Music Book Review: On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement by Kerry O'Brien and William Rubin

On Minimalism: Documenting a Musical Movement
by Kerry O’Brien and William Rubin (Music 781.68 Obr)

In its introduction, the authors of On Minimalism explicitly refer to this book as a “revisionist” history,” after laying out the more traditionally-told tale of minimalism as the product of composers Terry Riley, Steve Reich, Philip Glass, and LaMonte Young. It’s true that most previous scholarship has focused almost exclusively on these four composers, and they rightly point out that there are many other important figures who have contributed to minimalism. In recent history, more attention has been shown to other minimalist composers’ works through performances and recordings, and the conception of what constitutes “minimalism” in music has itself expanded significantly. So don’t take the “revisionist history” notion as a warning of propaganda—this is a balanced and thoughtful kind of revision, inclusive at heart and bringing the history into balance with the way the music is already being discussed in many circles, anyway.

 

I should mention that Obrien and Rubin aren’t exactly the “authors,” but they’re not listed as editors, either. The title page lists them as “compilers,” and perhaps that’s the best term for this form: they are contributing small bits of writing at the opening of each chapter to set up developments in the time period being discussed, but generally this is a primary source-based book, framing its history through the way that critics and the artists themselves have talked about it as it happened. In letting these many voices speak for themselves, the historical record around the foundation and growth of this music is corrected by the active participants in its development, rather than later authors’ opinions. They also address related styles of music that made contributions to the umbrella of minimalism but are often left out of these discussions, such as the ambient music movement, spearheaded by Eno, the disco pop repetitions of Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder, or even modern iterations of minimalist-related music like the drone metal of Sunn O))).

 

The book is broadly divided into three parts chronologically, with further chapters within each part. Already in just the introductory pages to Part 1/Chapter 1, the editors/writers/compilers are challenging commonly-held notions around minimalism, reminding us of the profound influence that Indian classical music had on this music, that composers outside of the “Big 4” were actively exploring minimalist-related concepts and studying with Indian musicians back in the 1950s, and that some of the earliest minimalist music was known more for its abrasiveness as a cousin of the “Danger Music” movement than for being tranquil or meditative. Chapter 1 takes us into the cool jazz style spearheaded by Miles Davis in the 1950s as the obvious Western antecedent to minimalism, too.

 

Subsequent chapters delve further into those early days of minimalism, many before that name was even attached to the music: the “Dream Music” performances of La Monte Young, the “loop-based” approach of Terry Riley’s melodic fragments, the sound work of folks like Elaine Radigue, Annea Lockwood, and Pauline Oliveros, the many Western musicians who traveled to India for musical studies, influences of other art mediums, and the rise of composer-performer ensembles. The documents represented in “On Minimalism” go into more detail about all of these structural elements of the movement’s development than most previous books have attempted.

 

I was especially impressed with the emphasis on lesser-known minimalists throughout the book. In the “Histories” chapter, Jace Clayton take a refreshing new look at Eastman’s work, and questions whether we’ve been looking at it the right way in recent years. And some other composers mentioned, such as Catherine Christer Hennix, have simply remained obscure for too long. I’ve been a fairly serious enthusiast of minimalism myself since the late 1990s, but for whatever reason this book is the first time I’ve heard of her work. I’m excited to have a new-to-me artist to check out! There are also some lesser-known extensions of minimalism discussed, such as the “Wandelweiser” composers of Germany and Switzerland who founded their organization in 1992, blending some elements of minimalism with some of the more Zen concepts found in the work of composers like John Cage.

 

At the end of the book, a chapter called “Futures” explores some of the latest minimalist-adjacent music, some of which may surprise readers. The doom metal band Sunn O))) is discussed here, for example, whose incredibly slow tempos and gradual gestures are indeed cousins of minimalism, whose sheer volume and bombast recall the early days of the music when it was still considered somewhat dangerous. This part of the book gets very up-to-date, even discussing the final album by saxophonist Pharoah Sanders, a very minimalist collaboration with electronic musician Floating Points and the London Symphony Orchestra. Contemporary classical approaches, such as those used by percussionist and composer Sarah Hennies, are also explored. With so many stylistic points of entry to minimalist-related music today, it’s clear that this music retains its voice in the complicated spectrum of modern music.

 

(If you enjoy this, you may also wish to try The Names of Minimalism: Authorship, Art, Music, and Historiography in Dispute by Patrick Nickleson, Repeating Ourselves: American Minimal Music as Cultural Practice by Robert Wallace or American Minimal Music by Wim Mertens.)

 

( official Kerry O’Brien web site )

 

Recommended by Scott S.
Polley Music Library

 

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