Smalts speelt ‘In C’
In C van Terry Riley uit 1964 is een van de startpunten van de minimal music. De partituur laat veel ruimte voor de uitvoerders. Zo staat hun aantal en het instrumentarium niet vast, en mogen ze individueel bepalen hoe vaak de 53 motieven in aangehouden staccato tempo herhaald worden. De versie van Smalts is een bijzondere.
Further detail in English in honour of mister Riley
The Minimal classic associated with Terry Riley’s name is his 1964 piece In C. It is undoubtedly a major piece: a statement in many ways. The work in the ‘easy’ key of C Major connects notated classical style music and jazz improvisation. But In C is not just to be played but to be heard as well, and deals with directing a non-hierachical group of musicians.
In C offers a wealth of textural possibilities with a score consisting of 53 melodic patterns that may be repeated as many times as desired. It can be played by any combination of instruments and by any number of instrumentalists.
In C marks some of Terry Riley’s musical ideas: 1: His interest in improvisation. 2: The inspiration of repetitive musical structures he heard and loved in North African music. The same influence affected La Monte Young, Steve Reich, Philip Glass and Colin McPhee, starting in the early 1960’s as an ‘underground scene’ in San Francisco and New York. In Europe Louis Andriessen, the late Karel Goeyvaerts, Michael Nyman, Gavin Bryars, Henryk Górecki and Arvo Pärt demonstrated a similar interest in minimal traits.
For Smalts it is principally the influence of Javanese gamelan music (which can be heard in many songs by Smalts on all their albums) that made them decide to record this work. It was written as a piece defined by the interactions between the members of a diverse group of musicians, and it would vary in terms of duration, structure and tempo every time it was played. In C appears simple to understand, but turns out rich, subtle, and diverse when heard in performance.
Terry Riley
‘I like the Sound of This One Very Much…
It Almost Sounds like One Kind of Fantastic Instrument Playing.Very Intriguing’.
Smalts extended heeft op 14 april 2002 In C gespeeld op het Grasshopper Festival 2002 in Studio Grasland.
