[CAUT] John Cage, "The Earth Shall Bear Again"

[Greg Granoff]

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These speculations are all very amusing, but seriously, John Cage was =
quite sincere about these pieces, in the sense that he had a very =
carefully considered philosophy and methodology of composing, and was =
VERY interested in the uncontrolled, spontaneous moment as part of the =
composition.  The changes and unrehearsed differences that occur from =
performance to performance (including different prep materials and what =
people think he might meant by this or that instruction) were for him, =
part of the music.  This included audience reaction, which would =
include, I feel certain, the controversies around the music like what is =
in this thread right now.  He hoped to evoke an awareness on the =
listener's part as to what part of the musical experience is our =
reaction based on expectations and preconceptions, and what part is =
simply the spontaneousness of the moment-- and what it means to actually =
have a "purpose" in the first place.  In his playing with the very =
definition of music,  he was very influenced by an abiding interest in =
Zen Bhuddism.  He was anything but drug induced (joking aside), but was =
a very articulate, fastidious man who was very health conscious.  You =
can Google him and find out all kinds of fascinating things about him.  =
When you see how important he was to a certain branch of musical =
thought, he certainly commands respect for integrity of intent, even if =
you remain uninterested in the music itself.
We have a percussion instructor here who is a John Cage scholar and =
serious fan.  At least one of his works is performed here every year by =
the percussion ensemble, and while it is true that you must carefully =
control and instruct the pianists "preparations", I've never seen a =
broken string due to this use.  The worst that has ever occured is a =
slightly cockeyed damper head, and after the problem and the way to =
avoid it was pointed out, the problem did not recurr.  We don't allow =
the main performance instruments to be used for this purpose, and in =
general a culture of respect and concern for the piano's well being is =
fostered and maintained by all involved, beginning with myself and the =
percussion instructor.  With this as the basis for doing this music, =
everyone can usually relax and have fun.
Just my two cents.

Greg Granoff
Humboldt State University
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Jeff Tanner=20
  To: College and University Technicians=20
  Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 10:36 AM
  Subject: Re: [CAUT] John Cage, "The Earth Shall Bear Again"




  On Oct 5, 2005, at 11:48 AM, Otto Keyes wrote:


    My vote is to let the earth bear it....again.....give the rest of us =
a break

    outside the cage...




    Otto





  Well, I would vote with you, but it is beginning to look like my =
preferences and suggestions that prepared piano accelerates piano wear =
are being totally ignored. =20


  "I just want to do something different"=20


  "but it sounds so cool"


  Yeah, some people probably think the sound of an airliner colliding =
with a tall building sounds cool and different too.


  Anyhow, I agreed to help her with the preparation.  This piece didn't =
look too involved as long as she lets me help.  Rather do it that way =
than find a bunch of maimed damper felt and broken strings.  The problem =
is going to become that she will want to rehearse it on a prepared =
practice room piano from now till March. =20


  Question is this:  the instructions give exact distance from the =
damper to place the screws, bolts, etc.  How much does piano make and =
model affect what Cage was after?  (I mean, really, was there really a =
method to his madness? or was this guy just really doing some serious =
d-basing?)  When he says "bamboo", is it a "slice" of large bamboo or a =
"tube" of smaller diameter bamboo (like what he was using to snort coke? =
maybe a doobie holder?)?  green or dried?  and what is usually used for =
the "plastic" weaved around the low A, Bb, and B?  Drink straw maybe? =
(see snort)


  No. I'm sorry. I just can't take this music form seriously.  But some =
people want to give it merit.


  Jeff
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