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Minimal Materials 2
16 September 2012 at 8:45PM
Minimal Materials 2
Kings Place 90 York Way, London, N1 9AG United Kingdom 020 7520 1440 http://www.kingsplace.co.uk/Sound Intermedia
London Sinfonietta Steve Reich first developed his Counterpoint pieces in the 1980s, using in distilled form some of the compositional techniques he had developed from as early as the late 1960s.
While these pieces can be performed live, using many instrumentalists, the idea of one live musician performing against a recording of themselves came from Reich’s earlier experiments that developed such techniques as phasing (a musical pattern shifting inexorably forward against a steady version of itself).
The Counterpoints use short melodic phrases which are mostly played in canon, repeated at a fixed distance from each other. Each piece progresses through the differently paced sections by adding layer upon layer of interlocking ideas.
While it’s possible to hear the musical evolution of each piece as the fragments build up, the listener can eventually just revel in the fascinating and energetic textures, picking out new melodic patterns that emerge, guided sometimes by the soloist who also layers these on top.
Steve Reich : Vermont Counterpoint
Steve Reich : New York Counterpoint
Steve Reich : Cello Counterpoint
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