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Monday, December 5, 2016

Philip Glass: "Music in Twelve Parts: Parts 1 & 2" Vinyl (Virgin)


Due to finances and just hard-to-find in used record shops, I can only afford Parts 1 & 2 of Philip Glass's "Music in Twelve Parts."  If one purchased all 12 parts, the music would last for three hours.  Time is an essence in my life as well.  Still, better than nothing, and with respect to minimalism, nothing doesn't exist here.  

"Part 1" is really beautiful.  One hears the three electric organs, but it's the voice and the horns that sneak and embrace the organs, that really grabs the listeners attention.  Reflective and not a mood changer, but more of a platform to sit and contemplate one's destiny.   Also this particular track has a way of destroying the awareness of time.   I like the idea of being somewhere that is not confronted by a clock or a reminder that time is very much a presence in one's life.  Just the listener and the music.  No life beyond that. 

"Part 2" is much more of an intense listening experience.  It's faster, and therefore more demanding for the listener.  The thing about this work is that it lures one to presume it will be all the same. Yet when something dramatic happens, and that becomes an ah-ha moment.  What seems simple in execution, is actually complex - and it plays with one's emotions as well.   It's a great piece of work.  



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