- Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ
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Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ is a 1973 composition by American composer Steve Reich. The piece is scored for glockenspiels, marimbas, metallophone (vibraphone without resonators), women's voices, and organ, and runs about 17 minutes.
The piece is in four sections, played without a break, marked off by changes in key and meter: 1) F dorian, in 3/4 time; 2) A flat dorian, in 2/4; 3) B flat minor, in 3/4; and 4) D flat, in 3/4.
The piece polla two interrelated musical processes: the building up of a duplicate of a preexisting pattern played by the marimbas and the glockenspiels, and the augmenting (lengthening of the duration of notes) of repeated chord cadences of the women's voices and organ. The women's voices sing a simple vowel sound, "ee," doubling upper notes of chords played by the organ. The piece is in four sections, with changes of key and meter between the sections.
The decision to double organ and women's voices was made by Reich after several months of experimentation. First he tried doubling four wind instruments with two men's and two women's voices. One attempt along this line was made with two bass clarinets and two clarinets; another involved bass trombone, trombone, flugelhorn, and trumpet. He found that the performers, both the wind players and the vocalists, had difficulty keeping in tune for long chords. Reich substituted organ for the wind instruments, and then eliminated the men's voices to avoid a sound that was "too heavy and slow moving."
References
- Reich, Steve (2002). Writings on Music, 1965-2000. USA: Oxford University Press. pp. 76–78. ISBN 0-19-511171-0.
- http://www.boosey.com/pages/cr/catalogue/cat_detail.asp?musicid=6361.
Works by Steve Reich 1960s It's Gonna Rain (1965) · Come Out (1966) · Piano Phase (1967) · Violin Phase (1967) · Pendulum Music (1968)
1970s Four Organs (1970) · Drumming (1970–1971) · Clapping Music (1972) · Six Pianos (1973) · Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ (1973) · Music for 18 Musicians (1974–1976) · Music for a Large Ensemble (1978) · Octet (1979) · Variations for Winds, Strings and Keyboards (1979)
1980s Tehillim (1981) · Vermont Counterpoint (1982) · Eight Lines (1983) · The Desert Music (1984) · Sextet (1984) · New York Counterpoint (1985) · Three Movements (1986) · The Four Sections (1987) · Electric Counterpoint (1987) · Different Trains (1988)
1990s The Cave (1993) · City Life (1994) · Proverb (1995) · Triple Quartet (1998) · Three Tales (1998–2002)
2000s Cello Counterpoint (2003) · Daniel Variations (2006) · Double Sextet (2007) · 2x5 (2008) · Mallet Quartet (2009)
2010s WTC 9/11 (2010)
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