First Circle (4K) - Pat Metheny/Lyle Mays | FSU Percussion Ensemble 

To everyone involved in the FSU Percussion Ensemble, I can only offer my most ardent "Congratulations!" on work that is beautifully realized and performed. Sitting here, at a much more advanced stage of life (age-wise), it is wonderful to see a group of young musicians doing something so very positive. It simply speaks to the power of good music. Though it is not a percussion instrument in the purest sense, the power of the human voice, originally brought to Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays' compositions by Argentina's Pedro Aznar is a constant reminder of what that element, and Pedro's creativity and emotion brought to pieces like "First Circle." Unless I missed something, it's a shame that every player/performer was not properly credited in the video or in the blurb below. Everyone should be recognized for this work so very well done!!! Bravo!!!

Somewhere in heaven, Lyle Mays is smiling.

Music education at its best. A percussion symphony playing a legendary song from master songwriters Lyle Mays and Pat Metheney brings a smile to my face. Lyle and Pat would be pleased. I hope more discover what a treasure trove of music these two have given the world.

Wow!!! There should of been applause afterwards...🥲👍

This is the value of a liberal arts education

To everyone who took the time to leave these inspiring comments--THANK YOU! Honestly we didn't expect such an overwhelming response, but I speak for all of the students (and the College of Music for that matter) when I express my gratitude for your time and thoughts. We promise to keep it up! And what a special treat for PM to share the post--I've been a huge fan of his forever, and was lucky to study with Paul Wertico briefly in graduate school--an amazing experience that literally changed everything for me. Also, I wish (as many of you wrote) that Lyle could have seen/heard it--we played an earlier version of this arrangement at PASIC 2011, and one of my colleagues shared it with Lyle back then--he wrote and said "I love the whole FSU vibe!" So to him looking down from above, I say thank you as well--all the best to everyone from the FSU Percussion Studio! JP

Magic. This is one of my all-time favorite pieces and you guys nailed it in the most creative yet faithful way. Just amazing.

When Pat Metheny says "Wow!", you go and listen! Great job!

I hope some how, some way this video makes it to Pat Metheny? And he posts a comment on his thoughts?

Beautiful performance. Pat's a good friend. I believe he will enjoy this arrangement and performance!

WOW! Like hearing it live from the Metheny Group in concert! You literally brought tears to my eyes! Thank you all.

Aside from the original Metheny performance, this is the best rendition I have heard of this since UNT 1 o'clock back in 1986 (and this transcription is pretty darn close to both). Well done Dr. Parks and all of the hard working men and women at FSU!!!

Superb performance of one of the most iconic Metheny/Mays masterpieces. Thank you for your hard work!

How can I give 100x likes?

Remarkable rendition and arrangement considering how complex First Circle is to play on it's many instruments!!

Fantastic arrangement and realization. Not ashamed to admit I'm wiping away some tears of joy.

As a longtime fan of Metheny and Mays this is by far the best rendition of any of their work that I have ever seen and listened to. To say this is absolute magic is an understatement.

I've heard this song by Pat over the years and each time I played it I discovered something that I've might have missed before... It always sounded 'new' to me just like Minuano or have you heard, you know, the hard ones with the most complicated and intricate tonalities. But this cover (if you can call it a "cover") more like a MasterPiece of the Original... Wow, wow, WOW..!! What a pleasant and harmonic surprise... I would never imagine that this piece could've been entirely done on Xilophones (Marimba) and Tubular Bells... Simply and Utterly Exquisite to my ears... Like Falling in Love with Pat Meheny All Over Again!!

Congratulations on such a faithful and involving performance which completely captured the intent, mood, vibrancy and technical precision of the composers! No easy task. Well done!

Absolutely brilliant. Great job!

Beautiful rendition, Congratulations. Pat I am sure would be flattered and Lyle would be proud to hear their composition done with your talents!

It's so nice and so important that the legacy of the PMG is studied and continues to be played, the contribution to music that men gave through the years is a milestone. Well done!

Bellísima versión. Lindo ver a jóvenes músicos interpretando, en todo el sentido del término, música tan excelsa como aquella escrita por la dupla Metheny-Mays hace casi 40 años... Rescatan plenamente su complejidad, pero también su espíritu. ¡¡¡ Congratulations !!!

Excellent work young ones! The First circle was always one of my favorite Pat Metheny Group Tracks. This is a very nice interpretation of it

Brilliant. Well done. Amazingly difficult work done so well.

Fantastic! Great composition preformed by a very competent ensemble. Thanks for posting!

I don't have the words to express how much FSU's interpretation of this classic beautiful song moved me. It truly touched my soul, thank you!

First Circle needs to find various avenues of introduction such as this to each new generation of musicians as they comes along. Such is the destiny of a truly timeless piece of music.

GO NOLES

WOWOWOW absolutely fantastic arrangement/performance/energy!! Bravo!!

I love this. Pat and Lyle were great composers as well as great musicians.

Love the texture of voice and marimba, awesome job guys!!

Amazing Amazing Amazing!!! You knocked it out of the park FSU Percussion Studio! I was attending FSU when the Pat Metheny Group came to Ruby Diamond Auditorium in March 1980. A friend at the time got me a ticket. I was absolutely floored by the musical performance I had just witnessed. After that, I was in like the mob. Musically, I felt somewhat like an outsider with my passion for Metheny, since most folks in my circle of school / work colleagues & friends were die hard rock and rollers. Metheny remained my go to music for the next 6 years (and I still felt in a small minority for knowing and liking his music). Then, when I pushed the play button on the cassette player in my apartment for background music on a first date living in Maine, As Falls Wichita, So Falls Wichita Falls came on. I was flabbergasted when my date named the song / album! She was beautiful, smart, loving and she knew who Pat Metheny and Lyle Mays were! Fast fwd 36 years later and this incredible person, who has accompanied me to PM concerts over 3 decades, the mother of our two amazing sons and the love of my life, turns to me and says: Pat Metheny at the Kennedy center in June? Just like 36 years ago - she had me at "Pat Metheny".

One of the best renditions I’ve ever heard. Great work!

Man. This performance needs more views. Great piece of music, arranged for and played by an awesome percussion ensemble. Loved some many things: the mallet work, the addition of the bass and voice parts, and it appeared to be performed without a conductor, although that might have been camera angles...

What a perfomance .the very best of Pat Metheny Group.. An incredible piece...The best ever. Viva Venezuela and Metheny Group.....

On another important note: Pat Metheny and some of the Greats Should Be Obligated and Required at Every Music School here and abroad. Observing how the Essence of Real Music has been fading away from its very Roots and 'giving way' to this horrible, tasteless and insipid 2-3 chord "new music" (more like noise just repeating...) that just "hurts" my ears and I'm sure many, many other Music Lovers from the 60's, 70's, 80's where music grew to a form of Art Exponentially and then Rap and the rest of the garbage came along pyling up like a giant mound of filthy noise where no one could identify what was what... We Need to Do an "Archaic Revival" if True Music is to Survive in the Future.

Outstanding !!!! Thank you for performing and posting.

Pat Matheny‘s First Circle one of the most moving songs I know. FSU did an incredible arrangement and performance. Bravo!!!! ❤️😍🤩

I attended the 1985 London concert of the European 'First Circle' tour of the PM Group, and this was a highlight. A few years later at the Royal Albert Hall, the whole audience joined in on the vocals when they played it, including my two sons.

Absolutely mind blowing! I certainly hope Pat sees this. What greater compliment can there be for a composer? Well done to the entire FSU ensemble and their staff!

Sono in estasiii!! PAT METHENY apprezzerà 👍👍👍

I was delighted and surprised when some vocals were added as I didn’t expect it. Bravo all around and the best compliment I can give you is that I did tear up a bit at one point. Who cannot love this song no matter how it is played?

nice solo transcription

Great!!!!!!!!! Congratulations of all the talented young musicians and singer. The best interpretation since the original recording and the live performance from Pat, Lyle and Pedro.

👏👏👏.. To the F.S.U. Percussion Ensemble.. This was actually an *EXCELLENT* version of this composition!!! I've heard this played by PMG (of course), by Pat Metheny with a full live orchestra (Metropole Orchestra, North Sea Jazz Festival), and now this rendition from your group. Keep up the outstanding work--I look forward to you doing other covers of beautiful jazz compositions!!! 🎉🎉🎉 (One of his compositions that I would LUV to hear you all attempt is "Proof". It's lengthy and a little difficult--I think it has three solos--but consider it. Ciao..👋👋)

Beautiful job. This song was playing when my son was born. It holds a special place in my heart.

fsu percussion ensemble cool p..metheny art

Intense! This group of young people orchestrated this piece in their own way, but captured the intensity of its original form. Bravo!

As a Gator I gotta say the Noles got us here. Magnificent piece of music.

Wonderful! Thank you very much for your outstanding performance.

Good times. Sounds fantastic!

Benedetti dagli DEI!! talentuosi👏👏👏

Two Thumbs Up!

I’ve been a PMG fan for about 20 years and have heard “First Circle” countless times (although never live, sadly). This was brilliant, well done!!

Fabulous!! Kathy and get to see Pat again on Tuesday here in Bethlehem, PA. He must like Bethlehem because we've seen him here probably 8 or 9 times since 1980. It's Side Eye this time and we're so looking forward to it. We've seen all the bands since the Danny Gottieb/Mark Egan/ Lyle days though the Brazilian band days with Pedro Aznar and then the Ron Carter show. We are huge fans and miss Lyle terribly. This percussion version of First Circle is really something. Completely enjoyed it I thank you all very much for the obvious hard work that went into it- and thank you for sharing!

Just AMAZING great job done by all!

That was simply Awesome! Bravo

OMG #1: I'm excited for you all that the post beneath what I'm writing right now is from the legendary Steve Khan. That's a massive gift for your future CVs (though he'd be too humble to think it). Don't take it from me, check him out- if you enjoyed the journey of First Circle, you'll enjoy him. OMG #2: Everything that he said, but if I made a suggestion it would be to augment the vocal arrangement. That fantastic young woman on her own! when the coda really demands more. When I was at jazz college there was, I'm ashamed to say, some snobbery between instrumentalists and singers. How wrong we were. Anyway, this was fantastic, thank you all. Cheers.

Hard to describe the joy this brought me. Thank you all so much. The first time I heard this song live was in 1984 on the actual First Circle tour.

Superb rendition. Pat and Lyle will go down as one of the great composing duos of our time, and their music will live on, as evidenced here. Congratulations to these students, they did a great job!

Fantastic!!! It's Simply wonderful !!!❤

Incredible performance!

More than 35 years Pat fan... this is amazing performance ... from another musician group.. .... creating the same sounds . 😊

This brings tears - such an amazing rendition!

First Circle is the reason I became a Pat Metheny fan when i heard it back in 1985. No matter how many time I've heard it, it hits me emotionally more than any other tune I can think of. Your rendition gave me the same feeling I did hearing the PMG original. Beautiful rendition.

Very complex rhythm they clap

There is hope for this world after all. Thank you students.

Just...WOW!! The subtleties of the marimba under the vibes are just mind-blowing. What fantastic recreation and interpretation of great piece. VERY well done!!

having heard this song hundreds of times for nearly forty years, including dozens live by pat and lyle, i offer sincere congratulations for this performance... y'all 'noled it!

Very proud FSU alum and huge Pat fan to see such polished playing done so tastefully

What an incredible interpretation of the wonderful First Circle. Truly outstanding.

Wow guys. That was spectacular! A unique arrangement, well suited for yourr ensemble, all your own, and yet still preserving the essential parts of the original’s sense and feel, masterfully played. I think it was perfect.

A música já é linda. O arranjo e a execução, brilhantes! Congratulations!

fanatstic, tears in my eyes

Exceptional! Life long PMG fan (since the early days). This gave me goosebumps.

Amazing!!!!

bravissimi. I listed to this masterpiece song from 1987 when I bought the CD. I will never figure out how such a celestial piece of music could be produced by human beings..so impossibly beautiful.

BRAVO

Nice job!

Bravo Lyle Mays is Smiling from Above.

♥♥♥ Amazing to see young musicians plays so well this Masterpiece. BRAVI TUTTI !!!

Also, excellent job to the folk(s) who shot this and did the audio. The way the rhythmic whole body motion is caught at the end (the twisting to hit some notes and then returning) gave a feel for the song. The audio was impeccable. You have brought smiles to PMG fans.

I’ve seen Pat live many times over the years and this makes me so happy. Just perfect in every way.

Bravo! That was awesome!

Gooood ensemble!!!!

wouaou !!!!!!! Congratulations------RIp to Lyle, I'm sure he heard that beautiful version ;

That was perfection!! WOW!!! Really enjoyed this guys!! One thing, though. Is the vocalist's volume turned down? In the original the vocalist really soars. Would love to see her project a bit more. 👍👍

Great music but also a very good video and audio recording of this performance.

Great playing and arranging for percussion ensemble. Steve Reich's Tehillim next?

Killer!!!!! Congrats! 🔥

And Yes The Young Lady Has A Beautiful VOICE!

Bravo everyone. A beautifully interpretation and superb playing. Such a great piece of music and you have done it great justice. Thankyou

Just amazing...it brought tears to my eyes....Impeccable !!!!!!

Wow! Still wiping away the tears from experiencing this amazing performance. Such great musicianship, sincere emotion and great display of so much strong percussion techniques. I will be sharing this with all my students. Bravo to all!

Bravo! 👏 👏 👏

Wow

This is beyond wonderful. This is one of my all time favorite pieces and your version is just perfect ❤🎉

Very cool arrangement and great playing!

Gave me chills! Excellent interpretation!