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| Glass: Music in Twelve Parts | 
| Creators: Philip Glass, Philip Glass Ensemble
Label: Orange Mountain Music
Category: Music
List Price: $21.99
Buy New: $19.54
You Save: $2.45 (11%)
Buy New/Used from $19.54
Avg. Customer Rating:  (17 reviews)
Sales Rank: 38735
Format: Box Set, Import
Media: Audio CD
Discs: 4
Shipping Weight (lbs): 0.5
Dimensions (in): 5.6 x 4.9 x 0.9
MPN: 49
UPC: 801837004922
EAN: 8018370049224
ASIN: B001BXSJRQ
Release Date: July 21, 2008
Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days
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| Tracks:
Disc 1
| • | Part 1 | | • | Part 2 | | • | Part 3 |
Disc 2
| • | Part 4 | | • | Part 5 | | • | Part 6 |
Disc 3
| • | Part 7 | | • | Part 8 | | • | Part 9 |
Disc 4
| • | Part 10 | | • | Part 11 | | • | Part 12 |
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| Editorial Reviews:
Product Description
This four disc boxed set of Philip Glass' seminal Minimalist work is offered as a new recording by Philip Glass and the Philip Glass Ensemble from 2006.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 12 more reviews...
 The better of the two versions.... March 31, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
This is the original version of Philip Glass's magnum opus (well, one of many magnum opuses) Music in Twelve Parts. He has since re-recorded it, and this old version is out of print. I personally prefer this version. While it may not be as technically proficient as the latter version, it's rawer (as raw as Glass can be) and more human than the latter version. It's an epic work, one piece in twelve parts, with every part running on average 15 minutes, usually longer. It is not a slight undertaking to listen to it. It's a committment, like watching a Tarkovsky film, watching Bela Tarr's Satantango, watching Fassbinder's Berlin Alexanderplatz, reading Tolstoy's War and Peace or watching a performance of Bach's St. Matthew Passion. All of Glass's work is like that, but his early stuff (and his operas) require much from the listener, but if you give, you will receive. This is one of my personal favorites of Glass's work, along with Satyagraha, Glassworks, Dances No. 1-5, and Two Pages. If you can, listen to it all the way through, or at least four parts at a time. It's really quite spectactular.
Headphone Commute Review January 21, 2008
Orange Mountain Music, a label created by Kurt Munkacsi, producer of most Philip Glass recordings, re-[re]-releases a new recording of the classic Music In Twelve Parts as a set of twelve individual [iTunes only] files (upgraded to 256 kbps), scheduled at one per month in celebration of the great composer's 70th birthday year. I grabbed the first two parts from iTunes (at $1.99 a piece), and became instantly entranced in the hypnotic repetitive patterns that explored the flow of melody, and just when I would "tune into" the presented concept, it would change like a school of rapidly swimming tiny fish. Throughout the pieces I find myself drifting in and out of consciousness, and after twenty minutes (per track) I feel relaxed and refreshed, like from a lengthy meditation. Not surprisingly wanting more, I looked up an earlier, 1996 recording of the same work. Although the three disc set is offered by some retailers at over forty dollars, I was shocked to see the entire performance available in MP3 format (also at 256 kbps, yet DRM-free) from Amazon at only $9.99. What a steal - DONE! I must comment that I like this older recording to be better - it is warmer, more organic, and is a tiny bit slower. My recommendation would be to skip the marketing gimmick and head over straight to Amazon, to try the digital rip before you commit to the entire album. Perfect head-cleaner for a busy mind. Prescribed for musicians at a piece per day, prior to recording sessions, preferably on an empty stomach.
 One and two: worthwhile; Three to twelve: forget February 5, 2007
3 out of 6 found this review helpful
It takes a person with stamina to be able to listen to Music in 12 Parts in one or several sittings. A condensed version on 1 CD would suffice, and then, it would be difficult to listen to as well. I am not a musician so I can only peripherally enjoy the musicianship. Gee whiz, it must have been difficult to play those instruments for that length of time. As for "music" it is hard to categorize as such. Not much changes in many of these long pieces, each averaging about 17 minutes. It IS minimal in that regard, which doesn't bother me. It's just that so many of the pieces here are not pleasant to the ear.
Being a Glass fan, I can, however, highly recommend parts 1 and 2. Part one is what Philip Glass intended as "Music in 12 Parts" until he played it for someone and they said "great...how do the other 11 sound?" which intrigued him enough to continue with 11 more parts. I rarely if ever venture into CDs 2 and 3. But, parts 1 and 2 are delicious, melodious and enjoyable.
I paid $12 at a used CD store and it's worth that to add to an already extensive Glass collection. If you find it under $20 AND you are a Glass fan, buy it.
 Wonderful torture music, buy the Hours instead August 3, 2006
9 out of 26 found this review helpful
This stuff could be used at Guantanamo, unlike Glass' wonderful Hours soundtrack. I love water, but not when it's dripped over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and overand over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and overand over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and overand over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for for up to 19 minutes per track. I have this an extra star because the performers are competant, although how they can play this stuff is beyond me.
A checklist before buying June 13, 2006
7 out of 7 found this review helpful
In order to approach Philip Glass's Music in Twelve Parts, I recommend the following prerequisites:
1.) Make sure that you have enough money to purchase this extraordinary piece of music. While the three discs which make up this piece of music may tend to be categorized as "box set," in truth, this is no compilation of Philip Glass's greatest hits or rarities. Instead, what you receive is the singular, defining greatest 'hit' of Glass' repetoire.
2.) Set aside at least 3 hours and 26 minutes of your day to sit and listen to this piece of music uninterrupted as it will take at least that long to make it through all three discs. "Music In Twelve Parts" is a single piece of music, just like Mozart's "Requiem" or Prokofiev's "Romeo and Juliet," and while one is capable of listening to the individual parts out of sequence, doing so would ruin the intended effect of the piece of music as a whole.
3.) Listen with open ears and an open mind. One of the problems many people face when meeting Glass for the first time is that they are confronted in an ugly sort of way that Philip Glass does not sound like the traditional composers, like Beethoven, Debussy, or even Brahms, and he doesn't even sound atonal, like Boulez, Messiaen, or Schoenberg: many realize that Glass is in a category wholly removed from these composers, and they tend to not like it because they were expecting something else. I say this because not only was this my first perception of Glass, but it's also the same sort of response I meet in others, such as friends or family, when introducing them to the work of Philip Glass.
Glass' early work, especially Music in Twelve Parts is riddled with arpeggios. Yet, while there is definitely an electronic keyboard driving the pulse of the piece from start to finish, the true quality of the piece is displayed in the other musicians, especially the woodwinds, who must not only keep pace, but who must also be able to change key and delve into further slight variations on the drop of a dime. Music in Twelve Parts may, indeed, sound minimal and abruptly simple, but the endurance required when playing such a piece requires immense skill and precision. Be sure to keep your ear attuned for this.
4.) Finally, enjoy. The great thing about Glass' music is that there's no interpretation needed, no cryptic meanings, and no hidden secrets. If you play Music in Twelve Parts backwards, what you hear is Music in Twelve Parts. Nothing more, sorry.
It's an excellent piece of music, and a wonderful experience!
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