Whilst briefly researching the
styles above, I found my study on minimalism to be the most interesting, as I
believe its techniques have been carried through into many other genres. I have therefore chosen to write about the
life and works of Terry Riley.
Terry Riley is a Californian born
composer dubbed as the leader of the minimalism movement. His most famous piece, In C (1968) shaped new and innovative musical ideas and has been
described as:
“the first masterpiece of minimalism
and the work that ushered in a new musical era”. Service (2013)
It appears that Riley’s inspiration
came whilst at University where he met La Monte Young, an modern and innovative
composer who devised ‘drone music’, a series of repeating or sustained motifs,
which feature heavily in Riley’s later works.
At this time Riley was also close
to a modern dancer, Anna Halprin, who almost certainly influenced Riley’s
modernist views.
Shortly after this Riley composed In C, which was devised using 53
separate motifs overlaid to create a new and exciting sound. Riley himself described his work by saying:
“essentially my contribution was to introduce
repetition into Western music as the main ingredient without any melody over
it, without anything just repeated patterns, musical patterns.”
Following his success with In C, Riley spent a lot of time
travelling India to study classical music with Pandit Pran Nath. It is clear in his later compositions that
his passion for Indian classical music has very much influenced his works and
shaped his future sounds. Whilst in a
teaching post during the 1970’s, Riley began working with David Harrington and
the Kronos Quartet and composed many pieces with the string sections. These pieces included the Sun Rings Suite (2008), which was
written for NASA.
When listening to a variety of
pieces by Riley, it is clear to see the various influences that he has taken on
board as his career has progressed. For
example, A Rainbow Curved Air (1969) contains
Young’s ‘Drone Music’, whilst later compositions such as Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector (1990) contain both the
elements of minimalism and distinct
elements of Indian classical music.
Sun Rings (2008) not only reflects Riley’s
previous techniques, but also show his development whilst working with the
Kronos Quartet. This piece, commissioned
by NASA, is somehow more melodic that his other compositions, and ‘tells the
story’ of the planets. Other works, such
as G Song (1973), hold a jazz feel to them with prevalent brass sections
and plucky baselines, which provide a stark contrast to Riley’s other works.
Personally I have very mixed
feeling when it comes to Riley’s works.
On one hand I find the repetition in some of his pieces to be quite
monotonous and hypnotic, whilst in pieces such as Sun Rings, I find this repetition creates a very dramatic and
powerful effect. However, overall I find
the experimentation and blending of such unconventional techniques to be very
inspiring. Whilst the more traditional
musical conventions are still very much relevant in today’s society, I believe
it is visionaries such as Riley who have undoubtedly changed the way music is
written today.
It is clear to see that Riley was
destined to shape the face of music and his theories of techniques of
minimalism are echoed through our most popular genres today. Riley’s extensive work with other visionary
artists across the world seems to have given him a unique perspective on
combining both the complexity and simplicity of music. His background in working with dancers,
street theatre, world and jazz musicians and other visionaries has not only led
to an amazingly vast repertoire, but created something quite unique by blending
together so many genres, ideas and techniques.
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