Vermont Counterpoint (1982) Steve Reich (b. 1936) New York Counterpoint (1985) Steve Reich I. Dance Patterns (2002) Steve Reich. Eight Lines (1983) Steve Reich arranged by Luis Rivera. The Twelfth Concert of Academic Year 2016-2017 RECITAL HALL LAIDLAW PERFORMING ARTS CENTER Wednesday, October 12, 2016 7:30 p.m.

Electric Counterpoint is a minimalist composition by the American composer Steve Reich. The piece consists of three movements, 'Fast,' 'Slow', and 'Fast'. Reich has offered two versions of the piece: one for electric guitar and tape (the tape part featuring two electric bass guitars and up to ten electric guitars),^[1] the other for an ensemble of guitars. The work shares similarities with Reich's New York Counterpoint.

First recording[edit]

It was first recorded in 1987 by guitarist Pat Metheny, who made extensive use of overdubbing, and was released along with Reich's Different Trains, performed by the Kronos Quartet, on Nonesuch Records (catalogue number 979 176-2). Guitarists wishing to perform the piece may use Metheny's pre-recorded ensemble part or opt to record their own, adding the 13th guitar part in live performance. In 2007, the guitar ensemble Forestare made the first recording of the lesser known second version, on ATMA Classique.

Influence[edit]

As with other pieces by Reich, Electric Counterpoint has influenced many modern artists, such as the Orb, which sampled the third movement of the Pat Metheny recording as one of the hooks of 'Little Fluffy Clouds,' and RJD2, who sampled the piece's opening for his song 'The Proxy' from his first release, Deadringer. In 2008 Joby Burgess' Powerplant arranged the work for Xylosynth, taking influence from Metheny and the Orb. Röyksopp released two remixes of the third movement in 2010 for free, one which follows Reich's original closely and another reinterpretation titled 'Milde Salve'.^[2] Since 2012, Radiohead guitarist Jonny Greenwood has performed the piece at several festivals^[3][4] and at concerts featuring the London Contemporary Orchestra; he recorded the piece for a Nonesuch album of Reich works titled Radio Rewrite released that same year, the title piece of which was inspired by two Radiohead songs.^[5]

Maxwell for rhino 6 crack. The third movement was included in the Edexcel GCSE Anthology of Music, in the second area of study, 'Music in the 20th Century'. It was included in the video game Civilization V as one of the 'great works of music' and was performed by during the Bluecoats Drum and Bugle Corps 2015 production 'Kinetic Noise'.^[6]

Recordings[edit]

• Electric Counterpoint, Pat Metheny soloist, 1989. CD. Included on Steve Reich: Works 1965-1995^[7]
• Electric Counterpoint, David Tanenbaum, New Albion Records, 1994. CD^[8]
• Electric Counterpoint, Röyksopp, two versions, 2010.^[9]
• Electric Counterpoint, Jonny Greenwood soloist, on the album Radio Rewrite, Nonesuch, 2014. CD/download.^[10]

Notes[edit]

1. ^'Electric Counterpoint, for… - Details - AllMusic'. AllMusic. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
2. ^'Track Of The Month April 'Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast' - Röyksopp'. April 1, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
3. ^'Jonny Greenwood // Electric Counterpoint'. Open'ner Festival. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
4. ^'Hear Jonny Greenwood Perform At Big Ears Festival '14'. Stereogum. Retrieved March 10, 2015.
5. ^'Steve Reich's 'Radio Rewrite' Featuring Alarm Will Sound, Jonny Greenwood, Vicky Chow Out Now'. Retrieved October 29, 2014.
6. ^Drum Corps International (March 23, 2016). '2015 Bluecoats - Kinetic Noise'. Retrieved November 8, 2018 – via YouTube.
7. ^'Steve Reich - Kronos Quartet / Pat Metheny - Different Trains / Electric Counterpoint'. Discogs. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
8. ^'Archived copy'. Archived from the original on May 20, 2009. Retrieved May 8, 2009.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
9. ^'Track Of The Month April 'Electric Counterpoint: III. Fast' - Röyksopp'. April 1, 2010. Retrieved November 8, 2018.
10. ^'Nonesuch Records Radio Rewrite'. Nonesuch Records Official Website. Retrieved November 8, 2018.

The Cave is a multimedia opera in three acts by Steve Reich to an English libretto by his wife Beryl Korot. It was first performed in 1993 in Vienna by the Steve Reich Ensemble, conducted by Paul Hillier. The title 'The Cave' refers to The Cave of the Patriarchs in Hebron, where Abraham and Sarah (and several other major religious figures) are buried.

The Cave of the Patriarchs is of unusual interest in that it is a sacred place where Muslims, Jews and Christians pray. The music and a major part of the libretto in the opera is derived directly from, and includes spoken responses from, Israeli, Palestinian and American interviewees who were asked questions about the story of Abraham. The sound track also includes readings from the religious texts that detail the story of Abraham, and a recording of the ambient sound that is found in the ancient building that surrounds the sacred site.

The opera uses recorded speech as a source for melodies, a technique that Steve Reich first used in the 1988 Different Trains.

Plot[edit]

The main narrative thread that runs through the opera is the story of the life of Abraham, as it is told in the various religious texts, and how this story is now understood and interpreted, using modern-day accounts by individual people from three different major religious and cultural contexts. During the individual interviews, Steve Reich and Beryl Korot asked questions such as 'Who is Abraham?', 'Who is Sarah?' and 'Who is Ishmael?' and recorded answers that were given by Israeli, Palestinian and American interviewees. These three groups of people viewed the story of Abraham/Ibrahim and his immediate family in varying ways.

Brief spoken extracts from the interviews were used both as they were recorded during the interviews, but also as repeated musical phrases. The melodic phrases used in the opera are all taken directly from the intonation, tone, stress, and rhythm of the natural spoken phrases and sentences used by the individuals interviewed. In other words, the musical phrases are based on the prosody which can be heard in the phrases and sentences spoken by the individuals. Images of the interviewees are also shown on an array of video screens.

Act I[edit]

1. Typing Music (Genesis XVI)
2. Who is Abraham?
3. Genesis XII
4. Who is Sarah?
5. Who is Hagar?
6. Typing Music Repeat
7. Who is Ishmael?
8. Genesis XVIII
9. Who is Isaac?
10. Genesis XXI
11. The casting out of Ishmael and Hagar
12. Machpelah Commentary
13. Genesis XXV (chanted in Hebrew from the Torah by Ephrim Isaac)
14. Interior of the Cave

Act II[edit]

1. Surah 3 (chanted in Arabic from the Koran by Sheikh Dahoud Atalah, Muqri of Al-Aksa Mosque)
2. Who is Ibrahim?
3. Who is Hajar?
4. The near sacrifice
5. El Khalil Commentary
6. Interior of the cave

Act III[edit]

1. Who is Abraham?
2. Who is Sarah?
3. Who is Hagar?
4. Who is Ishmael?
5. The Binding of Isaac
6. The Cave of Macpelah

Performers[edit]

• Vocal Quartet: 2 Sopranos, Tenor, Baritone
• 2 reed players (flute, oboe, cor anglais, clarinet, bass clarinet)
• 4 percussionists (vibraphone, marimbaphone, bass drum, kick bass drums, claves)
• 3 keyboard players (piano, sampler, computer keyboards)
• String quartet (2 violins, viola, cello)^[1]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

• Two interviews with Steve Reich by Bruce Duffie; The second (from November, 1995) has a long discussion about The Cave