Steve Reich - Triple Quartet
(Nonesuch)

"Triple Quartet" is Reich’s most recent piece to get the recorded release treatment; hence, it gets headliner status. There are three other pieces on the record, however, and although they’re not “all new” (in NBC terms), they’re just as worth hearing if not more so. The second is a new arrangement of "Violin Phase" for electric guitar, entitled "Electric Guitar Phase." Next comes a new recording of 1977’s "Music for a Large Ensemble." And to close out the collection, "Vermont Counterpoint" is re-done as "Tokyo/Vermont Counterpoint," with flutes eradicated in favor of MIDI controller marimbas.

Written in 1999, "Triple Quartet" is performed by the Kronos Quartet. Well, the Kronos Quartet times three. In performance, as well as on this recording, they play live to two pre-recorded versions of themselves. The piece is in three movements over 15 minutes, and it represents Reich’s more dissonant side. It’s a side I’ve never been in favor of, especially comparing it to the constantly fluid, harmonious beauty of Music for 18 Musicians or Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ. However, Triple Quartet currently stands as the finest example of Reich’s capability for dissonance. Not only is it at its most listenable, but it also nearly attains the elegance of his most ethereal pieces.

The twelve string parts aggressively run through the cyclical structure in the first movement, with an expressive violence that leaves you feeling a bit uneasy. But the few moments in this movement where the dissonance gives way to something that sounds like traditional beauty appropriately foreshadow what’s to come. The second movement shifts down-tempo and remains in the steady key of E minor for 4 minutes, letting a peaceful, Eastern-influenced melody come to the forefront and begin to layer in a canon. By the time the grand melody overtakes all twelve players, the third movement picks up the fast pace and hostile chords whence we began. Yet it perfectly sums up what we’ve heard so far with an effortless contrast between the intense cacophony of the first and the flowing splendor of the second.

"Electric Guitar Phase" (2001, but originally 1967 as "Violin Phase") is recorded, arranged, and produced by guitar virtuoso Dominic Frasca. For those unfamiliar with Reich’s phasing work: a single melody line is played, beginning just on one instrument, and then on a second. The copy of the melody line then begins playing faster, ever so slightly, until it matches the original tempo once again, only beginning an eighth note ahead. The second instrument then cycles through until it finds itself back where it started, and then, in the case of this piece, a third and fourth copy each arrive intermittently, fading in and out at different points. Frasca’s guitar tone varies in distortion and volume throughout, and as the varying patterns fade in and out to different results over 15 minutes, the listener begins to feel embedded in the texture. Many of Reich’s pieces, when done correctly, have such a quality so that while they’re occurring, the listener becomes completely disinterested in when and/or if it will end. Frasca’s arrangement and performance take on this quality.

"Music for a Large Ensemble" (1977) takes yet another quarter-hour of your time to do the same. Alan Pierson conducts the instrumental ensembles Ossia and Alarm Will Sound. This piece can be found on a 1980 ECM release along with the original "Violin Phase," and although there’s virtually no difference in the music in this version (aside from the tempo being maybe half a beat slower), the production is warmer, with a more natural room-reverb, giving it a more receptive quality. Like Music for 18 Musicians, a sounding vibraphone signals cues for change in melody and structure. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite match the success of said comparative piece, as the complexity of the melodic structure is only given 1/4 the time to unfold, and so in the end, it feels a bit incomplete. But it’s good enough for repeat listens.

Finally, "Tokyo/Vermont Counterpoint" (2001, but originally 1981 as "Vermont Counterpoint" alone) gets a percussive treatment from Japanese percussionist Mika Yoshida. Reich’s Counterpoint series utilizes solo players to play against at least a dozen pre-recorded versions of themselves, playing manifestations and harmonies of a melodic pattern. There are often three clear movements, although they aren’t designated in this piece. Originally commissioned for John Adams, "Vermont Counterpoint" was written to be played on flute; Yoshida transforms the arrangement into MIDI marimbas, played on KAT controllers with mallets. I, for one, believe this is a major improvement. I much prefer the crisp, staccato quality of the marimba, and as Reich explains in the liner notes, MIDI works better because “the long duration of [natural] marimba notes always made the results muddy.” This is a gorgeous reworking, and like Reich’s other Counterpoint pieces, well worth the price of the entire disc.

Although Music for 18 Musicians is Reich’s magnum opus, this is definitely an excellent place to introduce yourself to his work, and a required buy for anyone who’s already a fan. So pick up a copy. Pick up a copy for your friend. Pick up multiple copies for multiple friends. Play it on a boombox with batteries everywhere you go. Then investigate the rest of his catalogue, and repeat. Those who say it all sounds the same haven’t listened hard enough. And hopefully, your great-great-grandson George will be listening to it while working out on his hovering treadmill, as it begins to malfunction and send him speeding around and around on the belt, calling for his wife Jane to get him off that crazy thing.

spencer owen 2001 oct 19