Director Godfrey Reggio’s Qatsi trilogy concludes with Naqoyqatsi, a word derived from Hopi culture meaning “life as war”. As with its predecessors Koyaanisqatsi and Powaqqatsi, Philip Glass provides a musical score that equally partners the visual images. His signature minimalist style has grown broader, less rigid and modular than it might appear on the surface. For instance, curvaceous melodies that suggest Glass’ deep roots in traditional North Indian classical music insidiously mingle with the composer’s famous arpeggios.
Yo-Yo Ma, in turn, milks the featured solo cello narrative to its expressive hilt (for example, note the long, cruelly exposed lines in Old World and at the outset of Media Weather). Not surprisingly, the cello predominates in a mix that seems too reverberant, homogenized, and frothy for the composer’s punchy orchestrations to make their fullest impact. At the same time, the sleek yet thin string sonorities manage to evoke the reedy Farfisa organ textures characterizing Glass’ touring ensemble of the 1970s and early ’80s. Worth hearing.
