Koyaanisqatsi (1998 Re-recording)
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CD Details
Composer: Philip GlassEdition: Music CD
Format: Soundtrack
CD Release Date: 1998-10-27
Music Label: Nonesuch
Soundtracks:
- Koyaanisqatsi
- Organic
- Cloudscape
- Resource
- Vessels
- Pruit Igoe
- The Grid
- Prophecies
Music reviews of Koyaanisqatsi (1998 Re-recording)
Music Review: Fantastic Re-recording of a Classic Soundtrack
Rating: 4 Stars
Man, what else can be said about this soundtrack? I will admit, though, that the music itself will make more sense if you've ever seen the movie.
This is classic Phil Glass as we've come to know him: triplet bass arpeggios, fantastic string and brass arrangements and sometimes startling changes of pace. I have a friend who had the original Koyaanisqatsi CD release and this one is much better thanks to the inclusion of all original Phil Glass material featured in the movie.
I was instantly drawn to the opening number. The church-sounding organ pedals immediately caught my attention and I was in awe of the bass vocal stylings of Albert De Ruiter, not to mention the contrapuntal organ manual playing of Michael Riesman. This track then gives way to the sparse-sounding track, "Organic".
Starting out with a lone note played by cellos or even violas (or both), different layers are added -- various woodwinds or a french horn played in a very high register (a recurrent theme throughout the disc) -- until there is basically the full ensemble playing. I like this track owing to a lot of tensions in the chordal structure of the tune. Phil resolves these very effectively although not always in an orthodox manner, which I think lends character to the composition. Then we bring the vocals back in and move to "Cloudscape".
I have to admit that this is either my favourite track from the disc or at least a really close second to "The Grid". As the rest of the ensemble fades away, we are left with one lone note, played by the french horn. In this track, the brass section takes center stage, aided and abetted by Kurt Munkacsi (credited as "Engineer, Electronics") and the brilliant low brass. Background is provided by mute trumpets and the effect of alternating between F-sharp minor and A-minor -- I'll let you music theorists sort that one out. The high point of this track for me is towards the end when in the movie we look out over (what I assume to be) Niagra Falls. The shimmering trumpets and incredibly deep bass, with help from a repeated french horn motif, are totally fantastic.
From here we lead into "Resource". Again, Phil is using his triplet arpeggios as his primary melodic and rhythmic device. On this track, however, he shatters the tonic cohesion with some great tension-filled string and french horn lines. The track is further accentuated with some shrill, piercing pipe organ tone clusters that sharply accompany some of Mr. Munkasci's pulsating electronic work and more of our old friend, the french horn. A brief quiet interlude is unceremoniously interrupted by more synth bass and bold french horns. Awesome!
"Vessels" is the next track up and we're welcomed with a sonic break from our previous excursion by an actual rill (the clinical term for the small bit of silence between tracks on an album, cassette or CD) between this track and the track previous. For those familiar with the movie, this marks the visual and thematic transition between the world of nature and the world of man.
The main feature of this track is the choral work. Although they don't sing any words as such, I find the arrangement to be fabulous and I think that Phil made the transition from scoring for an instrumental ensemble to scoring for chorus rather handily. Then our ensemble kicks back in again, resulting in a nice rhythmic tug-of-war with the chorus. Anyone familiar with 2-against-3 will enjoy this part of the tune.
Next up is "Pruit Igoe", named for the dilapidated and abandoned low-income housing project whose destruction it accompanies musically in the film. The track begins with the string section and centers around a pedal tone in A whose chords alternate between the spooky-sounding minor, the minor with a sharped 5th degree and the A-minor diminished all of which is capped by a fantastic 3-octave run down the A lydian scale. After a few repetitions of this theme, the whole ensemble is brought in and comes in loud and strong with Phil's trademark triplet arpeggios and pulsating bass and trumpets leading the way. This leads to a quiet restating of the first part of the theme after a bombastic 'middle eight'.
This brings us to "The Grid". I love the way this tune starts off. It really is simply a nice brass ensemble piece. The tubas get us going and the french horn joins in rather quickly, as do a couple of trombones. Mute trumpets also have their say while the song works up to a wonderfully maddening conflagration of the brass, the strings, the wind, chorus and trusty old Kurt Munkacsi's rapid-fire arpeggiated bass line. If you haven't seen the film, I will warn you that this track -- which clocks in at just over 21 minutes -- will likely wear you out in the aural sense. Regardless, I still think it's one of the best tracks of the CD and I routinely listen to the opening part of this track over and over and over again.
Last up in this CD release is "Prophecies". I am a big fan of the organ as used in this piece and the great vocals (including the above-mentioned Albert De Ruiter) are great, even though I can't understand the Hopi language in which they were sung. This is definitely a perfect closer to a stellar CD.
I would recommend that prospective buyers of this CD at least check out the film first before deciding to get this release. I had been a big fan of the film for almost 10 years when I finally got the chance to buy the soundtrack. One word of advice, though: this is a rerecording of the original movie soundtrack. It is not a re-release of the original CD with the previously missing tracks added.
In any case, it is definitely worth the cash to have the soundtrack in original running order and re-recorded using more modern equipment and techniques.
Description of Koyaanisqatsi (1998 Re-recording)
All products are BRAND NEW and factory sealed. Fast shipping and 100% Satisfaction Guaranteed.Fifteen years after its initial release, Philip Glass's score to Godfrey Reggio's film Koyaanisqatsi is still as timeless as it was meant to be. Glass's epic score, virtually the only sound in this non-narrative movie, accompanied an exhilarating, wordless meditation of images ranging from expansive, slow-motion landscapes to whirling-dervish city scenes shot using time-lapse techniques. Glass's music was a perfect match. The opening chant is still unlike anything Glass has composed, a Tibetan monk operatic growl that set up the foreboding sense of loss the film engenders. Most of the score, however, casts Glass's minimalist themes in orchestral expanses. Bass strings troll the bottom while flutes draw circles in the air. On "The Grid," manic keyboards drive into the night, pounding out the cyclical refrains that are a Glass trademark. When Koyaanisqatsi came out, it seemed opulent with its orchestral forces, but always at the center were the keyboards, reeds, and voice that are Glass's characteristic sound. Koyaanisqatsi means "life out of balance," but Glass's remarkably austere score remains perfectly poised. This newly re-recorded edition adds nearly 30 minutes to the previous CD release with two previously unissued tracks and extended versions of "The Grid" and "Prophecies," the two signpost works of the film. --John Diliberto
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