Steve Reich - "Drumming/Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices & Organ/Six Pianos" 3XVinyl Box Set, 1974 (Deutsche Grammophon)

The ultimate recording from Steve Reich.  Three albums of minimal persuasion and keyboard work that is maximum in scope and sound.   Reich's work is not meditative music, but one where the listener has to sit in front of the speakers and let this aural wash come and take you over. I have to presume that these three albums were released separately, but due to some marketing genius on the label has decided to make it into a Box-Set.  Going through all three albums in one sitting may be tough, not because of the work itself, but each piece is a demanding presence in one's life. For me, it has an exotic appeal, because I think of mallets coming from a foreign island in the Pacific.  Again, what do I know, but that is the visual image I get while listening to "Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices & Organ." 

All pieces by Reich strike me as a pattern.  When I hear this music, I see structures or things being attached to each other.  There is an architectural quality to Reich's compositions.  There's a foundation built, and then he adds textures on top of that landscape, and I feel he's building from the ground and then up to the sky.   I'm sure there is a spiritual aspect to Reich, but for me, it is more about the mechanics of life, as if it was a cycle.  The Four Seasons, Sunday through Saturday, the 24-hour day, I feel all of that is very much part of Reich's aesthetic.  So when you go into Reich's world, you have to surrender 'your' sense of time and be merged into the Reich world. 

György Ligeti - Ensemble Intercontemporain, Pierre Boulez -"Chamber Concerto"/"Ramifications"/"Aventures"/"Nouvelles Aventures" LP, Vinyl, 1983 (Deutsche Grammophon )

Side one is beautiful orchestration that slowly and seductively leads to tension that is released little by little.  Pierre Boulez's conducting the orchestra and György Ligeti's intense score is an amazing listening experience.   His music seems to hold energy into a small space, and once it dispels into the ears or listening room, it's a release that is almost sexual.  The harpsichord comes in and out of the orchestration or mixes in a very efficient manner.   Great music.

Side two is "Nouvelles Aventures," and it's mostly vocal work with a touch of instrumentation here and there.  Again it's a tightly held piece of intensity which keeps the listener on their toes.  DADA or Letterist like in performance, I have a feeling that there is a visual side to "Nouvelles Aventures."  

Stockhausen/ The London Sinfoniettta - "Stop" / "Ylem" Vinyl, LP, Album, 1974 (Deutsche Grammophon)

There is a method to his madness, and Stockhausen is clearly the man who was holding the keys to his incredible compositions.  Conceptually minded, these two pieces "Stop" and "Ylem" are made for live performance where the musicians are both on the stage as well as in the audience.  The music on both pieces are textural with quietness, but also a great deal of intensity.  Reading the liner notes I'm aware that perhaps this music is not really made for a recording, but for one to experience it in a concert hall.  Stockhausen seems to have an interest in architecture - both in the sense of space, such as a concert hall, but as well as the openess or space that is in music.  There is a 3D effect in the works that draws one into the aural world of Stockhausen.

Karlheinz Stockhausen - ELECTRONIC MUSIC "Song of the Youths" / "Contact" (Deutsch Gramopon)

Karlheinz Stockhausen's first electronic piece, which he wrote in 1955/56.  What I have read is that it is a personal, even spiritual music for the composer.  "Song of Youths" have children singing in German, with intrusive electronic sounds  - cutting in and out of the children's chorus.  Abstract, and quite remarkable in scope.   The live version was supposed to take place in a church, but due to the electronic/speakers issue, it never happened.  Still, the original set piece is five speakers.  This recording was reconstructed for two speakers.    My first listen to this piece I found it cold, but by the second time around, I find it emotional.  There is a Wagnerian feel, in that it's quite grand.  Still, big sounds can bring deep emotions to the table. 

The score to "Song of the Youths."

"Contact" (Kontakte) was realized 1958-60.  A more meditative piece of music than "Song of the Youths."  Still, there are loud krangs among the hums, so it keeps one's toes in operation.  To me, Stockhausen's music deals very much with space.  The actual space that the music or speakers are placed as well as the sound becoming either a sculpture or architectural model of some sort.  In other words, I don't think this music would be good on YouTube or through your computer speaker.  You need two big speakers, nice room, and a glass of wine (of course).  

The spectacle of Stockhausen's compositions is a big part of the overall experience.  In that sense, I think he shares that quality with Wagner.  The 1950s, which is often thought of as a conservative era, brought electronics into music in a very thoughtful and serious manner.  Stockhausen and others were truly the light coming out of the 20th-century headlights.