PHILIP GLASS – In The Upper Room (Coreographed by Twyla Tharp)

Twyla Tharp (/ˈtwaɪlə ˈθɑːrp/; born July 1, 1941) is an American dancer, choreographer, and author who lives and works in New York City. In 1966 she formed the company Twyla Tharp Dance. Her work often uses classical music, jazz, and contemporary pop music.

In the Upper Room is a dance/theater collaboration between choreographer Twyla Tharp and composer Philip Glass. This new recording marks the first complete musical document of the 1986 ballet. The first recording of the work, released on Sony’s Philip Glass “Dance Pieces,” presented only five of the nine movements of the work.

In approaching this Orange Mountain Music release, the producers examined the original recording and it was revealed that the engineers of that record, heavily reinforced the acoustic instruments (including strings, brass, and woodwinds) with synthesized tracks. This was done presumably to artificially thicken the orchestral sound.

It was decided to make this new recording using only acoustic instruments as it was meant to be heard with the additional goal of presenting all the movements, I-XI for a complete recording of In the Upper Room.

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