Terry Riley In C
Released
Terry Riley’s monumental minimalist work In C is not written for any specific group of instruments — or even for any particular number of them (though he suggests an ensemble of roughly 35 players). Written in 1964, it consists of 53 short musical phrases, each of them numbered; the score indicates that each member of the performing group may play each phrase as many times as he or she wishes. For this recording, Brooklyn Raga Massive perform the piece using primarily Indian instruments and classical Indian techniques, though instruments such as the cello, lute, and cajon are used as well. It’s a lovely performance of a fascinating piece.