Steve Reich – Pulse / Quartet

Vinyl LP pressing. 2018 release. Pulse is performed by the International Contemporary Ensemble - an artist collective committed to transforming the way music is created and experienced-and Quartet (2013) is played by the Colin Currie Group, an ensemble led by percussionist Colin Currie that specializes in the music of Steve Reich; these are also the ensembles that gave the world premiere performances of the respective works. Reich says, Pulse, for winds, strings, piano and electric bass, was completed in 2015 and was, in part, a reaction to Quartet, in which I changed keys more frequently than in any previous work. In Pulse I felt the need to stay put harmonically and spin out smoother wind and string melodic lines in canon over a constant pulse in the electric bass and or piano. From time to time this constant pulse is accented differently through changing hand alternation patterns on the piano. All in all, a calmer more contemplative piece. He continues, Quartet, when mentioned in the context of concert music, is generally assumed to mean string quartet. In Quartet, there is just this group alone: two vibes and two pianos.