Live, from 1986, it's Philip Glass and his eponymous ensemble, appearing on a major-network sketch comedy show which shall remain unnamed. Added value: great shots of all the vintage gear, and George Wendt (!) introducing the major operatic composer of our time.Philip Glass Ensemble performs Rubric, NYC 1986 (YouTube)
4 comments:
I have always loved the earnestness that Glass has when performing. At the 2005 Bang on a Can's People's Commissioning Concert, Glass and the All-Stars performed Music in Similar Motion, and the performance really humanized the piece. And in this YouTube as well -- he's performing memorized (I think)!
It was in 1986 that I first saw the Philip Glass Ensemble. I knew it was 20 years ago, but seeing that retro equipment really drove home how much time has passed. I'm off for a little lie down.
Believe it or not-SNL used to feature "serious" music a lot more, and used to have some really interesting musical guests. Ornette Coleman was on I know and I'm sure others. Now it's the worst show in the world and has the worst hosts and guests in the world.
A much better video is to be found at Ubu Web in the Glass episode of Robert Ashley's Music with Roots in the Aether. The performance segment was done with Glass's classic band, including Joan La Barbara.
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