Steve Reich: Music for 18 Musicians

Review written by David Bronczyk, May 12, 2015 It’s been eight years since the last recording of “18” was released; since that time, I’ve been thoroughly convinced that the Grand Valley State University New Music Ensemble’s splendid rendition of “18” was the definitive recording of the piece. Until now. Ensemble Signal has produced a stunning and superlative performance: from start to finish the ensemble is meticulously precise, well-proportioned, and graceful. Every instrumental nuance is voiced with crystal clarity; in this recording I heard notes that were obscured or seemingly absent in the previous five recordings. Many first-time listeners to “18” might be too quick to complain about the seeming repetitiveness of this work; to them I would say, “give it time and repeated listening". Having listened to Reich’s masterpiece hundreds of times during the past four decades (it is absolutely my favorite piece of music), I only recently realized why I find it so organically and elementally compelling. "18", in my view, follows a different and rarely trodden path. The work is "about " organic rhythms and dense layers of phased harmonics; it is "about" the human breath and tapestries of slowly evolving pulses that mimic heartbeats, chants, footfalls, and the thundering wheel-clicks of runaway trains. "18" disregards the conventional narrative imperatives; it tells no story, offers no clichéd characters, develops no plot twists or unresolved conflicts, and ultimately refuses to yield an emotionally satisfying and cathartic conclusion. Rather, "18" is a trance-inducing tone-poem, a sonic loom weaving fluid carpets of richly repetitive warps and woofs. And Ensemble Signal’s rendition is one to treasure!