In C

Terry Riley composed the iconic work In "C" in 1964 and the piece, first performed with a group including Steve Reich and Pauline Oliveros, is often credited with creating the genre of minimalism. With an overwhelming reception from The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, and Terry Riley himself, BRM's version of “In C” puts a unique perspective on Terry's Riley's minimalist masterpiece, by emphasizing Indian Classical instrumentation.

Indian classical music is often a lonely affair involving 3 or 4 musicians at most. Sitarist Neel Murgai identified the canonic minimalist masterpiece as an accessible way for a critical mass of BRM musicians to play together. Terry Riley himself, after listening to an early performance recording, suggested they “use the basic In C form but open it up to solos…based on some of the patterns.” BRM’s arrangement of In C incorporates raga, Indian ornamentation, driving tabla rhythms, improvised solos and an instrumentation of sitar, sarod, bansuri, vocals, tabla, hammered dulcimer, oud, violin, cello, upright bass, dragon mouth trumpet, guitar, cajon, riq and frame drum.

BRM’s rendition marks the first time In C has been performed and recorded by a group featuring so many Indian classical musicians and raga elements. The piece’s basic structure consists of 53 cells of music for any instrumentation, short fragments that each performer repeats, displaces and moves through at their own will. Terry Riley is a long time practitioner of Indian classical vocal music, having studied with Pandit Pran Nath, but he confirmed that “I have never heard an ensemble like this playing In C.”