Steve Reich - The Desert Music (1984/2001), chamber version

I really enjoy this powerful and intense recording/arrangement of the piece by Alan Pierson. The amplified voices sound so epic and eerie, in a biblically accurate angel sort of way, and the strings play with such vigor. It really suits the mood of the piece. Reich's Program Note (from https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Steve... Following the arrangement of the text, three cycles of harmonies were composed to serve as the basis for the individual movements. I chose to present these cycles as a series of pulsing chords, a similar in rhythm to the pulses in my earlier Music for 18 Musicians, but more chromatic and "darker" in harmony than the earlier piece, to suit the text. The cycle of the 1st and 5th movements cadences, though with some ambiguity, on a D Dorian center. This ambiguity resides in the fact that a prominent A altered dominant chord follows the D, but an F altered dominant proceeds it. The cycle of the 2nd and 4th movements does not clearly cadence on any center, though it too contains a prominent altered A dominant chord. The cycle for the large 3rd movement is the most ambiguous of all since all the chords are altered dominants with their root moving in major and minor 3rds making a cadence impossible. Thus the overall harmonic movement of is from the possibility of a D Dorian center to more and more ambiguity, until in the 3rd movement, where the text would seem to suggest it, there is no clear harmonic center at all. This ambiguity more or less remains until well into the 5th movement when, just before the chorus enters, there is a large orchestral cadence, albeit coming from that F altered dominant. This chord is then used to move from one movement to the other at each change of tempo. The piece ends with the women's voices, violins and mallet instruments pulsing the notes G, C, F, A which are the common tones to both the A altered dominant and the D Dorian. The piece therefore ends with a certain harmonic ambiguity, partially, but not fully, resolved. As to the meaning of the text and music I hope that it speaks for itself. 00:00 I. Chords pulse gorgeously in and out, shifting between dark and light harmonies 01:27 Brass and synth swells intensify the soundscape 02:41 An energetic ostinato in the strings, gradually overlapping with itself more and more complexly 03:20 Glowing choral clusters develop rhythmically, shifting to a darker sound at 4:18 (5:14) 05:30 An epically luminous D Dorian chord as (5:52) the orchestra gains a vigorous dancelike energy 05:59 A hypnotic soundscape as the pulsing returns, layering with the string ostinato 07:12 II. Biting percussion chords suddenly begin the highly rhythmic movement II (7:49) 08:00 Almost primitive-sounding rhythmic interplay between the flutes and percussion 08:34 Searingly intense woman's voices, before the pulsing returns to break the rhythm apart 09:04 Highly rhythmic vocal articulations blend with the rhythmless pulsations 09:44 Recapitulation with extended, more sinister harmonies (10:47)(11:50) (12:00) 13:03 III. Resounding percussion chords suddenly end II; clockwork percussion rhythms begin 13:22 A hypnotic string melody/ostinato begins, gradually overlapping with itself 14:47 Ominous chords begin to fade in and out 18:20 A somber text begins, harmonized appropriately bleakly 19:50 A sudden increase in energy: a highly rhythmic canon oppressively repeats "it is a principle of music to repeat the theme," harshly harmonized 22:03 The voices coincide on intense chords "as the pace mounts" 22:51 A luminously bright canon on "difficult," interjections of the dark harmonies of before (23:55) Accented, angular canon 24:43 A final intense chorale as the pulsing returns 25:11 (Resonating vibes with the bass drums here sounds so cool), announcing the return of the hypnotic string ostinato 27:56 Blaring sirens (mic'ed violas) create a terrifying atmosphere with the ominous swelling chords (28:58) 29:31 Reprise of the bleak chorale, at a more intense higher pitch 31:09 IV. The mirror to II, strengthened by fuller orchestration and harmonies 32:03 (flute and percussion rhythmic interplay) 33:09 (rhythmic articulations blending with the pulsations) 34:12 V. The energetic string ostinato returns 34:52 Alternating bright and dark chords fade in and out as gorgeous melodic lines appear above and below (37:07) 38:02 Powerful choral chords suddenly stop the movement 39:01 A wild dancelike energy envelopes the orchestra, rapidly changing tonalities 40:15 Burning, intensely climactic chords 40:48 Celestial flutes and violins as the pulsations slowly fade away 43:14 A beautifully wispy end to the piece Score available from Boosey and Hawkes: https://www.boosey.com/cr/music/Steve... Composer: Steve Michael Reich (October 3, 1936 –) Performers: Alarm Will Sound and Ossia conducted by Alan Pierson Poetry: William Carlos Williams How I make my videos: https://github.com/CMajSeven/Workflow...