Steve Reich - Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices and Organ

Steve Reich’s Music for Mallet Instruments is one of those pieces that is quite hard to categorise. Interestingly, Reich’s music is referred to as “minimalist”; this particular composition does not fit the traditional idea of minimalism. When thinking about minimalist music, my first thoughts are of ambient music, like Brian Eno’s Music for Airports, with its endless repetition of the same 6 notes. Music for Mallet Instruments, on the other hand, is very richly layered and complex - the opposite of minimalist. However, I suppose in terms of scope, the piece is not majestic or grandiose.

The mallet instruments give the piece an ethereal feel, with the tinkling sounds of the different instruments. It’s a little difficult to identify the instruments; for a while, they sound like several triangles and xylophones played together. However, upon reading more about the piece, I discovered that Reich used Glockenspiels, marimbas and a metallophone. All of these - especially the metallophone (which is used in Indonesian music) - contribute to the piece sounding like something from East Asia, similar to Cage’s prepared piano.

The use of voice is very interesting. In the beginning, it’s easy to distinguish voice from the other instruments. While it is performed at the same time as the organ as the bass of the piece, the high notes of the voice are identifiable. Reich, however, carefully lets the voice slowly recede into the background, with the previously indiscernible organ becoming more and more prominent. The voice essentially begins to sound like a bass organ and towards the end, it’s extremely difficult to hear it. What was also interesting is how the voice and organ together have a very electronic feel (beyond the traditional organ sounds). Reich, here, seems to be trying to use acoustic instruments to create an electronic sound.

Different sections of the piece settle into a repetitive pattern. However, Reich makes sure to not encourage complacent listening. Every time, the listener is lulled into this repetitive relaxing pattern, the key and the time signature suddenly changes which forces the listener to pay attention. He uses a quick tempo throughout the composition which makes it seem much shorter than its actual length. In a sense, Reich is telling us that as listeners we should follow the pace of the music and not regard it as part of the background.

Despite the etherealness previously mentioned, there is an undercurrent of urgency running throughout the piece. To me, it feels like this piece is Reich trying to capture a sense of childlike joy and excitement in the piece. When listening to it, it reminded me of those movie montages where the main character is running - towards something exciting, trying to discover something new. This is a common motif that is still prevalent today. Considering that Reich composed this piece in the 1970s, it’s an indication of how his body of work including Music for Mallet Instruments has had such a lasting impact on popular culture.