Sextet / Piano Phase / Eight Lines

"Piano Phase , from 1967, is one of a handful of early works that Reich still acknowledges. Derived from the phasing process Reich discovered while constructing such tape pieces as Come Out , it demands complete concentration from the performers for its effects to work. Luckily, Corver and Ford are fully up to the task at hand, producing a compelling and vigorous performance. The closely miked sound features good channel separation, clarifying the density of the two-piano texture, and thus rendering the phasing process clear. The Nonesuch recording by Double Edge (Nurit Tilles and Edmund Niemann, veterans of Steve Reich and Musicians) has a more spacious acoustic with a sharper, drier quality and channel separation as clear as that of the cpo disc, allowing the listener to follow the changes in phase and pitch easily. More important, the Nonesuch performance is 50 percent longer than the London one, a difference of about seven minutes, presumably due to the observance of a greater number of repeats. The listener's interest in (or tolerance for) Piano Phase will probably dictate his or her preference for one of these recordings.

In the performance of Eight Lines , the initial attacks from the violins (a double-string quartet, the only difference between this piece and its now-deleted predecessor, the Octet) are sharp and precise; sharp, too is the rhythmic pulse, producing a jumpy edge to the piece, abetted by the dry acoustic. The LSRE performance is again shorter than the Reich-endorsed Nonesuch performance by Bang on a Can, though the main difference is in the phrasing, which tends to be a sharper staccato, driving the piece a bit harder than on the Nonesuch. A performance by the Ensemble Modern on RCA features sound that produces a better instrumental balance-the bass is notably deeper and more defined, adding dimensionality to the acoustic. My overall preference is for the Nonesuch-though all three are excellent; Bang on a Can's is less purely propulsive, capturing more of the wistful, melancholy string-writing at the heart of the piece.

This new performance of the Sextet is a minute longer than that by Reich's ensemble (Nonesuch), resulting in a very effective reading of this multifaceted work. There is notable differentiation to the instrumental voices-prominent pianos give way to shimmering mallet instruments in part I, with the bowed vibraphones adding yet another color (one unusual aspect of this recording is the absence of synthesizers, unexplained in the notes). Reich's recording presents less of an extreme contrast, producing a more homogenized sound. Amadinda, on Hungaroton, sounds similar to the cpo disc (but is less brilliantly realized). The London performance catches the jazzy syncopations as well as the more melodic, sultry aspects of the second and fourth movements.

This is a standout performance, due in some measure to the ringing clarity of the sound; more important is the superb musicianship of the performers-they clearly have this music in their blood. Seldom have I heard this level of commitment in a non-Reich-directed performance. I heard Reich and Musicians perform this piece in Boston 20 years ago, and one of the many pleasures of that concert was in watching the musicians quietly, efficiently moving around the instruments, producing those amazing sounds. I imagine that a concert of the London Steve Reich Ensemble would be a similar experience. As the composer himself writes in the booklet, "The London Steve Reich Ensemble is an outstanding group of young musicians. They have a superb feel for how to play my music and you can experience that on this excellent CD. These performances pulse with life." What more need be said?" Fanfare Magazine