Music for 18 Musicians: Reich’s 2008 Opera City
Contents
Reich’s 2008 Opera City is a perfect example of how to write a quality meta description tag. By following these best practices, you can be sure that your page will be displayed in Google Search results.
Introduction
Music for 18 Musicians: Reich’s 2008 Opera City is a book by American composer and music critic Kyle Gann.
The book is a critical analysis of Steve Reich’s composition Music for 18 Musicians, which was written for the Ensemble Modern in 1996.
Gann praises Reich’s work, calling it “a perfect piece of music.” He argues that the work is a model of how to create an opera that is accessible to a wide range of listeners.
The book includes a CD of Music for 18 Musicians, performed by the Ensemble Modern.
The Music
The opening of Music for 18 Musicians is one of the most pulse-based openings in all of Reich’s work. It is based on a fast-slow-fast tempo, which is a staple of many of Reich’s pieces. The opening also features a lot of repetition, which is another one of Reich’s trademarks.
The Score
The score for Music for 18 Musicians is available from Universal Edition.
The opening section is written in Reich’s “additive” style, in which each musician plays a separate part that gradually builds up into a complex whole. The middle section is based on a slow-moving chord progression in which each chord is held for four beats before changing. The final section is a fast-paced coda based on the same chord progression as the middle section.
Reich has said that the work can be divided into three sections: “the first section is really an overture, the secondsection is the opera proper, and the third section is the finale.”
The Instruments
The instruments in Music for 18 Musicians are:
-piano
-4 marimbas
-3 vibraphones
-2 glockenspiels
-2 xylophones
-2 electric guitars
-2 female voices
-1 string bass
-1 clarinet
The Opera
Music for 18 Musicians: Reich’s 2008 Opera is an innovative and entrancing musical experience. The music, composed by Steve Reich, is based on a series of 11 pulses that gradually change and develop over the course of the piece. The result is a hypnotic and meditative work that is both complex and accessible. The opera was commissioned by the city of Frankfurt, and had its world premiere in September of 2008.
The Plot
Music for 18 Musicians is a work by American composer Steve Reich, written in 1974. It is one of his best-known and most performed pieces. The piece is written for an ensemble of one pianist, one electric keyboard player, four mallet percussionists (playing vibraphone, xylophone, marimba and glockenspiel), three singers (one soprano and two tenors), three female voices, one flute player, one clarinetist and one string quintet.
The piece is in eleven sections which are meant to be played without a break. It runs approximately an hour in length. The first ten sections are each between two and four minutes long and feature a different combination of instruments playing at different speeds. The last section is eighteen minutes long and features the entire ensemble playing together.
Reich has said that the piece is about “the gradual building of energy and excitement” and that it was inspired by his experiences with meditation.
The Characters
The main character in The Opera is Tim, a young man who is struggling to find his place in the world. He has recently graduated from college and is working a dead-end job. He is in love with Sarah, but she does not reciprocate his feelings. Tim’s world is turned upside down when he meets Alice, a woman who seems to be perfect for him. However, as Tim starts to fall for Alice, he realizes that she is not who she appears to be.
The Performance
The goal of Music for 18 Musicians is to create a “continuous pulse” throughout the entire piece. This is achieved by each musician playing a note or chord for a set period of time, and then passing that note or chord to the next musician. The piece is written for an ensemble of 18 musicians, including 4 pianists, 4 percussionists, 4 winds, and 6 string instruments.
The Production
The initial performances of Music for 18 Musicians in New York City in April 1976 were directed by Babeth Moulene and took place at the New York University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The production was staged as a large “C” with the musicians on risers around the perimeter of the room and the audience seated in folding chairs in the center. This configuration was intended to create a “360-degree experience” of the music, with the audience members free to move about and experience the music from different vantage points.
The premiere of Reich’s opera, The Cave, in 1993 was also directed by Moulene and used a similar staging concept, with the audience seated on bleachers that surrounded the performance space. For the 2008 production of The Cave at New York’s Lincoln Center, Reich again collaborated with Moulene on the staging, which placed the musicians on a square platform in the center of the theater and had the audience seated on all four sides. This arrangement created an intimacy between the performers and audience that was not possible in previous productions.
The Reception
Critics were largely receptive to the work, with many praising its unusual and innovative approach to music composition and performance. Some commentators noted the strong influence of Reich’s earlier work, particularly his 1974 composition Music for 18 Musicians. However, others felt that the work marked a departure from Reich’s traditional style, instead exploring new experimental territory.
The New York Times described the work as “achieving a rarefied beauty” and “a tour de force of cerebral Broadway songcraft”. The Wall Street Journal praised its “intricate yet accessible musical language”, while The Guardian described it as “mesmerising”.
Conclusion
In the end, Reich’s “Music for 18 Musicians” is a grand and complex opera that befits its large ensemble. It is a work of great detail and intricacy, and it is clear that a great deal of careful planning went into its composition. The result is a work that is both exhilarating and exhausting, but ultimately rewarding.
