Riley, Terry: In C LP

California composer Terry Riley launched what is now known as the minimalist movement with his revolutionary classic Terry Riley In C in 1964. If ever there were a popular work of minimalism, one that stated its purpose so clearly it could not be mistaken, Riley's legendary composition Terry Riley In C is the one. It is a work that needs no explanation for its pulsing sequences of pitch all centering around the 53 phases of no duration played on the note and its performances have been numerous - even if there have been relatively few recordings of it.

 

This seminal work provided a new concept in musical form based on interlocking repetitive patterns. Its impact was to change the course of 20th Century music and its influence has been heard in the works of prominent composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams and in the music of rock groups such as The Who, The Soft Machine, Tangerine Dream, Curved Air and many others. Terry's hypnotic, multi-layered, polymetric, brightly orchestrated eastern flavored improvisations and compositions set the stage for the prevailing interest in a new tonality.