Cluster Ensemble - Music With Changing Parts by Philip Glass (2017)

Unlike my previous post of Philip Glass's music, which was intended to act as a primer for anyone who was unfamiliar with his work, this one is probably for fans only, as it is one of his earliest and most uncompromising works. On 31st October 2017, Slovakia's Cluster Ensemble performed Glass’s minimalist masterpiece 'Music With Changing Parts' for the first time in New York City in several decades. The ensemble’s unique take on the this work utilized live video made of digitized fragments of a dance performance, and was a spell-binding interpretation of the piece. 

Formed in 2009 in Bratislava, Slovakia, Cluster Ensemble is comprised of nine members playing three electric organs, flute, clarinet, saxophone, electric guitar, marimba and VJ. The ensemble originated with the Slovakian premiere of Steve Reich’s 'Six Pianos', performed in a piano store in Bratislava. Since then, the loose grouping of artists surrounding the artistic duo of Ivan Šiller and Fero Király have played all over the world, including Austria, Germany, Denmark, Norway, and the United States, performing rarely-played ensemble works by composers such as Philip Glass, Steve Reich and John Cage, as well as their own projects. Fans of Philip Glass will find this a stunning interpretation of the piece, and while one hour and twelve minutes of minimalist repetition might not be everyone's cup of tea, I've played this at least once a week since I first got hold of it, and have enjoyed every minute. 

Track listing

01 Music With Changing Parts

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Various Artists - Glass Piano - A Tribute to Philip Glass (2017)

I'm a huge fan of the American composer and pianist Philip Glass, having first discovered him from his 'Glassworks' and 'The Photographer' albums in the 80's. I love repetition in music, which is why Krautrock is another favourite genre of mine, and over the years I've collected around 30 of his albums on vinyl, CD and digitally, covering his ensemble pieces, film soundtracks, operas, classical works, and collaborations with artists such as David Bowie and Ravi Shankar. I'll be the first to admit that he is very much an acquired taste, and you either love him or just don't get it, but I can play a piece such as 'Music In Twelve Parts', which is bascially just a couple of notes repeated over 40 minutes, and really get something out of it. In 1989 he released his 'Solo Piano' album, which comprised seven tracks, five of which were titled 'Metamorphosis One - Five', and which were inspired by the 1915 novella 'The Metamorphosis' by Franz Kafka. While all pieces were composed in 1988, some were written for a staging of 'Metamorphosis', while others were for the 1988 documentary film 'The Thin Blue Line', directed by Errol Morris. 'Mad Rush' was written in 1979 and is based on an earlier organ piece, and the title of the final composition is a reference to Allen Ginsberg's 1966 poem 'Wichita Vortex Sutra', and was composed, in collaboration with Ginsberg, for both a reading and recording of the poem. Some of the pieces on the album might be familiar to you, even if you didn't know who they are by, as 'Metamorphosis One' is played in an episode of 'Battlestar Galactica' by Kara "Starbuck" Thrace, and is also used in the series finale of 'Person Of Interest'. 'Metamorphosis Two' formed the basis of one of the main musical themes in the film 'The Hours', and is also the song that Pearl Jam use as their introduction music to concerts. Many pianists have recorded this music subsequently, and so as a way of easing you into the music of this exceptional and prolific composer, I've assembled interpretations by other artists of all seven tracks from 'Solo Piano'. 
Sia's 'Breathe Me', as used in the TV series 'Six Feet Under', takes portions of a replayed 'Metamorphosis One' as its piano bed, while world-famous harpist Lavinia Meijer has covered Glass's music before, and here gives a stunning interpretation of 'Metamorphosis Two'. You wouldn’t necessarily think that Dev Hynes, a guy known for sensual and well-mannered R&B, would be first choice to nail a cover of 'Metamorphosis Three', but Blood Orange did just that live on Sirius XMU. Bruce Brubaker is one of the most well-regarded interpreters of Philip Glass's discography, and in 2015 he released an album of Glass covers, some of which were electronic reimaginings, and the Biblo remix of 'Metamorphosis Four' is a sparse, haunting take on it. Some fans have even programmed Glass's music on Garage Band, in order to teach a novice how to play it, and Synthesia's take on 'Metamorphosis Five' is a good example. As 'Mad Rush' was based on one of Glass's own earlier organ pieces, then it's fitting for Adrian Foster to attempt it on a church organ, and to close the album we have Branka Parlic, a concert pianist known for re-imagining the works of minimalist composers, with her interpretation of 'Wichita Vortex Sutra'. It's a lovely end to this tribute to one of the most influential composers of the 20th Century, and while I know this post won't be for everyone, I hope you trust this blog enough by now to know that I wouldn't post anything that doesn't have some merit in the world of music.   

Track listing

01 Metamorphosis One - Sia ('Breathe Me')
02 Metamorphosis Two - Lavinia Meijer
03 Metamorphosis Three - Dev Hynes/Blood Orange
04 Metamorphosis Four - Bruce Brubaker (Biblo Remix)
05 Metamorphosis Five - Synthesia
06 Mad Rush - Adrian Foster

07 Wichita Vortex Sutra - Branka Parlic

Selections chosen by Andrew Winistorfer of Vinyl Me, Please magazine.

If you are completely unfamiliar with the work of Philip Glass, then your best introduction is these two beautiful pieces from his 'Glassworks' album, 'Rubric' and 'Facades'.

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