Philip Glass - Music In Twelve Parts

[Dragon]

First of all, I wanna say that I think this is one of the greatest pieces of music ever written. Music In Twelve Parts is a series of pieces written by Philip Glass between 1971 and 1974. It's all about complex, intricate repetition techniques. Bars of music will be repeated over and over, but change and evolve over time in an inviting, elegant way. Some people might not be able to cope with the repetition, they could find it annoying if they don't give it full attention. But there's so many subtle changes going on all the time, and as it continues, it evolves into something magical. Something that proves just how talented Philip Glass really is. There's always something going on to amaze you, and, personally, I just never seem to get bored. I have the Nonesuch recording, and the other day I listened to all three and a half hours of the twelve parts in one go.

 

Part 1 is a delicate, soothing and incredibly beautiful piece of music. It leads straight into part two, as described by Andrew Porter: "A new sound and a new chord suddenly break in, with an effect as if one wall of a room has suddenly disappeared, to reveal a completely new view.". After the energetic and rather oriental Part 2 is over, we are plunged into the darkness of Part 3. The bass continues and slowly mutates, until a powerful saxophone rhythm take over and the listener can experience light and energy again.

Part 4 starts with a simple saxophone melody. Over the next five minutes, it slowly changes and transforms and becomes even catchier and more uplifting. The rest of the piece is an especially beautiful journey, as it entrances you with a slow, rising chorus and a continuous keyboard rhythm that expands in a more and more complex way, until a burst of ecstasy hits you as the happy keyboard melodies of Part 5 begin. The longest of the twelve parts, it is more repetitive than most of the others, with the chorus singing "see-roe" over and over in slightly different ways. Part 6 also sounds very oriental, with flutes gracefully tooting up and down and the complex transformation of the singer's elegant vocals.

Part 7 instantly changes the tone with its uptempo rhythm and its apocalyptic flight through the deepest recesses of human fear. There are so many different movements over these twenty minutes that it's hard to get bored, at least for me. Once the storm clouds have settled, we are treated to a cooling breeze. Part 8 is a spectacle, an entrancing journey with keyboards setting an exquisite rhythm and vocals taking us to higher and higher places. I can hardly describe how uplifting it feels to listen to this, as the vocals change more and more beautifully, and the layers of keyboards rush through your ears. Once the ride is over, it's time for Part 9, which I have nicknamed "The Wave". A monument to Philip Glass's talent, this is a saxophone extraordinaire that travels up, then down, repeatedly. It travels higher and higher, lower and lower. It goes all the way up, down a little, back up, then all the way down. It builds up to a crescendo where, with each repetition, it hits the highest note once, then again, then twice, then three times before going all the way back down and rising again, kind of like an orgasm that happens over and over and over. It leads rather suddenly into Part 10, which is a little more difficult to listen to, but it's worth it if you can notice all the incredibly subtle advances in movement going on throughout. Part 11 has pretty much all layers moving up and down, taking us to sublime episodes of harmony. And then, finally, we get to hear what is perhaps the greatest ending to any work of music EVER. Part 12 immediately introduces a saxophone riff that bounces with an incredible feeling of energy. I have no idea how Philip Glass captures energy so well. As usual, it grows and expands into something more complex, before the vocal is introduced. It alternates between the saxophone riff and the vocal line, each getting longer and longer. The riff jumps up and down like a monkey, rolling and spinning with the apocalyptic rhythm (does this sentence make sense?). The vocal line augments, until the last notes are introduced in all their high-pitched glory. The entire piece rings with power. Towards the end, the lowest and highest notes can repeat 13 times in succession, and somehow, instead of getting annoying, it only adds to the power of the piece.

 

And so, here is my Music In Twelve Parts best to worst:

 

Part 4

Part 1

Part 12

Part 9

Part 8

Part 7

Part 2

Part 5

Part 11

Part 10

Part 6

Part 3

 

So, let us discuss Music In Twelve Parts, and maybe some of his other earlier works. One thing I would like to know, are there any works by other artists that are similar to this? I would love to hear some more.

[brian trageskin]

part 12 is my favourite. fucking hypnotic yet glorious

[vamos scorcho]

one of the greatest pieces of music ever written/recorded, and greatest works of art in general ever created

[Bob Dylan]

The nonesuch is a beautiful pristine recording, but have you heard the new one by Orange Mountain Music (PG's own label) ? It's OMM0049. The difference is that it's live, so you kinda lose the robotic aspect of the original release but it brings forward the human aspect of those crazy mofos trying to hold on the beat forever. Often the PG Ensemble is forgotten compared to the music itself ; they are underestimated, it's like a boxing match each time they played it or other similar pieces back in the 70's/80's.

[Guest bigs]

like this piece quite a bit, though i found his symphonies to be more interesting (especially 2 and 3)

[halisray]

I love his Solo Piano stuff - how good is this compared to that album?

[dr lopez]

the big obvious piece that is similar is music for 18 musicians. recorded around the same time, similar orchestration and similar ideas.

 

stimmung i would also say is of the same vein, although a lot weirder and more difficult i think.

[Dragon]

I love his Solo Piano stuff - how good is this compared to that album?

 

I'm not sure. Hard to compare the two albums, really.

 

 

the big obvious piece that is similar is music for 18 musicians. recorded around the same time, similar orchestration and similar ideas.

 

stimmung i would also say is of the same vein, although a lot weirder and more difficult i think.

 

I've heard about Music For 18 Musicians. You know, I think I've got to try that at some point...

 

Anyway, I'm here because I've just been listening to Part 12 of MITP and it has been rocking my socks off! Jesus brick shitting Christ, if this isn't awesome in every way. Seriously, just listen to that diabolically energetic rhythm. Amazing.

Part 12 (snippet).mp3

[kaini]

there's nothing wrong with later philip glass, but his early stuff has a purity i keep coming back to.

i was obsessive about einstein on the beach for about a year. this is fucking amazing

 

[Salvatorin]

bubbly bubbly bubbly bubbly

 

has anyone here read "repeating ourselves: american minimalism as a cultural practice" ?

[kaini]

the soundtrack to mishima has some of my favourite stuff

i wish i could find a youtube of 'osamu's theme'

 

also the photographer

(david byrne was involved here...)