The '80s feel like a period of transition in Steve Reich's music, from the 'pure' transparency of the early tape pieces, Drumming and Music for Eighteen Musicians to the concept pieces of Different Trains, The Cave and whatever that new piece was that we saw the UK premiere of at the Barbican last January with Jeremy and Alex. Ah, yes, Google tells me it was You Are (Variations).
In fact Tehillim was played that night, too, sung by Synergy Vocals, though I can't say I remember much about the performance. Here's a review. It's OK, but along with Desert Music, which I think was composed or at least recorded around the same time, it's not what I think of as classic Reich.
By coincidence, tickets arrived today for Lucy and I to see a performance of Desert Music at the Barbican in October. We're also going to see The Cave, and I'm going on my own to see some of Reich's earliest works.
The price label says I paid £6.49 for this at Our Price, and I'd guess that was the Our Price on Bridge Street, Cambridge, around 1985; but that's just a guess.
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