Timber was composed in 2010 by the New York composer Michaël Gordon. The work consists of five movements for six players of the simantra, the percussion instrument of Byzantine rites, which consists of a long plank of wood that is hit with two hammers. At the limit of their muscular resources, the musicians produce moving waves and textures of sound that explore the spells of rhythms, sometimes in time, sometimes out of time. They create a kind of grainy, crackling sound landscape that is ultimately very peaceful and a match for electronic music – and this with their bare hands!

The same day, another classic of minimalism will be performed: A Rainbow in Curved Air by Terry Riley (1969). This little-known work is a little hippy gem for electric organ, soprano saxophone and percussion, its motifs swirling to the point of vertigo in the echo chambers.

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(from L.A. Record)

Dan Collins: Last year I went to the Los Angeles Downtown Public Library, checked out a copy of your In C on CD, and somehow lost it on the way to the car. They charged me thirty dollars to replace it! Do you think it was really worth that much?

Terry Riley: Which version did you get? There’s about 25 versions out there. There are some versions out there that I think would definitely be worth it. One would be the Ictus Ensemble from Belgium. The Bang on a Can version. And the Paul Hillier Ensemble version.

D.C: What’s the worst version of your music you’ve ever heard?

Terry Riley: Ha ha—I don’t think I can answer that! There’ve been so many versions of In C that people have done who didn’t quite understand the piece, or at least didn’t have the right forces together to really make it work. But that’s fine, too—because one of the great things about In C is that it brings people together in a group. So even if you don’t succeed, at least you’ve had a communal experience!