In C

Infobox Album |
Name = In C
Type = Album
Artist = Terry Riley


Released = April 21, 1998
Recorded = 1983-1990
Genre = 20th Century Classical
Length = 43:00
Label = Materiali Sonori
Producer = ?
Reviews =
* Allmusic Rating|4.5|5 [http://wm09.allmusic.com/cg/amg.dll?p=amg&sql=10:gifixquhld6e link]
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"In C" is an aleatoric musical piece composed by Terry Riley in 1964 for any number of people, although he suggests "a group of about 35 is desired if possible but smaller or larger groups will work" [Riley, Terry, "'In C': Performing Directions", from the score for "In C", 1989, Celestial Harmonies] . As its title suggests, it is in the key of C. It is a response to the abstract academic serialist techniques used by composers in the mid-twentieth century and is often cited as the first minimalist composition.

Technique

"In C" consists of 53 short, numbered musical phrases; each phrase may be repeated an arbitrary number of times. Each musician has control over which phrase he or she plays: players are encouraged to play the phrases starting at different times, even if they are playing the same phrase. The performance directions state that the musical ensemble should try to stay within two to three phrases of each other. The phrases must be played in order, although some may be skipped. As detailed in some editions of the score, it is customary for one musician ("traditionally played by a beautiful girl," Riley notes) to play the note C (in octaves) in repeated eighth notes. This functions as a metronome and is referred to as "The Pulse".

"In C" has no set duration; performances can last as little as fifteen minutes or as long as several hours, although Riley indicates "performances normally average between 45 minutes and an hour and a half." The number of performers may also vary between any two performances. The original recording of the piece was created by 11 musicians (through overdubbing, several dozen instruments were utilized), while a performance in 2006 at the Walt Disney Concert Hall featured 124 musicians.

The piece begins on a C major chord (patterns one through seven) with a strong emphasis on the mediant E and the entrance of the note F which begins a series of slow progressions to other chords suggesting a few subtle and ambiguous changes of key, the last pattern being an alteration between Bb and G. Though the polyphonic interplay of the various patterns against each other and themselves at different rhythmic displacements is of primary interest, the piece may be considered heterophonic.

Recordings of the piece

The piece has been recorded several times:
*State University Center of Creative and Performing Arts; Recorded in 1968; "Sony 7178"
*L'Infonie - Volume 33: Mantra; Recorded in 1970; (1970)
*Ensemble Percussione Ricerca, Eddy De Fanti; Recorded at Diamine Studio, Mestre-Venezia, Italy in 1983, (1983)
*Shanghai Film Orchestra, Wang Yongji; Recorded in January 1989 at the Recording Studio of the Shanghai Film Industry; "Celestial Harmonies 13026" (1989)
*Piano Circus(Klavier-Ensemble); Recorded in 1990; "Argo 430380" (1990)
*In C - 25th Anniversary Concert; Recorded live on January 14, 1990 at the New Music Theatre and Life on the Water, San Francisco; "New Albion 71" (1995)
*Quebec Contemporary Music Society, Raoul Duguay; Recorded live on June 12, 1997 at the Salle Pierre-Mercure
*Ictus; Recorded live on May 31, 1997 at Chapelle des Brigitines, Brussels. Slightly overdubbed at Acoustic Recording Studio, Brussels.; "Cypres" (2006)
*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 (Band); Recorded on September 21, 2000 at Unique Studio, NYC; "Enja (Soulfood Music)" (2002)
*Re-Sound; Recorded in Australia
*European Music Project, Zignorii; Recorded from 19 to 22 April 2001 at Sendesaal des Funkhauses Köln.; "Wergo"; 2002
*Acid Mothers Temple & the Melting Paraiso U.F.O.; Recorded at FTF Studio, Indo-yo and Acid Mothers Temple; "Squealer 37." (2003)
*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 (Vokalensemble), 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)

Impact on other music

"In C" has been credited with influencing many pop and rock artists including The Who. Riley's influence can be seen in such Who songs as "Baba O'Riley" and "Won't Get Fooled Again".

In his composition "The Dharma at Big Sur", John Adams paid homage to Terry Riley with a musical pulse in the second movement similar to that found in "In C".

References

External links

* [http://www.otherminds.org/shtml/Scores.shtml OtherMinds.org Scores: In C] by Terry Riley