The Young Gods & Music of Landwehr Fribourg
Concert, La Centrale, 8pm
Terry Riley, In C, 1964
In 1964, Terry Riley composed In C (which means "in C"), a work with an unprecedented structure. The score consists of 53 musical phrases (or riffs). The 35 scheduled instrumentalists - this number is not obligatory - must play all these motifs in order, and at least once before moving on to the next, each starting when he or she wishes. The performers can start at different times, creating a continuous polyphony of modules.
As a result, the score fits on one page for a work whose performances oscillate between 45 minutes and an hour and a half. Terry Riley advises the performers not to get too far ahead or behind the group, and to pay close attention to the sonic alchemy at play between them.
In C, a pioneering composition of musical minimalism, has never ceased to be the subject of multiple, lively interpretations around the world. On May 25, 2019, it will be performed in Freiburg by two very different ensembles, both of which are unfamiliar with this music. Benedikt Hayoz, director of the Landwehr, the official music corps of the State and the City, contacted Franz Treichler, leader of the rock band The Young Gods. The concert opens an exhibition on the links between electronic music and contemporary art. The musicians are distributed on different stages in the space of a former beer bottling plant, and the public is invited to circulate to experience the event in all its dimensions.
In 2023, the Son Biennale invites The Young Gods to take part in its first edition. Franz Treichler wants to relive the experience he shared with the Landwehr in Freiburg at the former Chandoline power station. In the meantime, the Young Gods have recorded the legendary song in live condition. Play Terry Riley In C was released by Two Gentlemen in 2022, on vinyl and streaming, followed by a Swiss tour. In autumn 2023, the tour is European.
