ICONS: The American Minimalists

by BL!NDMAN

Overview

The contemporary music group BL!NDMAN has a unique configuration; the original ensemble diverged into sax, strings, and drums subgroups that perform separately and sometimes, as here, reassemble. Given some of the experimentalism that BL!NDMAN has offered, in the past, an album of works by Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and Terry Riley may seem unusually mainstream; these American minimalists are pretty much canonic by now, even on the group's European home ground. There are a few wrinkles. BL!NDMAN adds electronics to several pieces, notably Terry Riley's Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band. However, even that work originally involved tape loops and really all that BL!NDMAN has done here is to update those for the 21st century, looping being a classic example of a case where musical needs preceded technological solutions. In many other cases, the works here left the instrumentation open, and BL!NDMAN's realizations are as valid as any others. (The composers are, after all, still alive and can raise objections if they so choose.) The performances catch to a T the precise sectional evolutions that Glass specified and that are implicit in Reich's phase shifting. The group properly moves to a more acoustic setting for Riley's In C, a work more thoroughly shaped by non-Western ideas than those of Glass or Reich. An added bonus of the fresh realizations of these composers here is that those who have come to minimalism from electronic dance music, which was influenced by minimalism in the first place, will find much of interest here. An important step in the development of the minimalist tradition. ~ James Manheim

Product Details

Release Date:	05/26/2023
Label:	Warner Classics
UPC:	5054197490613
Rank:	191461

Tracks

Disc 1

1. Nagoya Marimbas for 2 Marimbas
2. Cello Counterpoint for 8 Cellos~Movement I
3. Cello Counterpoint for 8 Cellos~Movement II
4. Cello Counterpoint for 8 Cellos~Movement III
5. New York Counterpoint for 12 Saxophones~Movement I
6. New York Counterpoint for 12 Saxophones~Movement II
7. New York Counterpoint for 12 Saxophones~Movement III
8. Triple Quartet for 3 String Quartets~Movement I
9. Triple Quartet for 3 String Quartets~Movement II
10. Triple Quartet for 3 String Quartets~Movement III
11. Electric Counterpoint for 13 Electric Guitars & 2 Bass Guitars~Movement I
12. Electric Counterpoint for 13 Electric Guitars & 2 Bass Guitars~Movement II
13. Electric Counterpoint for 13 Electric Guitars & 2 Bass Guitars~Movement III

Disc 2

14. Music in Fifths~[Excerpt]
15. Music in Contrary Motion~Cell 1-10
16. Music in Contrary Motion~Cell 11-14
17. Music in Contrary Motion~Cell 15-18
18. Music in Contrary Motion~Cell 19-20
19. Music in Contrary Motion~Cell 21-22
20. Music in Contrary Motion~Cell 23
21. Music in Similar Motion
22. Music with Changing Parts~Part 1
23. Music with Changing Parts~Part 2

Disc 3

24. Chanting the Light of Foresight~The Tuning Path for Saxophone Quartet
25. Poppy Nogood and the Phantom Band for Soprano Saxophone & Electronics~[Excerpt]
26. In C~Part 1
27. In C~Part 2
28. In C~Part 3
29. In C~Part 4
30. In C~Part 5
31. In C~Part 6

Album Credits

Performance Credits

BL!NDMAN   Primary Artist,Ensemble
Fabian Coomans   Piano,Synthesizer

Technical Credits

Lut Behiels   Coordination
Philip Glass   Composer
Guy Kokken   Photography
Eric Sleichim   Mixing,Concept,Editing,Arranger,Mastering,Liner Notes,Artistic Director
Daniel Leon   Mixing,Engineer,Mastering
Klaas Coulembier   Liner Notes
Patrick Gamblin   Coordination
Brigitte Ghyselen   Coordination
Piet De Ridder   Graphic Design
Bart Bouckaert   Editing,Recording Supervision
Caroline Derycke   Management
Greet Van Poeck   Product Manager
Greta Holmer   Liner Note Translation
Isabelle Grynberg   Liner Note Translation
Steve Reich   Composer
Terry Riley   Composer