Editorial Reviews

Philip Glass' score for Godfrey Reggio's 1983 film Koyaanisqatsi comes from one of his most fertile creative periods, soon after "Satyagraha" and about five years after "Einstein on the Beach," and it contains some of his most immediately appealing music. For listeners who are not likely to wade into one of his huge operas, "Koyaanisqatsi"'s manageable dimensions make it an ideal introduction to Glass' work (if there is in fact anyone out there who has not yet been introduced to it) because many of its sections are so memorably distinctive. The opening, with a broadly amplified very low bass intoning the film's title (which means "life out of balance" in Hopi) while the orchestra weaves an apocalyptically menacing web is one of Glass' most unforgettable inventions. The ululating chorus of mixed voices, "Vessels," at first unaccompanied, and then joined by the throbbing of instruments, is a marvel of open-throated lyricism that should dispel any stereotypical misconceptions of Glass as a rigidly mechanistic technician.

This is the first release of the "complete" soundtrack to the film; at 76 minutes, it's only about 10 minutes shorter than the film itself. The 1983 soundtrack contained a half hour's less music than this new issue. (In the meantime, Glass and his ensemble had made a new recording of virtually all the music included on this release, but this the first time the actual soundtrack has been available.) Glass' ensemble, as always, performs with mind-boggling discipline and soulful commitment, and because of the darkly pessimistic tone of the film, with a stark and sobering gravity. His use of a large ensemble of orchestral instruments, as well as the Western Wind Vocal Ensemble, along with electronic instruments, allows him a wide palette, ranging from the warmth of human voices to the high-tech pulsing of synthesizers. Careful engineering is integral to Glass' compositional process, so the CD's sound is certainly his own best realization of his artistic vision. Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide

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