In C

In C is a semi- aleatoric musical piece that was composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for any number of unspecified groups of performers. It is often referred to as the first work of minimalist music.

Composition

Riley is a group size of about 35 "desirable " to. With smaller or larger groups, the piece can also be played.

The piece can be seen as a response to the abstract, academic serial acting techniques that have been used by composers in the mid-20th century. It is often cited as the first minimalist composition.

In C consists of 53 short, numbered musical phrases with a detailed statement of the composer's game: each phrase may be repeated as often as every musician decides himself when he goes to the next phrase. Rhythmical shifts are desired, as well as the overlap of neighboring phrases. However, the ensemble should not be more than 2 to 3 phrases " falling apart " and it must adhere to a common meter (which can also be played by an instrument ). Riley allowed ( probably for practical reasons) the octave transposition of phrases and if necessary the omission of which, he further argues that even rhythmic augmentation can have a good effect.

As will be described in some editions of the score exactly, it is common for a musician ( " traditionally played by a pretty girl ," Riley writes ) to play the note C ( in octaves) in repeated quavers. This accompaniment function as a metronome is called " The Pulse" ( The Pulse ).

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

The piece begins with a C major chord. (Phrase 1 to 13 ) At the beginning with a strong emphasis on the mediant E and an appearance of the note F. In the phrase 14 for the first time appears a Versetzungszeichen: fis. So this piece seems to have modulated to G major. On the other hand, appears in phrases 22 to 26 a Sekundfolge from e to h ( e - f # -g -a -h), which can be interpreted both as an E minor chord, but also as Gmaj with missing Quint. In Phrase 28 for the last time appears a fis before reappears at a C major chord in phrase 29. Phrase 35 is compared to all the other phrases tonal indifferent, as both a sharp and a b as well as a f and h appears in it. By the phrase 48 the piece, however, remains in C before in phrase 49 with the appear of a modulated b to F major. From phrase 50 appear only the sounds f -g -b, which can actually be interpreted for a g7 chord with sparing of the fifth d until the end (53). However, it must not be forgotten that in the background constantly the " pulse ", ie octave c, starts to rotate.

The polyphonic interplay of various phrases against each other and against themselves in different rhythmic displacements is of primary interest. The piece can be viewed as heterophonisch.

Some shots

Numerous recordings of this piece were recorded:

  • State University Center of Creative and Performing Arts; Recorded in 1968; Sony 7178
  • L' Infonie - Volume 33: Mantra; Recorded in 1970
  • Piano Circus ( Piano Ensemble ); Recorded in 1990; Argo 430380 (1990 )
  • Repetition Orchestra: Recorded live on April 20, 2000 DOM, Moscow; (2001)
  • Re - Sound; Recorded in Australia
  • European Music Project, Zignorii; Recorded from 19 to 22 April 2001 at the studio of radio building in Cologne.; Wergo; 2002
  • 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)
Serialism Augmentation (music)
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