Glass - Koyaanisqatsi

Philip Glass [b. 1937] - Koyaanisqatsi [1982] [0:03] Koyaanisqatsi [3:28] Organic [11:16] Cloudscape [15:48] Resource [22:27] Vessels [30:33] Pruit Igoe [38:26] The Grid [59:49] Prophecies “Philip Glass’s music is a key part of the film’s impact, and the soundtrack album makes a powerful work in its own right. Usually classified as an ’experimental’ composer or a ’minimalist’, Glass’s music itself has been extremely influential with many of today’s composers, from classical through to popular and particularly embracing composers for film and television. Indeed it was hearing music from Koyaanisqatsi being used on a car advert which prompted mfiles to write this review and encourage others to seek out the Philip Glass experience. The first track called simply ’Koyaanisqatsi’ is a typically minimal Glass movement where a repeating section for organ or keyboard is put through a number of variations where layers are added or taken away from the music. The track is dark and somber and deep male voices entone the word ’Koyaanisqatsi’ sounding like the chanting of Buddist Monks. Then, depending on which version of the album you can obtain, you might find a variety of tracks in different orders. The original soundtrack album has been criticized for being incomplete. The later re-recording from 1998 is better value with two additional tracks and fuller versions of the existing tracks but for some people the subtle difference in mood and emphasis from the film soundtrack is a minor criticism - the choice is yours! Different people will have their own favorite tracks: The wordless voices (initially unaccompanied) of ’The Vessels’ is particularly powerful without being intense due to its swaying meter; ’Cloudscape’ is driven by a large and forceful brass section; ’The Grid’ is by far the longest track (even in its truncated form on the original album) which really builds in intensity which when augmented by chorus drives the climactic parts of the film; and ’Pruit Igoe’ (which in the film accompanies the decay and demolition of a housing complex called ’Pruitt-Igoe’ built in St Louis in the 1950s) stands out as dynamic and exciting and is the track used on a certain television car advert. ’Prophecies’ is initially an apocalyptic hymn before it brings the soundtrack full circle when it bursts out of its arpeggios into a repeat of the opening chanting.“ ()