Octet

Minimalism flourished in the 1960s as an accessible alternative to the complexities of avant-garde serialism—but the works themselves are often by no means simple to play, requiring stamina to execute with mechanistic accuracy the repeated motifs over extended periods of time. The first incarnation of Eight Lines is a case in point. Originally entitled Octet, Reich's 1979 piece was conceived for string quartet, two pianos and winds, but he later expanded the score by adding a second string quartet, sharing out the double stops between instruments so as to make them easier to play. Eight Lines comprises one movement, divided into five sections (though the smooth transitions between these sections mean that the sections merge into one another). From the outset, piano ostinati dance and chug, phasing in and out with one another, against long-held violin drones and winds picking out fragments of motif, adding flecks of colour and rhythmical life to the musical canvas. Another feature of this first section, as well as the third and summatory fifth, are the longer melodic lines for the flute and piccolo, showing Reich’s fascination with the chanting of the Hebrew Scriptures.