| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | Seattle, March 1940 |
| Instrumentation: | Prepared piano |
| Duration: | 7' |
| Premiere and performer(s): | April 28, 1940 as a dance accompaniment at the Cornish School in Seattle, Washington. |
| Dedicated to: | |
| Choreography: | Syvilla Fort |
| Published: | Edition Peters 6784 © 1960 by Henmar Press. Also published in "John Cage - Prepared Piano Music, Volume 1 ¤ 1940-47", Edition Peters 67886a © 2000 |
| Manuscript: | Score (holograph in ink, signed - 7 p.); Proofs for the published edition with corrections by Cage in blue and purple pencil, and black ink (13 p.); Notes (holograph - 1 lf.), all in New York Public Library. |
| Bacchanale is Cage's first work for prepared piano. He intended to write a piece for percussion ensemble,
but the performance hall being too small, he started experimenting with objects inside the piano. The preparations are
quite simple: weather-stripping, pieces of rubber, screws and bolts, placed between the strings. |