Music in Twelve Parts

This master release contains the second recording of this work, recorded between March and June 1993 in New York City. Philip Glass: Music in Twelve Parts occupies a special place in his enormous catalog; Glass himself has variously stated that it was a breakthrough for him, and, for him, "the end of minimalism." It is a four-hour-long work divided in 12 movements and rendered in a twelve-part texture, here performed by three woodwinds, three keyboards, and the singing voice of Lisa Bielawa. Although recorded for Nonesuch in 1993 with a configuration of the Philip Glass Ensemble quite similar to this one, the Orange Mountain Music release of Philip Glass: Music in Twelve Parts stems from a live concert given in Rovereto, Italy, in 2006; the performance is so tight and disciplined that it almost sounds synthesized and even edited; the starts of movements are abrupt and exactly together. Performing the piece is kind of like running a marathon, and for a musician to be considered a part of the Philip Glass Ensemble one is expected to take part in a performance of Music in Twelve Parts. This is somewhat analogous to the Norwegian fisherman's ritual of biting the head off a herring, except that instead of the short discomfort this is a long haul of counting and making one's way through a dense texture; instead of the bitter taste of the raw fish this an elegant and endlessly beautiful traversal through layer upon layer of gorgeous sonic dimensions. -Review by Uncle Dave Lewis