Terry Riley may be the founding father
of minimalism – his 1965 composition, "In C," was the
piece that begat the hypnotically repetitive musical genre made
famous by Philip Glass, John Adams and Steve Reich – but the
69-year-old composer could never be accused of working with minimal
means.
A case in point is "Sun Rings," an 80-minute work receiving
its New York premiere at the Brooklyn Academy of Music’s Howard
Gilman Opera House Oct. 6 and Oct. 8-9 in a multimedia performance
that includes the always-adventurous Kronos Quartet (frequent
Riley collaborators) and the 70-voice Dessof Choirs. "Sun
Rings" was commissioned by – among many other institutions,
including BAM – the National Air and Space Administration.
Yes, that NASA.
As Riley recently told GO Brooklyn in a telephone interview from
his California home-studio, "NASA came to Kronos and asked
them to find a composer to work with these sound detectors that
they had recorded over the years from various space stations.
It was kind of an opportune time for me because I was interested
in working on a piece that would involve elements like natural
sounds anyway. I began working with digital audio after not working
for many years with electronics, so it looked like a good opportunity
for all that to come together.
"These sounds were recorded millions of miles away, and
it stimulated my imagination."
The sounds that Riley mentions are, much more figuratively than
literally, outer-space music: deep-space lightning and solar
winds are but two of the magnificent and otherworldly sounds
NASA’s detectors recorded for posterity.
Because NASA has been recording these sounds regularly since
the 1960s, Riley admits that he’s probably only heard the tip
of an extremely large iceberg.
"I had actually quite a bit of material – I never added
it up – but I had several tapes that were at least a couple of
hours total to listen to all of them," he explains. "They’ve
recorded thousands and thousands of hours of sounds, and these
were selected by NASA for their ’sound,’ so to speak, and how
interesting they are. I got a selection of these sounds, which
was more than sufficient for me to work with."
"Sun Rings" took shape when Riley was able to forge
a relationship between the intergalactic noises on the tapes
and how they related to the Kronos’ unique way of collaborating
as a string quartet.
"I ended up taking melodies and rhythms that were embedded
in the sounds for the string quartet," he says.
Riley and the members of Kronos have shared a long musical history:
a quarter-century.
"I’ve written 15 string quartets and a concerto for string
quartet for them," he says, "and I’ve just written
a new work, a quintet for them and a pipa [a Japanese instrument]
player. That’s their nature: [they see themselves] as an open
palette willing to experiment with any kind of music in the string
quartet format. They never stop finding ways to integrate new
sounds into the quartet. They are most interested in making a
high-energy, new music performance."
And that’s what "Sun Rings" is. The Dessof Choirs,
as the composer himself says, "adds a real dimension to
the piece. I didn’t want it to be only about space but also about
humanity’s role in the universe. Much of the piece is about Earth,
and the choir adds a celestial but human element."
With visuals by Willie Williams (who has designed rock tours
for the likes of U2, REM and David Bowie), sound design by Mark
Grey and lighting by the Kronos’ usual collaborator Larry Neff,
"Sun Rings" truly reaches into the stratosphere.
"Early in the planning of the piece, the members of Kronos
wanted visuals because we all realized it would be a great opportunity,"
Riley recalls. "Willie uncovered material, like film clips
shot from satellites and others from NASA, which gets incorporated
into the performance. And Kronos is surrounded onstage by lights
that suggest rings, like Saturn’s. So it has a very dynamic effect
overall."
Like many other artists, Riley found himself affected by the
9-11 attacks.
"I started writing [’Sun Rings’] the month before, so when
Sept. 11 happened, it made me stop in my tracks a bit,"
he says. "Since NASA has worked with the military, I wanted
to make sure this piece was not about [war], that’s for sure.
"Of course, I always have been a peace advocate and worked
for peace over the years for various groups," says Riley.
"It’s been sort of a main theme of mine for a long time.
So I wanted to show that mankind is a fragile element in the
universe, and if we realize that, we would honor life more.
"Maybe space would give us some perspective on that."
Terry Riley’s "Sun Rings"
will be performed at the BAM Gilman Opera House (30 Lafayette
Ave. at Ashland Place in Fort Greene) on Oct. 6, 8 and 9 at 7:30
pm. Tickets are $20 and $40, and can be purchased by calling
(718) 636-4100 or by visiting www.bam.org.
