quoted 1 line On 17 Aug 1995, Edward Pond wrote:
> On 17 Aug 1995, Edward Pond wrote:quoted 1 line I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to know
> > I have never heard of Phillip Glass before but after hearing this I want to knowquoted 6 lines Philip Glass is a modern/classical composer whose works have run the
> Philip Glass is a modern/classical composer whose works have run the
> gamut from movie soundtracks to opera <check out Akhnaten, tis REALLY
> cool>. His trademark seems to be the idm-ish repetition of various
> elements - a single note or phrase can be repeated throughout his whole
> piece. He's quite interesting, and as i said, his opera Akhnaten is
> excellent and well worth a listen <CBS Masterworks / M2K 42457 - 2 Discs>
Philip Glass is great once you get into his music. The first time I heard
Glass was a used copy of 1000 Airplanes on the Roof (music to a play) and
it just sounded so refreshing!
He's done opera and soundtracks mostly (he calls it theatre music) and
some collaborations with singers and instrumentalists. Things to expect
when listening to Glass:
- Repetition, lots of it, not phase changes like Reich, just repetition.
- Pace changes, different rhythms - repetition doesn't mean boring!
- Orchestral instruments, vibrant brass, strings and shrill piccolos.
- Vocals, choral singers used just like another instrument.
Akhnaten may be a bit heavy for a first listen. Check out Koyaanisqatsi
(try the video for some imagery too), 1000 Airplanes on the Roof, The
Photographer or Powaqqatsi for a more ethnic feel. Of the three opera
(the trilogy), Akhnaten is probably the most accessible. I've heard
extracts of Einstein (a bit strange) and none of Satyagraha. Some of the
early stuff (eg North Star) is a bit, er, noisy :)
Check out this web site:
http://www-lsi.upc.es/~jpetit/pg/
I would say that the Icct Hedral orchestration is typical Glass, except
for the melody of course :)
Mark
Mark Dobie
M.R.Dobie@ecs.soton.ac.uk University of Southampton
http://diana.ecs.soton.ac.uk/~mrd/cv.html MS Windows? Linux and X!