Steve Reich’s Desert Music

This masterpiece is rarely heard live. But tonight, Het Muziek joins forces with the Nederlands Kamerkoor, HIIIT, New European Ensemble, and Ensemble Klang to present a joint performance of this monumental cantata for choir and orchestra. The Desert Music by Steve Reich, who celebrates his birthday today, is an impressive work that unites poetry and urgency. The title and lyrics come from writer William Carlos Williams, whose words Reich brought together into one vast, breathing soundscape.

Beneath the surface of that soundscape lies a deeper meaning: Reich deliberately chose texts from the period following Hiroshima and Nagasaki – a time when ‘the bomb’ cast a long shadow over the world. The music reflects this tension: humans have the power to realize their ambitions, but they are also confronted with a moral dilemma. The desert of the title remains ambiguous: is it a physical place, an inner void, or a vision of the future?