Terry Riley in C performed live by Plastic Acid Ensemble

Plastic Acid Ensemble performs the work titled 'Terry Riley in C' on December 18, 2006 in Vancouver at the Caprice night club, a venue normally home to rock bands and dance music, this was an utterly unconventional performance. All in all, the show was very well received. For more, see http://www.myspace.com/plasticacid

Category:

Music

Tags:

• plasticacidensemble
• plasticacid
• vancouver
• caprice
• club
• music
• modern
• orchestra

[coasterman16]

This performance takes everything Terry Riley indicates in the score and ignores it completely. This has got to be one of the most misrepresentative and hideous recordings of this piece in existence. Please DO NOT assume In C is supposed to be played in any manner resembling this performance.

[jmv123]

@coasterman16 Considering I'd never ever heard the piece before, I was quite impressed hearing it live. In fact, I just played the original version here, and I actually find the original annoyingly rigid, as it lacks any of the cacophony of a live club audience. I'm still a little surprised how popular this video has become, but I'm happy it's become the subject of so much academic conversation!

[jmv123]

@coasterman16 My point is, musical appreciation is very personal. I appreciate how sincerely you take the essence of the piece. I still like how this performance sounds because I was there, and I heard it first, here. The fact that it's being performed 'wrong' is incidental to me, but still fascinating. Much like the fact that people are talking throughout doesn't bother me at all. It was a fun concert!

[tubulard]

it's a little annoying to hear all the noise of people talking in the background. If I were there I would be shushing people :P

[ItsMsMac]

@ItsMsMac Just to clarify - the repeated eighth note C's are there. They're being played on a toy piano and glockenspeil, you just can't hear them in the recording because of the talking. The players could not hear each other very much, hence the "conducting", if you can call it that.

[ItsMsMac]

Four years later and I'm alarmed by how many hits this video has, and that my full name is attached to it. Anyhow... all the comments about our performance being unfaithful to the score are fair and accurate. We did it wrong - as have other groups. There is a recording of it by a Chinese ensemble that put it in rondo form. We took big liberties because of the nightclub setting (the noise, mainly) and "Plastic Acid" philosophy. I wouldn't take such liberties now, but am still proud of PA.

[bplogic]

@masta8877

Why don't you educate yourself by looking at the score before making statements like this? It's on the internet for free, so it's pretty damn easy. It does sound different: it's worse. It's not the same piece. It shouldn't bear the same title. Whether or not you like the original isn't the issue. The issue is that this is a misrepresentation one of the most important pieces of music from the 20th century.

[masta8877]

@coasterman16 So they rearranged a piece that is pretty damn far from being sacred, big freakin deal, chill out. And I agree with these people that the original recording actually hurts to listen to, not a very pleasant experience. I honestly like their arrangement. I've never played it myself or seen the score, but it doesn't even sound that different.

[risvegliato]

not how it should be done

[bplogic]

This is a disaster. My version is better.

[Wormtongue13]

Very similar to Penguin Cafe Orchestra's "Music for A Found Harmonium."

[coasterman16]

@jmv123 I'm confused as to why you equate rigidity to people talking during a performance. When I say this group completely misrepresents the piece, I'm talking adherence to the score. The piece is played COMPLETELY INCORRECTLY, as in, the performers are playing measures in the WRONG PLACE, the improvisatory element of changing measures when you want is COMPLETELY REMOVED, the ending is COMPLETELY AGAINST what Riley indicates in the score. I don't care if you liked it. It's wrong regardless.