Reich: Tehillim / The Desert Music [IMPORT]

Steve Reich (Artist), Alarm Will Sound (Artist), Alan Pierson (Conductor), Ossia (Performer)

Product Details

• Performer: Ossia
• Conductor: Alan Pierson
• Audio CD (September 10, 2002)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Cantaloupe
• ASIN: B00006H6B5
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #49,654 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

Reich's music moves along in a stately, orderly, almost mathematical way, so one wouldn't expect a wide variety of interpretive styles in different performances. Still, this recording of Tehillim, at least the third issued so far, seems sharper in focus and rhythm than the premiere ECM recording, the only one to include the composer's participation. The Desert Music sounds somewhat different here than in the premiere Nonesuch recording by Michael Tilson Thomas with the Brooklyn Philharmonic and Chorus, the ensembles it was written for. This "revised chamber version" by the composer from 2001 uses smaller forces, losing something in grandeur while gaining rhythmic clarity. It's becoming obvious that Reich's music will survive his own performing career and lifetime, and here is an example of a disc with no performing ties to the composer which is still extremely satisfying. It is also very well-recorded and generously programmed, since the premiere recordings of the two works took up a disc each. Cantaloupe Music provides sung texts and lists of the performers but not a word of program notes, a liability to this otherwise admirable release. --Leslie Gerber

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

18 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Wow!, February 12, 2003

By	peter-from-la (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews

I've loved this music since it first appeared, back in the early '80s, and I second the praise that others have delivered about this recording. It has a clarity and immediacy missing from previous outings (the musicians were probably recorded in the multi-miked "pop" style rather than the style usually adopted for "classical" musicians). The percussion in Tehillim is snap-crackle-pop sharp, allowing the ear to carefully distinguish the sounds of the various percussion instruments, in comparison to the muddled sound of the Schoenberg Ensemble version. These percussionists have this music in their blood. They are tremendously well-rehearsed, and their youthful stamina pays off in the momentum they maintain throughout the performances. An extra string quartet in Tehillim allows melodies and sustained chords to assume more prominence.

Meanwhile, the singers' voices in The Desert Music are more individually characterized than before, allowing you to hear the text more clearly in voices that are dramatically free of any vibrato whatsoever, giving the singing a pure but momentous sound. I agree that the larger body of strings used in MTT's version is missed in the opening of the last movement, but otherwise I prefer the fiddlers in this version for their cracker jack playing. Quicker tempos accentuate the exuberance of Reich's syncopations. (This performance shaves 5 minutes off MTT's version.)

If I could only have one version of these pieces this would be the one I would buy. Actually, this recording is a better deal than what is currently available: The Desert Music on Nonesuch is unaccompanied by a second work, a situation which is also true of Tehillim on ECM. The Tehillim on Nonesuch is coupled with Three Movements for Orchestra, an uninteresting work whose last movement is a poor re-hash of the last movement of Sextet (a far superior work to the Three Movements).

If more youthful, classically-trained ensembles played like this, there would be few handwringing discussions about "the future of classical music." Buy this disc.

12 of 12 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars SR's best works, December 2, 2002

By	David Gottner (Bellevue, WA United States) - See all my reviews

Here we have the two best works (IMO) that Steve Reich has composed performed with a fresh interpretation.

I still prefer the premier recording of Tehillim that was released on the ECM label. This version is improved with greater transparency, a faster tempo, crisp recording and a tighter performance overall. However there is just something missing here in that I find the ECM performance just to be more exciting overall. The vocalists on the ECM recording convey more passion in my opinion. Still this is a fine re-interpretation of Tehillim.

The new recording of the Desert Music is much improved over the original recording done by Michael Tilson Thomas. Not that MTT's recording is bad mind you - quite the opposite. I was in love with the Desert Music, believing that it was (is) Reich's best work, and that was the MTT original recording that I was in love with. However, this new interpretation just makes a great work even better. The tempo is much faster which enhances the impact of the work and just seems to fit the music better than the more leisurely pace set by MTT. Also the smaller forces involved bring more clarity to the score.

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Room for Tilson-Thomas, too ..., November 30, 2002

By	Robin Hamlyn (Zembla) - See all my reviews

Although entirely persuaded by the stimulating customer reviews of this magical disc, I'm inclined to regard it as a companion to, rather than an "improvement" on, Tilson-Thomas's recording of "The Desert Music". Certainly, Pierson's daring tempos and the crystal-clear articulation of his remarkable young players make for a radically more detailed sound-frame (although I wondered whether the voices were perhaps too forwardly placed). The "chamber" reduction has a wonderful intimacy and it is virtually impossible to find fault with such a perceptive, intellectually cogent performance.

And yet I do miss some of the craggy grandeur of Tilson-Thomas's reading. Under his direction, the final (fast) section seems to be imbued with a curious, unearthly luminosity. There is also a ripeness of articulation (particularly in the brass at key moments) not found in the brighter, more analytical new recording.

So, if we can happily oscillate between Klemperer and Eliot-Gardiner in Beethoven (well, I can, but I drink a lot), why can't we do the same with Tilson-Thomas and Pierson in Reich?