STEVE REICH: PULSE/QUARTET

2018 release. Pulse is performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble - an artist collective committed to transforming the way music is created and experienced-and Quartet (2013) is played by the Colin Currie Group an ensemble LED by percussionist Colin Currie that specializes in the music of Steve Reich; these are also the ensembles that gave the world premiere performances of the respective works. Reich says quot;Pulse for winds strings piano and electric bass was completed in 2015 and was in part a reaction to Quartet in which I changed keys more frequently than in any previous work. In Pulse I felt the need to stay put harmonically and spin out smoother wind and string melodic lines in canon over a constant pulse in the electric bass and or piano. From time to time this constant pulse is accented differently through changing hand alternation patterns on the piano. All in all a calmer more contemplative piece.quot; He continues quot;Quartet when mentioned in the context of concert music is generally assumed to mean string quartet. In Quartet there is just this group alone: two vibes and two pianos.quot;.