Written in open scoring for any number of participants on any instruments, Terry Riley’s In C consists of 53 melodic patterns that can be repeated as many times as desired in any octave transposition, and at any dynamic level in unison or in canon. Cellist Maya Beiser is no stranger to In C, having participated in its classic Bang On A Can All-Stars recording for the Cantaloupe label. She now “reimagines” the score by going at it alone via multitracking, with help from drummers Shane Shanahan and Matt Kilmer. At times she adds vocals to the mix. For convenience, Beiser provides ten tracking points to demarcate her continuous 56-minute performance.
Most In C interpretations are held together by a percussive pulsing high C-natural. Here, however, Beiser brings the pulse in and out of the instrumental fabric. She’ll pulse on her open C string to create a cumulative droning effect, or else bring in reinforcement from the drummers. The textures and dynamic vary widely, from the angular canonic interplay at 40 seconds into Track 4, to Track 7’s sparse long lines, or the increasing intensity of the phase shifting throughout Track 8. Toward the end of Track 3, the overlapping of phrases in tandem with hand drums evokes the exciting fast-moving interplay of a typical Indian Raga’s jhala section. Similarly, Beiser’s songful high-register legato in Track 9 channels a traditional three-string Sarangi.
She takes particular care over the concluding melodic patterns: The last one starts out in the treble register, and then expands into octave doublings played with conventional arco bowing. The articulation assiduously shifts into ponticello mode for the final crescendo and fade out.
Although I occasionally grew impatient hearing multitracked cellos playing repeated patterns at close range (the latter part of Track 6, for example), Beiser’s skillful post-production mixing usually manages to sidestep aural fatigue. To be sure, I miss the collective interplay and joyful physicality that typify most multi-instrument In C performances. Yet Beiser unquestionably brings off her conception with no gap whatsoever between ideation and execution.
