Steve Reich: Phases - A Nonesuch Retrospective [Box set]

Steve Reich is, quite simply, one of the most important classical composers of the late 20th Century. He's the kind of composer I always point people to when they say that they like Phillip Glass - it's how I came upon him - just that he's more melodic and lyrical. In later years one could also add that he's been more experimental too. This set contains a really excellent overview of his work.

Beginning with "Music for 18 Musicians" is a little obvious but this will always (for all the advances and innovations since) remain his signature piece. It's the piece that ties Reich to minimalism and also the movements finest moment. It bustles its way across almost 70 minutes in hypnotic fashion. The version here is the slightly faster re-recording but is one of the definative pieces of music of the late 20th Century of any genre.

Disc two begins with what one could call Reich's later obsession, mixing technology with music to produce something which would not have been possible previously. Essentially a quartet piece with recordings providing both context and melody it remains possibly the strongest of these pieces primarily due to the subject matter. The playing by the Kronos Quartet also elevates the piece due to their neat interplay. The other pieces are one of Reich's early choral pieces "Thelim" which is interesting but not essential, and "8 Lines" which is short and rather beautiful echoing the "18 Musicians" piece.

Disc 3 opens with the most recent piece "You Are" which is another choral piece of a slightly larger scale. Again it's not the finest work but it is a very enjoyable piece. The rest of the disc is made up of 4 of Reich's counterpoint pieces. The first, "New York Counterpoint", has a simple overlaying of parts that are beautiful and the piece here is most worthwhile. It is followed by "Electric Counterpoint" performed by Pat Metheny it is probably best known for the chiming early section having been sampled for The Orb's "Little Fluffy Clouds" Metheny plays all 10 guitar parts and gives the piece a fluidity and beauty. Lastly the Kronos Quartet play "Triple Quartet" which has a density to it that is missing on some of their other performances.

Disc 4 begins with an early tape piece "Come Out" it's built around the idea of phasing - in which two simultaneous sounds drift in and out of synch with each other. Here a recorded voice repeats itself over and over until you realise there are two parts as they shift out of synch. It is not an easy listen but gives a vital context to some of the ideas displayed on disc 3. It is followed by "Proverb" which is another early vocal piece which has a polyphonic approach reminiscent of early music as much as anything. Again this gives a good context to both "You Are" and the disc's final piece "Desert Music". Set to the poems of William Carlos Williams, "Desert Music" was one of Reich's earliest major choral pieces and it still sounds devastatingly powerful to this day. Although not as well known as some of his work it is one of the highlights of the collection and proves that Reich has developed outside of the constrictures of minimalism far more successfully than some of his peers.

The final disc consists of "Music For Mallet Instruments, Voices, & Organ" which is ponderous and beautiful, and Reich's other seminal early minimalist masterpiece "Drumming". Like "Come Out" this is not the easiest piece to listen to at times but it does reward you - especially the final movement when the component parts are placed together.

This is a quite incredible introduction to Reich's varied work as it includes pieces from every part of his canon. From the small pieces to the vastness of "Desert Music", it's all here. At the price this is really quite exceptional value and a brillant introduction to a really significant composer which includes many definitive recordings. At the price this can even entice the curious. You might not like all of it, but there is much here to commend. An essential introduction at an amazing price.

This five-CD collection of Steve Reich contains selected works from 1966 to 2005. The performances and recordings are all first class (although most are not premier recordings).
What you get:
CD One: Music for 18 Musicians.
CD Two: Different Trains (original with Pat Metheney); Tehellim; Eight Lines (a re-scoring of Octet).
CD Three: You Are Variations; New York Counterpoint; Cello Counterpoint; Electric Counterpoint; Triple Quartet.
CD Four: Come Out; Proverb; The Desert Music.
CD Five: Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ; Drumming.
Two `essential works' are not on this compilation: the pulsating Sextet (a re-working of thematic material from The Desert Music) and the mesmeric Six Pianos.
Who is this collection for? If you're heard a few pieces of Reich and want to hear more, this is an excellent selection for the price.
If you've got some Reich recordings this collection will help fill the gaps. For those of us with the original LPs this collection provides a CD back-up which you can also take in the car.
The key element to Reich's music is beauty: both melodically and, frankly, spiritually: this is uplifting music that celebrates melody, harmony and rhythm.
For me, Music for 18 Musicians remains the masterwork. It's ever-changing melodies and counterpoints provide endless fascination. Its influence has been extraordinary. I came across it when it was broadcast in its entirety on BBC2 on a Saturday night in 1979. Those were the days!

as a "fan" of Reich's work such since the mid-nineties i was bought this box set a few years ago as a good filler of a few gaps i had in the minimalist composer's canon. "Phases" - a five cd box set is a very good overview of Reich's work with early (1960's) tape edit/phase works such as "Come Out" + "Proverb" through to his "Music for 18 Musicians", "Drumming" onto "You Are" , "The Desert Music" + for me his undeniable masterpiece - "Different Trains" from the 1980s.

i attended his 70th Birthday celebratory weekend at the London Barbican in i think 2007 for both a live verison of his hourlong "Drumming" work with the composer playing also, plus the Reich/DJ remix evening along with Konono No.1 - so hey i'm a fan overall there's no doubt. HOWEVER, "Phases" highlights the initially startlingly innovate works but also the deficiencies in his work. Minimalism for me in 2011 is starting to sound like the new middle class "intellectual" muzak of choice as Reich, Glass + Adams increasingly produce works of ever decreasing returns for the listener as all repeat, re-hash + re release old (then "new" forms in the later 60's + 70's) into ever more sickly sweet aural candy for audiences + lucrative commissions..

the early works had a freshness as well as originality of thinking ( ie re-introduction of pulse, tonality, percussive elements etc) away from the uber-intellectual modernist camp (Boulez, Carter, Xennakis etc etc) which at first was very refreshing. Reich's later works some of which are included on "Phases" such as "Tehillim", "You Are" + "Triple Quartet" (which i saw the Kronos Qrt play at the same weekend in 2007) just don't cut it as new works. the aforementioned sickly sweet vocal harmonies on the first two pieces make the complex yet at all times smooth soundscapes just TOO melodic , some dissonace amongst all the loveliness would prove very welcome. if it was good enough for Mozart, Mahler et al.. the "Triple Quartet" is a dumbed down and far less arresting "Different Trains" approaching Micheal Nyman levels of reductive composition (p.s. thats not a compliment by the way..) its also a shame that "Phases" doesnt include on of my favourites : "Variations for Winds,Strings+
Keyboards" from 1980 an alltogether more dynamic, powerful work that if present on the Reich - DG Classikon compilation.

SO - a good 5 cd overview, but ultimately a damning one perhaps. Will Reich's canon be remembered in a 100 years time ? for this collection, 3 stars going on 4.