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Composers of minimalism were united in their goal  of  striving for greater simplicity.  It  arose later in the 20th century  as a reaction to the complexity, structure, and perception of twelve-tone serialism as developed at the hands of Schoenberg’s disciples. The application  of minimalism varied with different composers. An explanation of minimalism  as well as a brief history of the techniques involved in minimalist composition follows.

Introduction

Minimal music  was initially viewed as a form of experimental music called the New York Hypnotic School.  It  originated in the New York  downtown scene  (1960s) with   American composers La Monte Young, Terry Riley, Steve Reich, and Philip Glass

As an aesthetic,  Minimal Music  represents a new approach to a activity of listening to music, marked by a non-narrative, non-teleological, and non-representational conception of a work.  It  focused on internal processes  which lacked  goals or motion.  Features include  consonant harmony, steady pulse, plus a gradual transformation and  the repetition  of phrases, figures, motifs, and cells. Minimalism might  include  an additive process and phase shifting which leading  to what has been termed “phase music”. Minimal compositions rely heavily on process techniques that follow strict rules are usually described as  process music.

Only five (Young, Riley, Reich, Glass, and later John Adams) emerged to become publicly associated with American minimal music, though .the minimalist  movement originally involved dozens of composers.

Brief History
The most prominent minimalist composers are John Adams, Louis Andriessen, Philip Glass, Steve Reich, Terry Riley, and La Monte Young.  The early compositions of Glass and Reich are somewhat austere, with little embellishment on the principal theme. They were works for small instrumental ensembles, of which the composers were often members. In Glass’s case, these ensembles comprised  organs, winds—particularly saxophones—and vocalists, while Reich’s works have more emphasis on mallet and percussion instruments.  Most of Adams’s works are written for more traditional classical instrumentation, including full orchestra, string quartet, and solo piano.

You need not listen to this entire work – Six Mirambas by Steve Reich but listen long enough without scrolling  the work to hear the repeated phrases in  the work. This is typical of minimalism. Changes  occur   occasionally throughout the work but there  still long repetitive unchanging segments.

Now listen to the first few minutes  of this example of Music  for 18 Musicians.  You will have a good idea of minimalism after hearing these two works.

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Holy minimalism:   Holy Minimalism is a name for a composition style that combines the principles of minimalism with Medieval or Renaissance influences and religious subject matter. It is a fairly recent stylistic trend within the larger minimalist movement.

The growing popularity of minimalist music often broke with prevailing musical aesthetics of serialism and aleatoric music. Many composers began to work with more traditional notions of simple melody and harmony in a radically simplified framework.  This transition was seen as an aspect of musical post-modernism or as neo-romanticism, that is a return to the lyricism of the nineteenth century.

Continuing  from the 1970s, several composers began working with  radically simplified compositional materials,  featuring  a strong foundation in tonality or modality, and the use of simple, repetitive melodies  but  also included an explicitly religious orientation. Many of these composers looked to Renaissance or medieval music for inspiration, or to the liturgical music of the Orthodox Churches of the East, some of which employ only a cappella in their services.

Arvo Pärt
We discuss Arvo Part in a later topic in this Module buit his  contribution  toward minimal requires his inclusion here as well. This work is quite convectional (unlike previous examples in this module)

Examples  of this a style  include  the music of  Arvo Pärt (an Estonian Orthodox), (exhibited below), John Tavener (a British composer), Henryk Górecki (a Polish Catholic), Alan Hovhaness (the earliest mystic minimalist), and others..

Although Part does not consider himself a minimalist or this work an example of Holy Minimalism this work does remind one of these styles. Listen carefully for suggestions of minimalism.(See further discussion below)

Despite being grouped together, the composers  are by no means a “school” of close-knit associates. Their widely differing nationalities, religious backgrounds, and composition inspirations make the term – minimalism –  problematic. It is nonetheless in widespread use, sometimes critically,  primarily because of the lack of a better term. “Neo-Contemplative Music” is one example of a suitable alternative.

Recordings have played a major role in the popularization of   holy minimalism, as all three of the most well-known “holy minimalists” (Arvo Pärt, Henryk Górecki, Sir John Tavener) have had significant success with CD sales. A 1992 recording of Górecki’s 1976 Symphony No. 3, sold over a million copies. John Tavener has had several recordings of his works nominated for the Mercury Music Prize, and Pärt has a long-term contract with ECM Records, ensuring consistent and wide distribution of recordings of his works.