Steve Reich – Eight Lines (Octet) (1979/83)

Описание: Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Eight Lines (Octet) (1979, rescored 1983)

Ensemble: Bang On A Can

"Eight Lines is structured in five sections, of which the first and third resemble each other in their fast moving piano, cello, viola and bass clarinet figures, while the second and fourth sections resemble each other in their longer held tones in the cello. The fifth and final section combines these materials. The transitions between sections is as smooth as possible with some overlapping in the parts so that it is sometimes hard to tell exactly when one section ends and the next begins.

In the first, third, and fifth sections there are somewhat longer melodic lines in the flute and/or piccolo. This interest in longer melodic lines composed of shorter patterns strung together has its roots in my earlier music as well as my studies in 1976-77 of the cantillation (chanting) of the Hebrew Scriptures.

Notes on Performance:

Fight Lines (1983) is exactly the same piece as my Octet (1979) with the addition of a second string quartet. These additional four strings were added because of problems in performing the piece with only one player to a part. For the two violins this problem was the difficulty of playing rather awkward double stops in tune. This was solved by having two first and two second violins so that each player could play one note at a time. For the viola and cello, a second player was added to each to allow the rapid eighth note patterns to be broken up between the two players thus preventing fatigue. This small change in instrumentation has proved to make a large difference in performance and for that reason Eight Lines is the only version of the piece suitable for performance.

The flutes, clarinets, and bass clarinets should be amplified, not the piccolo. The level should be brought up so that these instruments are in the foreground, but not overbearing, when playing. In a hall of more than 300 seats it is preferred that the entire ensemble be amplified slightly with somewhat more level given to the flutes, clarinets and bass clarinets. The person doing the mixing should listen first to a performance or recording where the balance is known to be right. For example the recordings mentioned below will serve this function very well. The mixing desk should be place at a reasonably good listening position in the hall to allow the person doing the mixing to clearly hear the results during performance."

Steve Reich