Steve Reich

City Life (music)

City Life is a minimalist composition by Steve Reich written in 1995. The work was commissioned by Ensemble Modern, the London Sinfonietta, and the Ensemble Intercontemporain. The work was first

Movements#

The work is divided into five movements, and like many other Reich compositions they follow an arch-like form of A-B-C-B-A. They are: Each movement is named for a sample contained within it. The first, third, and fifth movements use speech samples (often doubled with instruments, as in Different Trains), while the second and fourth use only rhythmic samples, which drives the tempo in these movements. In true Reich style, the paired movements share a chord cycle. The first movement does not open with pulses (as in many of Reich’s other pieces), but with a chorale. This same chorale appears in a slightly more dissonant voicing at the end of the fifth movement, leading the final chord which ends on an ambiguous C dominant/minor seventh chord.

References#

Reich, Steve. 1995. City Life. New York: Hendon Music/Boosey & Hawkes.
Reich, Steve. Liner Notes. Proverb/Nagoya Marimba/City Life. CD. Nonesuch Records, 1996.

Composer: Steve Reich