Sentieri Selvaggi is a group made up of some of Italy’s best musicians and aims to bring contemporary composed music to a larger audience. Philips Glass’s Façades, one of the composer’s most popular works, was originally composed for Koyannisquatsi, a cult film directed by Godfrey Reggio which marked Glass’s film scoring debut. Gavin Bryars’ “Sub Rosa” has similar roots in cross-disciplinary collaboration, and the piece has an ethereal sense of lightness

Italy’s Sentieri Selvaggi is a group made up of some of that country’s best musicians, united in a cultural project aimed to bring contemporary composed music to a larger audience. Founded in 1997 by Carlo Boccadoro, Filippo Del Corno, and Angelo Miotto, they’ve garnered much acclaim and developed close relationships with many internationally renowned composers. Sentieri Selvaggi's new EP presents pieces from two of the most celebrated names, Philip Glass and Gavin Bryars.

Glass’s Façades, was originally composed for Koyannisquatsi, a cult film directed by Godfrey Reggio which marked Glass’s film scoring debut. When Façades' scene was cut from the film, Glass transposed it as a piece for his ensemble of saxophones and electronic keyboards, releasing it on his much acclaimed album Glassworks. Sentieri Selvaggi's recording is a re-orchestration, including strings, flute, and clarinet. Stylistically, the piece is halfway between Glass’ first period (based on few cells obsessively repeated which undergo very gradual harmonic changes), and his following decade of more melodic and lyrical works. The immediate accessibility of this piece has made it one of the composer’s most popular works.

Bryars’ “Sub Rosa” has similar roots in cross-disciplinary collaboration. When Bryars recorded his first album for ECM, Three Viennese Dancers, Manfred Eicher, the founder of ECM, introduced him to American guitarist Bill Frisell. Bryars transcribed the melody of one of Frisell’s solos, and the result transported the notes into a magical, but melancholy world—distinctive to Bryar's music. Notably, he slowed down the tempo of the theme and used the piano to play a simple pattern, which continued for the entire piece. Bryars also added sweet melodies performed by a strange ensemble of recorder, clarinet, vibraphone (played with a bow to produce harmonies), violin and bass. The resulting score has an ethereal sense of lightness.