Reissues

The latest CD releases reviewed

PHILIP GLASS
Theatre Music Volume I/ Orchestral Music Volume II Orange Mountain Music ****

With the release of the first two volumes in a proposed 10-part archive recording series has unearthed some of the seminal minimalist's most interesting unreleased works, a fascinating treasure trove of ideas and experiments and a guaranteed pleasure to Glass completists. Theatre Music, featuring live recordings from The Sound of a Voice (Suite) and In the Summer House, is vintage Glass - the former in its insistent pulse and arpeggios, the latter in its emotional warmth. Orchestral Music is signature crossover Glass. The Brazilian- inflected Days and Nights in Rocinha deftly incorporates indigenous music motifs, while the opera Persephone recalls elements of his first groundbreaking Robert Wilson opera collaboration, Einstein on the Beach: long vocal lines over shimmering percussion, rhythmic strings and brooding horns. www.orangemountainmusic.com  

Download tracks: In the Summer House, Days and Nights in Rocinha

© 2008 The Irish Times