The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs

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Category:	Musical composition
Dated:	November 1942, New York City
Instrumentation:	Voice and piano
Duration:	2'
Premiere and performer(s):	March 5, 1943 at Carnegie Recital Hall in New York City. Performed by Janet Fairbank, contralto and Karl Kritz, piano
Other performances:	* March 13, 1951. Auditorium, Julius Hartt School of Music, Hartford, CT. John Cage, piano. Jacquelynne Moody, soprano
Dedicated to:	Janet Fairbank
Choreography:	---
Published:	Edition Peters 6297 © 1961 by Henmar Press
Manuscript:	Score (holograph, amount of pages unknown) in Library of Congress, Washington DC.

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Text from Finnegan's Wake by James Joyce. The voice uses only 3 pitches and sings without vibrato like in folksong. The piano is closed, the pianist tapping with fingers or knuckles under the piano, on top of the keyboard lid, on its back or on top of the piano. The music resulted from the impression received on the text. Sources: Paul van Emmerik: Thema's en Variaties; Paul van Emmerik: A Cage Compendium; New York Public Library online catalog; David Revill: The Roaring Silence; Published score