In Wednesday’s (12/16) Wall Street Journal, Stuart Isacoff writes that Terry Riley’s In C was “the focus of a recent project at the Rhode Island School of Design, where a group of nearly 40 architecture students” performed the work on December 9 in a collaboration “initiated by Laura Briggs, head of the architecture department, that brought together architect David Gersten and microtonal composer Michael Harrison for a course called ‘Outside the Guidelines.’ Mr. Harrison used raga, music theory and sound technology, and Mr. Gersten, drawings, essays, film and construction to explore space and design from multiple perspectives.” Several musicians performed the score, and some of the students sang it. “The result was simply exhilarating…. During the performance, Mr. Gersten’s students roamed the Grand Gallery and mimicked the postures of the figures in various paintings (and sometimes the musicians). It made aesthetic sense: Though they were highlighting individual details, collectively these separate elements unified to form a greater canvas, much as do the 53 musical modules in Mr. Riley’s composition.” In C is written for large ensemble but not scored for specific instruments.
Posted December 17, 2015
