Spiral Lines

Early works by Philip Glass (1969–1970), newly arranged for BL!NDMAN and Ictus.

Music in Contrary Motion, Music in Fifths, Music in Similar Motion, Music with Changing Parts: the four pieces all date from 1969–1970, a highly fertile period in the composer’s trajectory. They bear traces of a decisive encounter: during his studies in Paris a few years earlier, Philip Glass was engaged as an assistant by the Indian composer and sitar player Ravi Shankar. The latter asked him to transcribe his music into Western notation, a difficult problem that proved revelatory for Glass: “I erased all the bar lines. And suddenly, I saw the flow of the rhythm that I hadn’t seen before.” It was at this moment that the young artist discovered the potential of music based on the combination of very brief patterns. This technique makes it possible to create a musical flow that is vertiginous and fast like a torrent—both repetitive and unpredictable.