EIF Review: Colin Currie Group plays Steve Reich

Soon to turn 90 and still actively composing (indeed, his latest piece was premiered as part of this programme), American composer Steve Reich has achieved the status of living legend in contemporary music circles, with a very devoted fandom. So writes Lindsay McMurdo for theQR.co.uk…

The UK branch of that fandom must have been hugging themselves in glee at the prospect of an entire programme of his hyper-rhythmic music, with its extensive use of repetitive figures and canon-like structures. It was performed by the renowned Colin Currie Group, which has specialised in performing his work for 20 years.

They were not to be disappointed. The first short piece, Clapping Music, an early work from 1972, featured just two performers using just their hands to create an intense interplay of complementary and competing rhythms before reaching unison at the climax. Similarly short in length, Two Pianos from 2020 foregrounded the dense, clustering chords that Reich employs frequently to layer above his unrelenting rhythms.

Two longer pieces, Radio Rewrite from 2012 and Double Sextet from 2007, played by the wider group, brought these two techniques together to create expansive washes of sound and texture, exercising a kind of hypnotic effect, at least initially. The concentration required by the players to keep these kinds of compositions from breaking down is self-evidently immense, and there could be no doubting their skill and cohesion. Both pieces were rapturously received by most of the audience, clearly largely comprised of Reich aficionados. However, the techniques, layering, and structures of both pieces seemed to this reviewer so similar – to the point of repetitiousness – that the initial hypnotic spell started rapidly to break down.

A Divisive Second Half

As so – happily for most, less happily for some – it continued into the second half, featuring two more larger-scale works, 2013’s Quartet and a new piece, In All Your Ways. Both, to this listener, reiterated all the same tropes and techniques of the previous works. It became hard to distinguish one piece from another or maintain focus.

“The UK branch of that fandom must have been hugging themselves in glee at the prospect of an entire programme of his hyper-rhythmic music…”

In the end, one simply has to accept that you either love this stuff or you don’t. If you do, it can provoke a kind of ecstatic response (in the sense of a kind of transportation). If you don’t, the relentless repetition becomes maddening, the lack of any melodic development alienating, and the overall effect somewhat machine-like and emotionless. There’s no real middle ground.

It would be churlish, however, not to restate that the Colin Currie Group brought their all to delivering this unique performance and deserved every bit of their loyal audience’s noisy appreciation at the end. Their skill brought some solace to those – like this reviewer – for whom a little Steve Reich goes a very long way.

Featured Image: Colin Currie – Steve Reich – Tommy Ga-Ken Wan – Edinburgh International Festival