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Philip Glass' 1987 album Songs from the Trilogy is made up of brief selections from his three portrait operas, Einstein on the Beach (1976), Satyagraha (1980), and Akhnaten (1983). It gives a good idea of what the music from the operas sounds like, but at the same time it misrepresents what the music is actually about. In developing his "music with repetitive structures" (the description he preferred over "minimalism"), Glass was creating a new kind of experience, one in which the traditional temporal expectations of a piece of music are overturned, where changes happen incrementally and very slowly over a long (sometimes a very long) span of time. A common response to his work, particularly his earlier pieces, including Einstein, was boredom followed by a visceral jolt when the listener was suddenly hit by the power of the gradually evolving changes. The snippets on this album convey the sound of Glass' music, but their brevity rules out the possibility of their having the impact the composer intended. "Trial-Prison" from Einstein on the Beach, for instance, is cut from 18 minutes to three, and most of the excerpts from Satyagraha and Akhnaten suffer a same fate, shortened to a third to a half of their original length. Still, the album is not without its merits. The gripping performances are by the Philip Glass Ensemble in Einstein, and in the case of Satyagraha and Akhnaten, taken from the original cast albums. Tenor Douglas Perry is a standout in the role of Gandhi in Satyagraha; his tone is sweet and fresh and his delivery achingly poignant. Soprano Iris Hiskey's crystalline, wordless vocalise in "Bed" from Einstein is eerily mesmerizing. In all the operas, Sony's sound is exemplary. The album may not offer much of a real sense of what the operas are like, but if it whets listeners' appetites to seek out the complete recordings it will have served a worthy purpose.
© Stephen Eddins /TiVo
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Douglas Perry, Tenor - Douglas Perry, Performer - New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Christopher Keene, Conductor - Philip Glass, Composer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Constance DeJong, Lyricist
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment
Douglas Perry, Tenor - Douglas Perry, Performer - New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Christopher Keene, Conductor - Philip Glass, Composer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Constance DeJong, Lyricist
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment
Dennis Russell Davies, Conductor - Philip Glass, Composer - Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Paul Esswood, Tenor - Paul Esswood, Performer - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer
(P) 1987 Sony Music Entertainment
Philip Glass, Producer - Philip Glass, Performer - Philip Glass, Composer - Michael Riesman, Conductor - Lucinda Childs, Speaker - Richard Landry, Bass Clarinet - Jon Gibson, Soprano Saxophone - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Philip Glass Ensemble, Performer
(P) 1979 Sony Music Entertainment
Dennis Russell Davies, Conductor - Philip Glass, Composer - Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Milagro Vargas, Soprano - Paul Esswood, Tenor - Paul Esswood, Performer - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer
(P) 1987 Sony Music Entertainment
Douglas Perry, Tenor - Douglas Perry, Performer - New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Christopher Keene, Conductor - Philip Glass, Composer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Constance DeJong, Lyricist - Robert McFarland, Baritone
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment
Philip Glass, Producer - Philip Glass, Organ - Philip Glass, Performer - Philip Glass, Composer - Michael Riesman, Conductor - Lucinda Childs, Speaker - Sheryl Sutton, Speaker - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Philip Glass Ensemble, Performer
(P) 1979 Sony Music Entertainment
Robert McFarland, Baritone - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Sheryl Woods, Soprano - Claudia Cummings, Soprano - Rhonda Liss, Alto - Scott Reeve, Bass (Vocal) - Philip Glass, Composer - Christopher Keene, Conductor - Douglas Perry, Tenor - Douglas Perry, Performer - New York City Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Constance DeJong, Lyricist
(P) 1985 Sony Music Entertainment
Philip Glass, Composer - Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Milagro Vargas, Soprano - Paul Esswood, Tenor - Paul Esswood, Performer - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Dennis Russel Davies, Conductor
(P) 1987 Sony Music Entertainment
Iris Hiskey, Soprano - Philip Glass, Producer - Philip Glass, Performer - Philip Glass, Composer - Michael Riesman, Conductor - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Philip Glass Ensemble, Performer - George Andoniadis, Organ
(P) 1979 Sony Music Entertainment
Philip Glass, Composer - Stuttgart State Opera Orchestra & Chorus, Performer - Michael Riesman, Producer - Milagro Vargas, Soprano - Paul Esswood, Tenor - Paul Esswood, Performer - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Dennis Russel Davies, Conductor
(P) 1987 Sony Music Entertainment
Philip Glass, Producer - Philip Glass, Organ - Philip Glass, Performer - Philip Glass, Composer - Lucinda Childs, Speaker - Paul Zukofsky, Violin - Sheryl Sutton, Speaker - Kurt Munkacsi, Producer - Philip Glass Ensemble, Performer
(P) 1979 Sony Music Entertainment
Album review
Philip Glass' 1987 album Songs from the Trilogy is made up of brief selections from his three portrait operas, Einstein on the Beach (1976), Satyagraha (1980), and Akhnaten (1983). It gives a good idea of what the music from the operas sounds like, but at the same time it misrepresents what the music is actually about. In developing his "music with repetitive structures" (the description he preferred over "minimalism"), Glass was creating a new kind of experience, one in which the traditional temporal expectations of a piece of music are overturned, where changes happen incrementally and very slowly over a long (sometimes a very long) span of time. A common response to his work, particularly his earlier pieces, including Einstein, was boredom followed by a visceral jolt when the listener was suddenly hit by the power of the gradually evolving changes. The snippets on this album convey the sound of Glass' music, but their brevity rules out the possibility of their having the impact the composer intended. "Trial-Prison" from Einstein on the Beach, for instance, is cut from 18 minutes to three, and most of the excerpts from Satyagraha and Akhnaten suffer a same fate, shortened to a third to a half of their original length. Still, the album is not without its merits. The gripping performances are by the Philip Glass Ensemble in Einstein, and in the case of Satyagraha and Akhnaten, taken from the original cast albums. Tenor Douglas Perry is a standout in the role of Gandhi in Satyagraha; his tone is sweet and fresh and his delivery achingly poignant. Soprano Iris Hiskey's crystalline, wordless vocalise in "Bed" from Einstein is eerily mesmerizing. In all the operas, Sony's sound is exemplary. The album may not offer much of a real sense of what the operas are like, but if it whets listeners' appetites to seek out the complete recordings it will have served a worthy purpose.
© Stephen Eddins /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 12 track(s)
- Total length: 00:53:42
- Main artists: Philip Glass
- Composer: Philip Glass
- Label: Sony Classical
- Genre: Classical Experimental Minimal Music
(P) 1979, 1985, 1987 SONY BMG MUSIC ENTERTAINMENT
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