View source for Glassworks (composition)

{{Short description|1981 chamber music work by Philip Glass}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=June 2025}}
{{Italic title}}
{{Infobox musical composition
| name                = ''Glassworks''
| composer            = [[Philip Glass]]
| style               = [[Postmodern music|Postmodern]], [[Minimalist music|minimalist]]
| form                = [[Chamber music]]
| composed            = {{start date text|1981}}
| publisher           = Dunvagen Music Publishers
| first_recording     = {{start date text|1982}}, studio recording for [[Sony Classical Records]]
}}
'''''Glassworks''''' is a [[chamber music]] work of six movements by [[Philip Glass]]. Following his larger-scale concert and stage works, it was Glass's successful attempt to create a more pop-oriented "[[Walkman]]-suitable" work, with considerably shorter and more accessible pieces written for the recording studio.

The [[vinyl record|LP]] and [[Compact Cassette|cassette]] were released in 1982,<ref name="Martin">{{cite web |url=http://thequietus.com/articles/08659-philip-glass-glassworks |last=Martin |first=Erin Lyndal |title=Celebrating The 30th Anniversary Of Glassworks By Philip Glass |date=April 30, 2012 |work=The Quietus |access-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref><ref name="Schaefer">{{cite web |url=http://www.wqxr.org/#!/story/231895-top-10-essential-philip-glass-recordings/ |last=Schaefer |first=John |title=Top 10 Essential Philip Glass Recordings |publisher=WQXR |work=Q2 Music |date=September 4, 2012 |access-date=March 9, 2016}}</ref> each with its own separate mix: the record album intended for home listening and the tape for [[personal cassette player]]s.<ref>{{cite magazine|title=Glass Gets 'Walkman Mix'|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wyQEAAAAMBAJ&pg=PT92|date=March 27, 1982|last=Penchansky|first=Alan|magazine=Billboard|page=83}}</ref> The headphone-specific mix, previously only available on cassette, was reissued digitally 2016.<ref>{{cite tweet|title=Today's featured recording is, Glassworks: Specially Mixed for Your Personal Cassette Player (2016) |author=The [[Philip Glass Ensemble]]|user=philipglassens|date=January 27, 2022|number=1486732003395264520}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|work=[[Pitchfork (magazine)|Pitchfork]]|title=Philip Glass: The Complete Sony Recordings|date=November 14, 2016|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22527-the-complete-sony-recordings/|first=Seth Colter|last=Walls}}</ref>
{{cquote|''Glassworks'' was intended to introduce my music to a more general audience than had been familiar with it up to then.|||Philip Glass<ref>[http://www.philipglass.com/music/compositions/glassworks.php Philip Glass: Music: Glassworks] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080325125050/http://www.philipglass.com/music/compositions/glassworks.php |date=March 25, 2008}}</ref>|}}

==Movements==
{{ordered list|list_style_type=upper-roman
|"Opening" (piano, with horn at end) 6:24
|"Floe" (2 flutes, 2 soprano saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, 2 horns, synthesizer) 5:59
|"Island" (2 flutes, 2 soprano saxophones, tenor saxophone, bass clarinet, 2 horns, viola, violoncello, synthesizer) 7:39
|"Rubric" (2 flutes, 2 soprano saxophones, 2 tenor saxophones, 2 horns, synthesizer) 6:04
|"Façades" (2 soprano saxophones, synthesizer, viola, violoncello) 7:20
:This movement has its origins in the film score ''[[Koyaanisqatsi]]'', but was ultimately not used in the film; it is often performed as a work in its own right (ISWC T-010.461.089-0).<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://philipglass.com/compositions/facades/|title=Facades – Philip Glass|publisher=Philip Glass}}</ref>
|"Closing" (flute, clarinet, bass clarinet, horn, viola, violoncello, piano) 6:03
:A reprise of "Opening".
}}

==="Opening"===
"Opening" uses [[tuplet|triplet]] eighth [[Musical note|note]]s, over [[Metre (music)|duple]] [[eighth note]]s, over whole notes in [[4/4 time|{{music|time|4|4}}]]. [[Musical form|Formally]] it consists of three groups of four [[Bar (music)|measure]] [[phrase]]s of three to four [[chord (music)|chords]] repeated four times each, ABC:||ABC, which then merges with the next [[Movement (music)|movement]], "Floe" with the entrance of the horns.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wu|first1=Chia-Ying|title=The Aesthetics of Minimalistic Music and a Schenkerian-Oriented Analysis of the First Movement "Opening" of Philip Glass' Glassworks|date=May 2009|publisher=UNT Digital Library|location=Denton, Texas|url=https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc10975/|access-date=December 23, 2015}}</ref>

==="Floe"===
There are two formulaically identical sections to the movement. Although rhythmically driven, the melodic implications of "Floe" occur somewhat coincidentally by orchestration. There is no [[modulation (music)|modulation]], but the harmonic [[Chord progression|progression]] simply repeats over and over again. The layering of contrasting [[timbre]]s is characteristic of the piece as a whole. Floe borrows a theme from [[Jean Sibelius]]'s [[Symphony No. 5 (Sibelius)|fifth symphony]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=2017-11-16 |title=Musiikki {{!}} Säveltäjälegenda Philip Glass lainasi Sibeliukselta, unohti Mika Waltarin, palasi Helsinkiin ja kommentoi nyt Cheekin lopettamispäätöstä |url=https://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/art-2000005451447.html |access-date=2023-05-15 |website=Helsingin Sanomat |language=fi}}</ref>

== In popular culture ==
"Rubric" and "Façades" both appeared in the 2008 documentary about [[Philippe Petit]], ''[[Man on Wire]]''. "Floe" was featured on the soundtrack of the 1989 Italian horror film [[The Church (1989 film)|''The Church'']]. "Opening" was featured in the American remake of the movie [[Breathless (1983 film)|''Breathless'']].

==Release and reception==
{{Music ratings
| rev1 = [[AllMusic]]
| rev1Score = {{Rating|4.5|5}}<ref name="Young">{{cite web|last= Young |first=John |url=http://www.allmusic.com/album/philip-glass-glassworks-mw0000157237|title=AllMusic Review |work=[[AllMusic]] |date=1981 |access-date=March 12, 2015}}</ref>
| rev2 = ''[[Pitchfork Media|Pitchfork]]''
| rev2Score = 9.5/10<ref>{{cite web |url=http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/22527-the-complete-sony-recordings/|title=The Complete Sony Recordings - Review|last=Walls|first=Seth Colter|work=Pitchfork Media|date=14 November 2016 |publisher=Condé Nast|access-date=November 22, 2016}}</ref>
}}
The album was commercially successful, introduced Glass's music to a large audience, and gave Glass widespread name recognition.<ref name="Martin"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Philip Glass}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:1981 compositions]]
[[Category:1982 albums]]
[[Category:Compositions by Philip Glass]]
[[Category:CBS Records albums]]
[[Category:Albums produced by Kurt Munkacsi]]
[[Category:Philip Glass albums]]