After Reich's initial experiments with phase music, he moved on to exploring pulse -- music that had no relation to melody, but would repeat phrases of either one or several notes, increasing then decreasing in volume as long as the musician had the stamina. When repeated with several musicians playing around one key and starting them off at different times, the result was a piece that continuously evolved, sounding like a night drive through a neon city with bright sounds appearing on the horizon, coming closer, then disappearing behind. The original recording in 1978 on ECM records was a major step forward for Reich and legitimized his music beyond the experimentation of such works as "Violin Phase." Where the phase work felt insular and looped, Music for 18 Musicians stretches as far as the eye can see. The piece was rerecorded in the late '90s, but this original recording is worth checking out, even more now for the historical value.
The Thinking Man's Minimalist Steve Reich festival,Reich at NEC. 11/28 and this this but a sample of Reich's music. an ingenious young man from New York City was thinking about sound and repetition in new ways. He took a snippet of speech (a recording of a preacher intoning the phrase "It's gonna rain"), looped it, phase-shifted it in layers over itself and transformed it into an oddly beautif...
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Pulses |
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| 2 Section I |
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| 3 Section II |
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| 4 Section IIIA |
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| 5 Section IIIB |
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| 6 Section IV |
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| 7 Section V |
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| 8 Section VI |
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| 9 Section VII |
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| 10 Section VIII |
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| 11 Section IX |
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| 12 Section X |
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| 13 Section XI |
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| 14 Pulses |
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© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Music for 18 Musicians")
