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Eight Lines is a work by Americanminimalist composerSteve Reich which was originally titledOctet.
Under its original title,Octet, the work was commissioned by theHessischer Rundfunk (Radio Frankfurt) and completed in April 1979. It was premiered at Radio Frankfurt on June 21, 1979, by members of the Netherlands Wind Ensemble, conducted byReinbert de Leeuw (Reich 2002, 98). It was originally scored forstring quartet, twopianos, and twowoodwind players each playingclarinet,bass clarinet andflute as well aspiccolo. Reich rescored it in 1983 to make performance easier, by adding a second string quartet, and retitling the workEight Lines. The additional twoviolins solve "the difficulty of playing rather awkwarddouble stops in tune," and the additionalviola andcello "allow the rapid eighth-note patterns to be broken up between ... two players" to prevent fatigue (Reich 2002, 119). The wind parts were originally conceived for two clarinet playersdoubling both bass clarinet and flute as well as piccolo, though right from the world premiere in Frankfurt in 1979 ten players were used, dividing the wind parts among four musicians. The composer regarded this as a perfectly ordinary option, while pointing out "whether there are eight, nine, or ten performers, the piece is always musically anoctet" (Reich 2002, 98).
In 1985New York City Ballet's balletmasterJerome Robbins made an eponymous ballet to this music (Kisselgoff 1985).
Reich made a new recording for his 1997Works 1965–1995 boxed set.
The structure but not the sound of Jewishcantillation influenced the composition, particularly of the flute and piccolo melodies (Reich 2002, 113–14, 118).
The work is cast in a singlemovement about 15 to 18 minutes long, in a quick5
4meter. Its core is asyncopated pianoostinato, superimposed overtransposed and shifted versions of itself. The woodwinds and strings play fragmented versions of these figures inunison with the pianos, as well as melodies of their own and slowdrones in the background. The piece makes extensive use of imitativepolyphony and incremental building of melodies.[citation needed]
The work is divided into five sections. The first and third share a similar texture of rapid piano, cello, and bass clarinet figures, while the second and fourth sections are marked by sustained tones in the cello. The fifth and final section combines these materials. The divisions between sections, however, involve smooth transitions with some overlapping in the parts. As a result, it is often difficult to tell just when one section ends and the next begins (Reich 2002, 99).
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