Terry Riley: Four Four Three

Chronique

Terry Riley's proto-minimalist work In C continues to fascinate musicians far beyond the U.S. more than 50 years after its composition (if that's the right word). Part of the reason is that the work, consisting of small fragments that must be played in order but may be deployed in many ways, allows, even demands creative contributions from the performers. This version from a pair of Dutch groups ranks high on the creativity scale and even higher on that of engineering. The work is performed by the Ragazze Quartet (all female, as the moniker suggests) with the Slagwerk Den Haag -- the Hague Percussion Ensemble. The group of players is considerably smaller than Riley's suggestion of perhaps 35, but the 40-minute duration of the performance is in his ballpark. The latter group begins the work at the low threshold of audibility (do not adjust your set), and the work builds to a crescendo that emphasizes the surface displacement (C is always there) from the titular C tonality. The players' control over this large-scale gesture is impressive, and all the more so is Channel Classics' much-vaunted engineering, executed at the MCO Studio 1 in Hilversum: it's impressive on ordinary stereo equipment, and those with superior sonic resources should be in for a real treat. For the shorter and rarer Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector (1980), written for the Kronos Quartet, the Ragazze ragazze are joined by a jazz trio for a unique realization of the work. Throw in a unique, groovy (well, at least grooved) CD cover, and you have an essential recording for Riley fans and for audiophiles, and a good introduction to Riley for anybody.

© James Manheim /TiVo