Riley's In C  
California Composer Terry Riley launched what is now known as the Minimalist movement with his revolutionary classic In C in 1964. This seminal work provided a new concept in musical form based on interlocking repetitive patterns. Its impact was to change the course of 20th Century music and influence the works of prominent composers such as Steve Reich, Philip Glass and John Adams, and in the music of many Rock Groups.

The piece consists of just 53 bars of music (see extract to right). Each player can repeat each bar as often as he or she wants, but must play them all in order, starting with the first.

The interaction of a group of players performing this simple set of instructions simultaneously results in a complex texture being formed.

The piece is usually performed with 20-30 players. We intend to move the music to a different plane by using an entirely different scale, and fill the Sheldonian with 100 performers.




 		 Extract of the score for Terry Riley's In C

Extract of In C by Terry Riley

 

download full score (PDF format)

download audio clip (MP3; right click & "save as")