Wednesday, November 20, 1996
MUSIC:
Composer’s ‘City Life’ CD weaves ordered tapestry from entropic
sounds of urban lifeBy Susan Lee
Daily Bruin Contributor
The tools of his trade are simple: a room, an upright piano,
tape recorder and computer, all of which are used in varying
degrees. And of course, pencil and paper to jot down any notes.
Up front and to the point, composer and pianist Steve Reich
wastes no time.
"Let’s get right down to what’s important. I’m here to talk
about my music so let’s talk about my music," Reich proclaims.
And it is this music that those attending tomorrow’s concert
will hear when Reich and Theater of Voices, an acclaimed vocal
group directed by Paul Hillier, perform at the Veterans Wadsworth
Theater.
The program will feature the premier of "Proverb" and "Nagoya
Marimbas," both on Reich’s newest and freshest CD, "City Life."
"Proverb," the program’s centerpiece, features the influence of
medieval French composer Perotin. The piece is a composition for
voices but includes electric organs and vibraphones. Though
"Proverb" is given to changing meters and rhythmic freedoms, the
piece holds a redeeming quality in the harmony between the singers.
However, the text of "Proverb" is not an actual proverb but comes
from author Ludwig Wittgenstein, whose book says "how small a
thought it takes to fill a whole life," Reich says.
Though he is often called one of the foremost minimalist
composers in contemporary music, Reich feels the term "minimalism"
is just another category used by historians to label what he and
his fellow composers do.
"I leave that up to you people," Reich says, referring to anyone
who writes about his music. "People called Debussy an impressionist
because of the similarity between what he did musically and what he
did on canvas … In the late 60’s, early 70’s the style of music
we were playing reminded people of certain things, like sculptures
or paintings and they applied the term to it … but composers
don’t think this way."
The most unique aspect of "City Life" lies in Reich’s ability to
tie together such a smorgasbord of city sounds into something that
sounds musical. The chaos of New York life can be heard in the
subway chimes, car alarms, boat horns and police sirens as well as
slamming doors, and it is surprising to hear how well these sounds
fit in with the music.
Reich is quick to point out that others, like Pink Floyd, have
also used various sounds in their compositions.
"In the 20th century, there is an interest to bring modern
sounds into the world," Reich says. "There’s an old history of
things … using a sampling keyboard you can use certain times and
rhythms. People are shocked to push a flat and hear a boat horn
come from the keyboard."
Though CD buyers responded favorably to "City Life," Reich’s
earlier works did not experience such immediate acceptance.
"In the late 1960’s when I first started with ‘Come Out’ and
‘It’s Gonna Rain,’ people called on radio and said ‘the needle’s
stuck in groove’ … They really said this. It caused a riot …
When we performed it with four organs, there were people screaming
at us," Reich recollects. "But people now hear and like them (those
pieces). This music has influenced David Bowie, Brian Eno, the
Talking Heads … those groups and others have made many of these
ideas palatable and recorded music is now more accessible as people
are taking more interest in music."
Not only is music a powerful force for the younger people but it
has an equal grip on Reich.
"I’d rather be blind than deaf," Reich proclaims. "Music is a
powerful force."
With about 41 years of composing experience behind him, Reich
has left his own powerful wealth of music for the next
generation.
Although his previous album, "Different Trains," will not be
performed tomorrow, it garnered much attention, as well as a Grammy
Award, and it utilizes techniques which Reich is now well-known
for. By mixing the prerecorded voices of those who had rode the
trains to Poland during World War II, Reich composes a mind-numbing
homage to "the living and the dead" victims of the Holocaust.
"Different Trains" deals with my childhood in America and also
the trains riding to Poland. Few ever returned and their voices
were recorded to be used; for example, the melody speech was used
with string instruments," Reich says. "If you notice, the first
voice was from Chicago and Virginia, which reminds me of my mother
… The voice of the black person was the porter who took care of
me for the first five years of my life from New York to L.A. …
there’s just an immense emotional drive with that piece."
MUSIC: Steve Reich performs with Theater of Voices Thursday at
the Veterans Wadsworth Theater at 8 p.m. Tickets are $30, $27, $9
students. For more info, call 825-2101.
UCLA Center for the Performing Arts
Minimalist composer and pianist Steve Reich collaborates with
the acclaimed vocal chamber group Theater of Voices.