A salute to Terry Riley, godfather of minimalism, on his 74th birthday
It’s time for another birthday salute, this one to Terry Riley, godfather of minimalism. He turns 74 today (June 24).
For years, I was pathetically unaware of his importance in shaping a musical genre that I find irresistible. By the time I became cognizant of minimalism in the early 1980s, the big names were Glass, Reich and Adams. I would read references to Riley in liner or program notes, but, being sadly uneducated at the time (I was practically still in swaddling clothes, after all), I didn’t bother to investigate. Besides, I never came across performances of Riley’s music back then, so I probably assumed that his stylistic descendants were all that really mattered. As the Countess de Lave in The Women might say, with a deep sigh: La naïveté! la naïveté!
Anyway, I eventually came to see the error of my ways. A couple years ago ...
I even got to experience a New York concert by Riley. Looking like a mystic in his skull cap and long white beard, he made enthralling, disarmingly contented music.
Were it not for Riley’s bold broadside in 1964, the ever-potent composition In C, we might never have witnessed the explosion of minimalism that, in various guises, is still with us. I’ve never lost my initial attraction to minimalists, even while retaining great appreciation for thorny, atonal works by many brilliant maximalists, not to mention pieces in any number of other styles. I guess I just love the refreshing change of pace and pulse and purpose that minimalism provides.
And I now feel what I should have felt all those years ago in my dark ages – deep gratitude for the man who ignited the minimalist revolution.
To celebrate Riley’s 74th birthday, here are excertps from a few distinctive interpretations of that iconic piece, In C.
Comments
Ahhh, the term "minimalist" -- as I am someone to whom that term could be applied, are you trying to make me grind my teeth to powder? ;^)
Seriously, the only thing "minimal" about Terry Riley _is_ "In C," which just happens to be a very influential "lead sheet." While the music of the "minimalists" (choke!) may seem to be quite "pared down" compared to the work of the "maximalists" (choke! as well), _true_ complexity evolves from these works when they are performed. (Indeed, the layering of timbres and lines in the work of so many pieces by "minimalist" [gag] composers usually builds to a considerable wall [or tapestry or fabric or matrix or what-have-you] of sonic material.)
Okay, now that I'm done preaching... ;^)
My favourite Riley pieces involve almost anything where he's playing a keyboard. "Shri Camel," "Descending Moonshine Dervishes," "Persian Surgery Dervishes," and "Last Camel In Paris" all feature him improvising on just-tuned organs with delay effects. I'm just sorry we don't have even _more_ recorded delicacies from him in this particular vein.
While "In C" is an important work (and can be _loads_ of fun, especially with such an open-ended format), I would ascribe even higher importance to many of his other pieces, a good number of which have been quite influential on myself and others. I actually came to his music through the magical '70s synthesizer/sequencer improvisations of Tangerine Dream, Klaus Schulze, and Manuel Göttsching; the influence was obvious!
His piano improvisations are also excellent (e.g., "Harp Of New Albion," "The Padova Concert"). These works were my first (known) exposure to exploration in just tunings. Also, the few recorded documents we have of Riley in his "Poppy Nogood" band incarnations are _most_ enjoyable!
I missed him a month or two ago -- he performed in the latter half of a concert at College Park, and I had to work that weekend evening. I don't believe he was doing any keyboard work that night, so I'm hoping he'll be in the area again before too long...
Happy birthday, Terry! May he live 74 more healthy years!!! (And may his true "Child of the '60s" spirit be with us always!)
Posted by: Doug Halfen | June 24, 2009 8:30 PM