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Steve Reich: Daniel Variations
ByDaniel Variations contains two piecesthe four-part title suite and three-part "Variations for Vibes, Piano & Stringsand picks up, to some degree, where You Are (Variations) (Nonesuch, 2005) left off. With "Daniel Variations" Reich has, once again, selected four sentence fragmentsas much for their cadence as their contentas the foundation for each movement of this suite dedicated to the late journalist Daniel Pearl, who was kidnapped and murdered by Islamist extremists in 2002. Reich uses two sourcestwo from Pearl, including the quote "My name is Daniel Pearl. (I'm a Jewish American from Encino California)," which he spoke while videotaped by the extremists, and two from the Old Testament's "Book of Daniel."
Scored for twelve voices from The Los Angeles Master Choir, four pianos, two clarinets, four strings and six percussionists, the thirty-minute suite contains some of Reich's darkest and most angular writing to date. The first part in particular, "I saw a dream. Images upon my bed and visions in my head frightened me," bears the relentless pulse heard in much of Reich's work, but the soprano and tenor voices mesh in a disquieting dissonance that's less common.
Reich's use of violins, viola and celloinstruments by no means new to Reich, but which are rarely so dominantalso demarcate the suite, most notably in the second movement, "My Name is Daniel Pearl" which, along with the final movement, "I sure hope Gabriel likes my music, when the day is done," provide some light to contrast the more disturbing tenor of the bible-centric movements.
In contrast, "Variations for Vibes, Piano & Strings" is far more optimistic in tone, its defining characteristic being Reich's use of three string quartets alongside the two pianos and four vibraphones. Despite the often fragmentary nature of Reich's melodies, they're always surprisingly singable, another quality that figures large in many of Reich's compositions. The second movement, "Slow," still possesses Reich's persistent forward motion but, with its softer dynamic, is the most unerringly beautiful piece on the disc.
Reich's use of repetition to create a hypnotic effect has been a significant inspiration to Swiss pianist/composer Nik Bärtsch's "Ritual Groove Music" and Pat Metheny and Lyle May's extended composition, The Way Up (Nonesuch, 2005). But while his stylistic markers are unmistakable, albums like Daniel Variations do represent continued evolution gradual, to be sure, but evolution nevertheless.
Track Listing
Daniel Variations (2006): I Saw a Dream; My name is Daniel Pearl (I'm a Jewish American from Encino California), Let the dream fall back on the dreaded, I sure hope Gabriel like my music, when the day is done; Variations for Vibes, Pianos & Strings (2005): Fast, Slow, Fast.
Personnel
Steve Reich
composer / conductorLos Angeles Master Choir, Grant Gershon, conductor (1-4); Tania Batson: soprano (1-4); Karen Hogle Brown: soprano (1-4); Claire Fedoruk: soprano (1-4); Rachelle Fox: soprano (1-4); Marie Hodgson: soprano (1-4); Emily Lin: soprano (1-4); Pablo Cor
Album information
Title: Daniel Variations | Year Released: 2008 | Record Label: Nonesuch Records
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About Steve Reich
Instrument: Composer / conductor
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