Steve Reich (b. 1936)
Music for 18 Musicians (1974-1976)
Double Sextet (2007)
Radio Rewrite (2012)
Ensemble Signal/Brad Lubman
rec. 2011/2016, Concert Hall of EMPAC, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Troy, USA
Harmonia Mundi HMX2904065-66 [99]
This is a re-release of two albums,: Music for 18 Musicians (review) and Double Sextet and Radio Rewrite (review) have appeared as single discs in 2015-2016.
Music for 18 Musicians is always going to be something of an exercise in nostalgia for listeners of a certain age, and the original ECM recording with the Steve Reich Ensemble has been a reference for many decades now, also having been re-released and boxed up by that label (review). This is the kind of long and complicated work that you either do properly or not at all, and as a result most of the recordings you can find are good. There will be subtle differences in colour and balance, but this is also a work that thrives on its pulsing energy, and Ensemble Signal matches the Steve Reich Ensemble’s own remake on the Nonesuch label for sheer kinetic spectacle, perhaps even beating them for vertical cohesiveness.
Energy and irrepressible momentum are also features of Ensemble Signal’s recording of Double Sextet, giving a more pacy impression than Ekkozone on the MODE label (review), who in turn give a bit more oomph to the syncopated accents in the faster music. As has been previously pointed out, the Eighth Blackbird recording of this piece on the Nonesuch label balances the strings forward, treating the pianos and other rhythmic elements more like an accompaniment, which to my ears makes it less desirable.
Radio Rewrite has had fewer outings on CD, but the Nonesuch label has a good recording with Alarm Will Sound which in this case gives the impression of a more forward ‘bounding’ momentum than Ensemble Signal in the opening Fast movement. As ever, it is swings and roundabouts as to which one might prefer, but I will always relish Reich’s succulent later-style added harmonic notes, in this case not too far adrift from the moods in City Life. The balance and mix is tricky with those non-vibrato string notes in the Slow sections, and while I like the Nonesuch recording there is a touch more intimacy with Ensemble Signal, and the excellent drive in the outer Fast sections will always bring me back for more.
This reissue has revamped artwork and new booklet notes by Renaud Machart. If you missed these recordings the first time around then it’s certainly worth picking them up in this handy Harmonia Mundi double-disc set.
Dominy Clements
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