Terry Riley: A Rainbow in Curved Air (1969)
Terry Riley is no doubt one of the granddaddies of Minimalism. His early music, In C[/c] and the two works on this disc, brought to light the musical possibilities of rapid-fire notation and shifting sonic textures to a new form of music. Riley has done this primarily through electronic keyboards and computer technology. The composer plays all the instruments on this extraordinary disc: electric organ, electric harpsichord, “rocksichord,” dumbec, tambourine, and soprano saxophone.
The music is spooky, if not deeply meditative, and at times borders on the hypnotic with droning organ does a great job of achieving this and reflects a structural aspect borrowed from eastern music, particularly Indian classical music. [i]A Rainbow in Curved Air will always have a special place in the collections of late 20th century American music.
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