In the name of the holocaust



Category: Musical composition
Dated: New York, December 26, 1942
Instrumentation: Prepared piano
Duration: 6' (part I: 4'; part II: 2')
Premiere and performer(s): February 14, 1943 at the Arts Club of Chicago in Chicago, Illinois. Piano by John Cage. Performed with the dance by Jean Erdman and Merce Cunningham
Dedicated to:
Choreography: Merce Cunningham: In the Name of the Holocaust (1943)
Published: Edition Peters 66755 © 1977 by Henmar Press. Also published in "John Cage - Prepared Piano Music, Volume 1 ¤ 1940-47", Edition Peters 67886a © 2000
Manuscript: Score (holograph in ink. Inside of title page are holgraphic sketches in pencil and ink - 6 p. + 2 p. (sketches)). New York Public Library.


The title refers to the atrocities of WW2, but is also a derivation from the words 'Holy Ghost', referring to James Joyce. The music is bitter and gloomy, as might be expected from the title.