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34-439: The ARTE Quartett was founded in 1995 by the saxophonists Beat Hofstetter, Sascha Armbruster, Andrea Formenti and Beat Kappeler. Their musical style consists of contemporary music, jazz, and free improvisation. The four musicians have commissioned many works, often working collaboratively with a composer in developing a composition. The quartet has also arranged and composed original music which they often present at concerts with

68-430: A compound function of amplitude, the curvature of the bridge, pitch, string tension and time. When the string is plucked, it has a large amplitude. As the energy of the string's movement gradually diminishes, the contact point of the string with the bridge slowly creeps up the slope of the bridge. Depending on scale, tension and pitch, this can take between three and ten seconds. This dynamic process can be fine-tuned using

102-407: A cotton thread between string and bridge: by shifting the thread, the grazing contact sequence is shifted to a different position on the bridge, changing the harmonic content. Every single string produces its own cascading range of harmonics and, at the same time, builds up a particular resonance. According to this principle, tanpuras are attentively tuned to achieve a particular tonal shade relative to

136-471: A few loose guidelines, with the different musical modules interlocking in various ways as time goes on. In the 1950s Riley was already working with tape loops , a technology still in its infancy at the time; he would later, with the help of a sound engineer, create what he called a "time-lag accumulator". He has continued manipulating tapes to musical effect, in the studio and in live performances throughout his career. An early tape loop piece titled Music for

170-514: A fifth higher, though these tonic notes may vary according to the preference of the singer, as there is no absolute and fixed pitch-reference in the Indian Classical music systems. One female singer may take her 'sa' at F, another at A, Sitaras tune mostly around C ♯ , sarodiyas around C, Sarangiyas vary more between D and F ♯ , and Bansuriyas mostly play from E. The male tanpura has an open string length of approximately one metre;

204-407: A regular pattern to create a harmonic resonance on the basic notes of a key . The overtone -rich sound and the audible movement in the inner resonances of tone is achieved by applying the principle of Jivari which creates a sustained "buzzing" sound in which particular harmonics will resonate with focused clarity. To achieve this effect, the strings pass over a table-shaped, curved-top bridge ,

238-403: A thematic focus. ARTE Quartett has performed concerts with Urs Leimgruber, Hans Feigenwinter, Terry Riley , Michael Riessler, Tim Berne , Fred Frith , Nick Didkovsky , Pierre Favre , Lucas Niggli and Rabih Abou-Khalil . The quartet tours regularly, plays at various festivals and concert series, and has recorded with various national broadcast companies. Among the festivals and venues where

272-595: Is also currently performing and teaching both as an Indian raga vocalist and as a solo pianist. Riley continues to perform live, and was part of the All Tomorrow's Parties festival in May 2011. Riley's music is usually based on improvising through a series of modal figures of different lengths . Works such as In C (1964) and the Keyboard Studies (1964–1966) demonstrate this technique. The first performance of In C

306-544: Is credited as inspiring Cale's keyboard part on Lou Reed 's composition " All Tomorrow's Parties ", which was sung by German actress Nico and included on the album The Velvet Underground and Nico , recorded in 1966. Riley's famous overdubbed electronic album A Rainbow in Curved Air (recorded 1968, released 1969) inspired many later developments in electronic music. These include Pete Townshend 's organ parts on The Who 's " Won't Get Fooled Again " and " Baba O'Riley ",

340-406: Is likewise crafted out of a gourd or pumpkin . The tanpura does not play a melody , but rather creates a meditative ambience, supporting and sustaining the performance of another musician or vocalist, as well as for musicians accompanying a dance performance. The instrument's four strings are tuned to specific notes of a given scale or musical key , normally the fifth ( Pa ; Solfège , “So”) and

374-452: Is regarded as the finest producers of tanpuras in the world. The family has been making tanpuras for over seven generations from 1850. The body shape of the tanpura somewhat resembles that of the sitar, but it has no frets – as the strings are always plucked at their full lengths. One or more tanpuras may be used to accompany vocalists or instrumentalists. It has four or five (rarely six) metal strings, which are plucked one after another in

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408-533: The ARTE Quartett , and, as mentioned, the Kronos Quartet. His 1995 Lisbon Concert recording features him in a solo piano format, improvising on his own works. In the liner notes Riley cites Art Tatum , Bud Powell and Bill Evans as his piano "heroes", illustrating the importance of jazz to his conceptions. He has three children: one daughter, Colleen, and two sons, Gyan , who is a guitarist, and Shahn. He

442-961: The Kronos Quartet and his son, guitarist Gyan Riley . Riley was born in Colfax, California on June 24, 1935, and grew up in Redding, California . In the 1950s, he began performing as a solo pianist and studied composition at San Francisco State University , the San Francisco Conservatory , and the University of California, Berkeley , studying with Seymour Shifrin and Robert Erickson . He befriended composer La Monte Young , whose earliest minimalist compositions using sustained tones were an influence; together, Young and Riley performed Riley's improvisatory composition Concert for Two Pianists and Tape Recorders in 1959–60. Riley later became involved in

476-552: The Museum of Contemporary Art of Lyon . A third version was built and presented by the Schauspielhaus in Bochum in 2019. He has composed using just intonation as well as microtones . In New York City in the mid-1960s he played with his longtime friend La Monte Young, as well as with John Cale and tabla player Angus MacLise , who were founding members of The Velvet Underground . Riley

510-638: The 1950s. He befriended and collaborated with composer La Monte Young , and later became involved with both the San Francisco Tape Music Center and Young's New York collective, the Theatre of Eternal Music . A three-record deal with CBS in the late 1960s brought his work to wider audiences. In 1970, he began intensive studies under Hindustani singer Pandit Pran Nath , whom he often accompanied in performance. He has collaborated frequently throughout his career, most extensively with chamber ensemble

544-473: The 7th, NI-s-s-S. With a five-string instrument, the seventh or NI (major or minor 7th) can be added: PA-NI-sa-sa-SA (5-7-8-8-1)or MA-NI-sa-sa-SA (4-7-8-8-1). Both minor and major 7th harmonics are clearly distinguishable in the harmonic texture of the overall sound, so when the Ni - strings are tuned into these harmonics, the resultant sound will be perfectly harmonious. Usually the octave strings are in steel wire, and

578-826: The ARTE Quartett has played are: Centre Culturel Suisse, Paris (F); Meistersinger Festival, Nürnberg (D); Eremitage, Schwaz (A); Münchner Klaviersommer , München (D); Fest der Künste, St. Moritz (CH); Theater, Basel (CH); Centro Culturale Svizzero, Mailand (I); Istituto Svizzero, Rom (I); Melos-Ethos, Bratislava (SLK); Ultraschall, Berlin (D); Jazzfestival, Schaffhausen (CH); Queen Elizabeth Hall, London Jazz Festival (GB); Instant Chavirés, Paris (F); Bimhuis, Amsterdam (NL), FIMAV, Victoriaville (CA); Porgy & Bess, Wien (AT); Stanser Musiktage, Stans (CH); Off-Beat Festival, Basel (CH). Terry Riley Raised in Redding, California, Riley began studying composition and performing solo piano in

612-708: The Gift (1963) featured the trumpet playing of Chet Baker . It was during Riley's time in Paris, while composing this piece, that he conceived of and created the time-lag accumulator technique. Premiered in 1968 in the Magic Theatre Exhibition at the Nelson Atkins Gallery in Kansas City , a new version of the installation was commissioned three decades later by Lille 2004 - European Capital of Culture and purchased by

646-499: The experimental San Francisco Tape Music Center , working with Morton Subotnick , Steve Reich , Pauline Oliveros , and Ramon Sender . Throughout the 1960s, he also traveled frequently in Europe, taking in musical influences and supporting himself by playing in piano bars . He also performed briefly with the Theatre of Eternal Music in New York in 1965-1966. His most influential teacher

680-454: The external tones sung or played by the soloist. Northern and central-Indian Hindustani musicians favor the term tanpura (often used within the context of languages such as Bengali , Gujarati , Hindi , Sindhi , Punjabi , etc.), whereas southern and Carnatic musicians normally prefer tambura (for example, in Kannada , Malayalam , Tamil , or Telugu ); tanpuri is a smaller variant of

714-454: The female is three-fourths of the male. The standard tuning is 5-8-8-1 (so do′ do′ do) or, in Indian sargam , Pa-sa-sa-Sa. For ragas that omit the fifth tone, pa, the first string is tuned down to the natural fourth: 4-8-8-1 or Ma-sa-sa-Sa. Some ragas that omit Pa and shuddha Ma, such as Marwa or Hindol , require a less common tuning with shuddha Dha (major 6th), DHA-sa-sa-SA or 6-8-8-1, or with

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748-419: The front of which slopes gently away from the surface of the strings. When a string is plucked, it has an intermittent periodical grazing contact with the bridge. When the string moves up and down, the downward wave will touch a far point on the curve of the bridge, and as the energy of motion of the string gradually diminishes, these points of contact of the string on the bridge will gradually shift as well, being

782-411: The instrument, sometimes used for accompanying instrumental soloists. Tanpuras form the root of the ensemble and indeed of the music itself, as the tanpura creates an acoustic dynamic reference chord from which the ragas (melodic modes) derive their distinctive character, color, and flavor. Stephen Slawek notes that by the end of the 16th century, the tanpura had "fully developed in its modern form" and

816-477: The latter named in tribute to Riley as well as to Meher Baba . Charles Hazlewood , in his BBC documentary on Minimalism (Part 1) suggests that the album ' Tubular Bells ' by Mike Oldfield was also inspired by Riley's example. The English progressive rock group Curved Air, formed in 1970, took its name from the album. Riley's collaborators have included the Rova Saxophone Quartet , Pauline Oliveros ,

850-427: The precise timing of plucking a cycle of four strings in a continuous loop is a determinant factor in the resultant sound, and it is played, unchangingly, throughout the whole performance. The tanpurist must keep true to their own rhythm for the duration of the composition, which may be over an hour in some cases, as their drone is critical to the entire musical foundation of the performance. The repeated cycle of plucking

884-451: The root tonic ( Sa ; “Do”). The strings are generally tuned 5-8-8-1. One of the three strings tuned to the tonic is thus an octave below the others, adding greater resonance and depth to the ambient drone. Through continuous, rhythmic plucking of its strings, the tanpura creates a constant harmonic bourdon or drone effect. Uniquely, the tanpura is not played in specific rhythm with the soloist, percussionist, or any other featured musician;

918-445: The strings in succession creates a sonic canvas on which the melody of the raga (or other composition) is drawn. The sequence of string-plucking is generally (according to pitch) 5-8-8-1, with the fourth and final string plucked being given a slight “rest”, usually two to three seconds, before repeating the cycle. The combined sound of all strings–each string a fundamental tone with its own spectrum of overtones –supports and blends with

952-484: The subtle harmonic interplay in time of its four strings. Tanpuras come in different sizes and pitches: larger "males", smaller "females" for vocalists, and a yet smaller version is used for accompanying sitar or sarod , called tanpuri . These play at the octave so as not to drown out the soloist's lower registers. Male vocalists use the biggest instruments and pitch their tonic note ( Sa ), often at D, C ♯ or lower, some go down to B-flat; female singers usually

986-399: The tonal characteristics of the raga. These more delicate aspects of tuning are directly related to what Indian musicians call raga Svaroop , which is about how characteristic intonations are important defining aspects of a particular raga. The tanpura's particular setup, with the cotton thread as a variable focus-point, made it possible to explore a multitude of harmonic relations produced by

1020-603: Was Pandit Pran Nath (1918–1996), a master of Indian classical voice who also taught La Monte Young, Marian Zazeela , and Michael Harrison . Riley made numerous trips to India over the course of their association to study and accompany him on tabla , tambura , and voice. In 1971 he joined the Mills College faculty to teach Indian classical music. Riley also cites John Cage and "the really great chamber music groups of John Coltrane and Miles Davis , Charles Mingus , Bill Evans , and Gil Evans " as influences on his work. He

1054-544: Was awarded an Honorary Doctorate Degree in Music at Chapman University in 2007. Around 1980, Riley began his long-lasting association with the Kronos Quartet when he met their founder David Harrington while at Mills. Throughout his career, Riley composed 13 string quartets for the ensemble, in addition to other works. He wrote his first orchestral piece, Jade Palace , in 1991, and has continued to pursue that avenue, with several commissioned orchestral compositions following. He

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1088-439: Was given by Steve Reich , Jon Gibson , Pauline Oliveros and Morton Subotnick . Its form was an innovation: The piece consists of 53 separate modules of roughly one measure apiece, each containing a different musical pattern but each, as the title implies, in the key of C. One performer beats a steady pulse of C s on the piano to keep tempo. The others, in any number and on any instrument, perform these musical modules following

1122-493: Was married to Ann Riley until her death in 2015. Tanpura The tanpura ( Sanskrit : तंबूरा , romanized :  Taṃbūrā ; also referred to as tambura , tanpuri , tamboura , or tanpoura ) is a long-necked, plucked, four- stringed instrument originating in the Indian subcontinent , found in various forms in Indian music . Visually, the tanpura resembles a simplified sitar or similar lute -like instrument, and

1156-454: Was seen in the miniature paintings of the Mughals. Slawek further suggests that due to structural similarity the sitar and tanpura share a related history. An electronic tanpura , a small box that imitates the sound of a tanpura, is sometimes used in contemporary Indian classical music performances instead of a tanpura, though this practice is controversial. The sitar maker family of Miraj

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