Steve Reich: Double Sextet and 2x5

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The rock-band sound world of 2x5 is certainly new. Reich's sense of proportion, his ability to change direction just at the right moment, is as sure as ever. And the Double Sextet contains one... — BBC Music Magazine, October 2010, 3 out of 5 stars More…

Release Date: 1st Sep 2010
Catalogue No: 7559797864
Label: Nonesuch
Length: 42 minutes

Gramophone Awards

2011

Shortlisted - Contemporary
Gramophone Magazine

Awards Issue 2010

Editor's Choice

Reich: Double Sextet

Work length22:14

$3.90

$5.10

Steve Reich

I. Fast

Track length8:39

$1.30

$1.70

II. Slow

Track length6:43

$1.30

$1.70

III. Fast

Track length6:52

$1.30

$1.70

Reich: 2x5

Work length20:31

Album only

Steve Reich

I. Fast

Track length10:12

Album only

II. Slow

Track length3:12

$1.30

$1.70

III. Fast

Track length7:07

$1.30

$1.70

Reviews
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Reviews

October 2010

The rock-band sound world of 2x5 is certainly new. Reich's sense of proportion, his ability to change direction just at the right moment, is as sure as ever. And the Double Sextet contains one of Reich's most beautiful laments, where his Jewish heritage comes to the fore.

25th August 2010

Beautifully poised throughout, Double Sextet stands as arguably one of Reich’s finest works.

17th September 2010

Like most of Reich’s oeuvre, Double Sextet (2008) explores the relationship between tempo, timing and rhythm. Its impetus stems from two identical sets of six instruments (flute, clarinet, vibraphone, piano, violin and cello) that interact in a way that generates all sorts of dramatic syncopations.

Awards Issue 2010

Steve Reich's smartest, most sonically nourishing recording for years...[Double Sextet is] a seamless return home to familiar Reich territory, and the ensemble eighth blackbird's muscular and thoughtful playing is just what's needed here. No cross-cultural conceit to be traversed. Just enjoy.

December 2010

[Double Sextet] is a terrific score, elegantly constructed, with deliciously ambiguous harmonies and glittering textures...2x5 illustrates how Reich's capacity for writing eloquent, exhilarating and ear-catching music remains undimmed.

16th September 2010

The Double Sextet...has a propulsive energy supplied by the keyboards and percussion, while the tangy, rock-band sound world of 2 x 5, with its two electric guitars, electric bass, piano and drums, together with their pre-recorded mirror image, is certainly new in Reich's music.

10th September 2010

"Double Sextet" is built on the urban pulsing of pianos and vibes, with violins sawing like thread shuttled across a loom. High woodwind cracks the canopy, breaking only for a middle section of petrified string shimmers. "2x5" features Zappa-esque chordings, doubled slightly out of sync to produce a jerky vibrato effect, over which lines of guitar motifs are neatly stitched.

10th October 2010

These two small groups double their numbers by playing against recordings of themselves, though instruments alone can be used. But this is music, not a game of numbers. It's fresh, hypnotic and beguiling and shows the American Reich on a new curve of invention.

Steve Reich: Double Sextet and 2x5

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