jazzy. Riley's sax solos meld into each other to create multilayered collages of varying intensity. Notes are extended and solo passages sneak out, but the piece works best as a whole: a giant New Music traffic jam of car horns. But perhaps the real gem on this disc is the bonus of 1970's In C (Mantra). Here, Riley's seminal work is performed by a Montreal collective through a psychedelic haze. Electric bass, a drum kit, and a rock sensibility enter into the fold, giving new life and imparting a wild flair to a composition that wasn't so tame to begin with. A truly unique, great recording. --Jason Verlinde

Average customer rating:

Magnificient!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Rough Around the Edges, But Exhuberant Music Making
Tedious version
The Worst Ever
"music to try to awaken ourselves"

In C: 25th Anniversary Concert

Manufacturer: New Albion Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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Terry Riley: In C
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ASIN: B000000R3V
Release Date: 1995-02-09

Tracks:

In C Terry Riley

Customer Reviews:

Magnificient!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!.......2006-08-08

This recording provided me probably the best musical experience of my life yet. It's pure ecstasy and delight. It's only long if you're not enjoying it.

I can understand though why some people would dislike this work. Not everyone likes free jazz, not everyone likes contemporary erudith music, not everyone likes "In C". I wonder if they "understand" the work though...

At terryriley dot com there's a 10:33 minutes excerpt of this work. It's probably good to listen to this before buying it, although, as any excerpt, it does not show the magnificience of the work it is taken from.

Rough Around the Edges, But Exhuberant Music Making.......2003-05-24

I would actually prefer to give this 76 minute recording of 'In C' a 4 1/2 star rating, but I guess 5 will do. It is long, but that is the main reason I bought this version. As with many live recordings, the home listening experience would have been better if the record company had left off the long applause after a long pause at the end. As to the performance itself, it starts off a little shaky, but quickly finds its feet, and once it's on its way, I love the sheer joy of music-making exuberantly displayed by the 30-something musicians, its crescendos and decrescendos, it themes and variations floating in and out. Although it seems that some listeners quickly get enough of this, I have put this disc on repeat more than once, and don't really understand how some can get bored by this eventful, complex production. I wish I could find more like this one!

Tedious version.......2003-04-25

This is one LOOONG drawn out version of "In C." (76:20) Twice I've listened to this tedious version. Once I was wondering how much longer will it take by checking out track index on the display of the CD palyer. The other time I press stop halfway through so I could take a break, then continued the next day. I noticed that several seconds after "In C" finally finishes, there was an applause. Made me wonder if, at least, some people were clapping because they were relieved that this is finally over. I decided to sell it to someone who may not mind this LOOOONG drawn out version. I prefer shorter versions on the 1968 recording on CBS and the 1998 Bang-On-A-Can recording. Consider one of THEM (or both), especially if you're not familiar with "In C."

The Worst Ever.......2001-11-20

I generally like Terry Riley's music, Persian Surgery Dervishes is great; but this one fails miserably.

Some composers begin with an interesting concept but fail in the execution of the piece. This selection was stillborn from the beginning.

Here's the premise: Riley provides a series of brief passages, and the performers play them all in the order written, repeating them as often as THEY want - each musician deciding on the fly how often to repeat a passage. They play as they see fit, soft or loud, slow or fast.

Ultimately 'In C' becomes an exercise in vanity. (Talk about a player's self-centeredness!) This particular recording takes forever to end, it fills the entire CD; and when thankfully it does end there's a LONG stretch of applause. I applauded too because my suffering had ended.

I've heard lots of music - lots. I've suffered through much, but this particular album is the worst music I've ever heard.

"music to try to awaken ourselves".......2001-05-04

When asked whether he has a favorite performance of "In C," Riley told composer William Duckworth: "...the one that really surprised me was the 25th anniversary one we did in San Francisco... [I]t...has an epic quality, because there were 34 musicians. When I heard the tape, I was really impressed. Even with orchestras, it had never had the epic quality it does with this performance" (from TALKING MUSIC, interviews by William Duckworth). Although Terry Riley always credits his friend La Monte Young as the original "minimalist" (specifically Young's "Trio for Strings" -- see the Duckworth interview), it was Riley's "In C" that put this new approach on the map. Steve Reich referred to his early work as "pattern music," and that is as good a description of "In C" as any -- Reich played in the first performance in 1964, and it was a crucial influence. This live performance is amazing, with the Kronos Quartet among the ensemble members, and featuring jazzy saxophone passages that bring to mind Riley's debt to John Coltrane. This is spiritual music. Listen to Terry Riley (again, from Duckworth) on his music:

"I feel it's my field to try to create magic in sound. Magic in the sense of transcendence of this ordinary life into another realm. An awakening, you know. To use music to try to awaken ourselves."

Keys of Life: Piano Music from Celestial Harmonies

Average customer rating:

Surprisingly consistent

Keys of Life: Piano Music from Celestial Harmonies

Manufacturer: Celestial Harmonies
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Etudes | Forms & Genres | Classical | Styles | Music

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ASIN: B0000007W5
Release Date: 1992-01-23

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Spirit Of Peace: Part 1 - Florian Fricke
Spirit Of Peace: Part 2 - Florian Fricke
The Book Of Sounds: Part 7 - Hans Otte
Transpersonal - Peter Michael Hamel
Hymns From A Great Temple: Hymn 1 - Herbert Henck
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Hymns From A Great Temple: Hymn 3 - Herbert Henck
Prelude Op.74 No.1 - Cecil Lytle
Prelude Op.74 No.2 - Cecil Lytle
Prelude Op.74 No.4 - Cecil Lytle
Prelude Op.17 No.6 - Cecil Lytle
Prelude Op.32 No.1 - Cecil Lytle
Prelude Op.65 No.2 - Cecil Lytle
The New Albion Chorale - Terry Riley

Album Description

Keys of Life represents the finest of contemporary piano music. This release offers an excellent sampler of the music of Celestial Harmonies' most celebrated artists. According to Stephen Hill and Anna Turner from Music From the Hearts of Space, "Keys of Life is an elegant collection of solo piano music selected with great care and understanding from the last five years of Celestial Harmonies releases". Without any intellectual pretensions toward doing so, Keys of Life documents the twentieth century European post-Romantic attempt at the direct stimulation of consciousness (rather than emotion) through music. From Cecil Lytle's sensitive performance of six miniatures by Russian mystic composer Alexander Skryabin, through the enormously dignified pan-Eurasian temple music of G.I. Gurdjieff and his pupil Thomas de Hartmann, to the latest just intonation piano experiments of Terry Riley, we hear a living artistic tradition unfolding through time. Florian Fricke's spacious and beautiful Spirit of Peace, Hans Otte's hypnotic, delicate music from The Book of Sounds, and the rippling, minimalistic patterns of Peter Michael Hamel's Transpersonal complete the collection. For those who appreciate clarity, intelligence, and the unique aesthetic world of refined subtlety, Keys of Life will completely satisfy.

Listeners will enjoy this beautiful combination of styles and artists that celebrates music as the key to life.

Customer Reviews:

Surprisingly consistent.......2007-06-21

I purchased this CD simply because it was cheap, it had a piece by Hans Otte played by Hans Otte and I was unaware of the other composers. I have since purchased music by Peter Michael Hamel and, no doubt, will investigate the other composers. Each time I play the CD I am amazed. It is moody, dark but strikingly beautiful. Any CD with a piece from the sublime Book of Sounds is aspiring to great heights and the other pieces on this particular compilation do not leave that Hans Otte masterpiece alone in the dark.

Average customer rating:

Better Effort
Space Groove

In C

Manufacturer: Squealer
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Psychedelic Rock | Classic Rock | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music
ASIN: B0000647KU
Release Date: 2002-04-30

Tracks:

In C
In E
In D

Customer Reviews:

Better Effort.......2003-05-20

This Japanese group was originally dedicated to reviving the bizarre anti-music of Captian Braveheart and Frank Zappa's Mothers of Invention. In that, they were successful, with albums like "New Geocentric World of Acid Mothers Temple." Of course, such improvisational noise has a very slim following as not many care to subject themselves to such sounds. With "In C", AMT covers Terry Riley's mimimalist classic "In C" and expands on it. The result goes more into the crazed ambient shoegazer style of bands like Air and Stereolab. Not exactly crowd pleaser fare either, but it shows AMT is more than a one-trick pony. Comparisons to early Tangerine Dream are understandable and AMT is probably influenced by TD's "Phaedra" here. Yet, there is nothing here as compelling as TD or Riley - it is no longer groundbreaking to hear this kind of music and it is just an imitation of true masters. In fact, a better version of Riley's "In C" can be had from Bang On a Box (ASIN: B00005NUPM). AMT remains a band in search of itself, still trying to capture an amorphous preceived glory of the 60's. AMT's "In C" is worth a bargin bin pick up but probably not at full price.

Space Groove.......2002-12-16

AMT's version of Terry Riley's minimalist classic "In C" sounds like the ancient Krell musicians of "Forbidden Planet," or early Tangerine Dream. It departs somewhat from the score (printed on the back cover), mostly in the effective use of drums, and the individual figures are difficult to pick out, but they kick the old piece into interstellar overdrive for an exciting 20-minute trip. AMT's own "In E" starts in Rileyesque fashion, then guitars and drums join in for a 1-chord jam that sounds like Stereolab with their hair down. The final "In D" is little more than a drone, with several instruments hovering around one note. I don't know how this compares with other AMT albums, but Terry Riley fans will want to add this to their collections.

Average customer rating:

fresh
Still the Best Recording
Different but Classic
Hard to listen to
A minimalist classic

In C

Manufacturer: Celestial Harmonies
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

China | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music

General | International | Styles | Music

General | Jazz | Styles | Music

Jazz Fusion | Jazz | Styles | Music

General | New Age | Styles | Music

Orchestral Pop | Easy Listening | Pop | Styles | Music
Similar Items:

Rainbow in Curved Air
Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians
Drumming
Terry Riley: In C
Early Works

ASIN: B0000007WF
Release Date: 1992-01-23

Tracks:

In C
Music Of A Thousand Springs
Zen (Ch'an) Of Water

Amazon.com

There is no doubt about composer Terry Riley's position in the history of 20th-century music. When his watershed composition In C was recorded in 1964, very little of its ilk was available. In C is a pulsating exploration of musical tones, all of them surrounding a riveting repetition of a C note on the piano. To simplify the event, its debut was the formal birth of minimalism. While Riley's original CBS recording has strong charm, and bragging rights as first-on-the-block, one measure of a piece's greatness is its translatability. To this end, Celestial Harmonies presents the Shanghai Film Orchestra on traditional Chinese instruments playing the piece. Percussive, lilting, and thick with energy, Shanghai is monumentally faithful to Riley's designs, loping and looping the segments brilliantly and utilizing the Chinese instruments' pitches to the advantage of the composition. --Andrew Bartlett

Album Description

Customer Reviews:

fresh .......2006-11-16

Still the Best Recording.......2005-12-30

Different but Classic.......2005-07-01

Hard to listen to.......2002-12-04

Listen for Jon Hassel playing trumpet on this release (with the mouthpiece on, I presume), sixteen years before his collaboration with Eno on "Fourth World Possible Musics". Hmmm. Interesting.

A minimalist classic.......2002-04-16

Tracks:

In C

Customer Reviews:

Fascinating Music BUT Electronica Problematica.......2003-05-10

This is the first recording of "In C" I have heard, so I went into it with few preconceptions. What you get on this Wergo CD is a 61-minute acoustic/electronic hybrid of the piece, that mostly works, but has an annoying aspect. The basic performance by the European Music Project is a sober, somewhat staid reading, played on an octet of strings, saxes, marimba and piano. The multi-cultural, jazzy, Asian aspects of Riley's music are not in evidence, and what emerges is a kind of pure minimalism. The electronic portion of this recording comes from the duo Zignorii ++, whose contribution more aptly earns them the title of "+-". They have created an electronic overlay for 'In C" which sometimes works with the music, and sometimes against it. The most problematic aspect of their work is an agitated electronic percussion track that floats in and out of the recording starting at about 7 1/2 minutes. Sonically it resembles a combination of a dripping faucet, a metal clicker a teacher might use, and maracas. The rhythm is a hyper-active boom-chicka-boom-chicka-boom that is anchored poorly to the pulse that governs the piece, and periodically disintigrates into rhythmic gibberish, aka high-frequency, random noise. Since this business continues in and out over 40 minutes, it can be quite distracting from the serene beauty of the genuine music going on beneath it. That the recording succeeds overall has more to do with the strength of Riley's musical conception than the misguided use of technology by Zignorii +-. They need to cultivate a better relationship with the muse!

Music Review:

Music Review

music review

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