One Earth, One People, One Love: Kronos Plays Terry Riley

Kronos Quartet

Nonesuch

The Utopian title of this five disc collection of the compositions of Terry Riley might seem hippy nonsense at present, but that should not be a deterrent from exploration of the catalogue of works by the man whose music the experimental quartet has most frequently turned to.

The latest chapter in the revision and consolidation of Kronos history does a considerable service to Riley who, saving his 1969 album A Rainbow in Curved Air, is mostly known for his ground-breaking 1964 composition In C, the premiere of which also featured a young Steve Reich in a crucial electric piano role. The possibilities of In C are still regularly explored at "new" music events, but this set makes clear that the composer ranges much more widely than that, his association with Kronos introducing the group to a wide range of other collaborators. Three previously released albums (one a double) are joined here by a further disc of new and unreleased recordings, Sunrise of the Planetary Dream Collector, which is also available on its own and as good a place as any to start. It includes 1990's Cry of a Lady, featuring Le Mystere des Voix Bulgares and 1983 Kronos showcase Cadenza on the Night Plain.

Keith Bruce