Nowth upon Nacht



Category: Musical composition
Dated: July 1984
Instrumentation: (high) voice and piano
Duration: 1'
Premiere and performer(s):
Dedicated to: in memoriam Cathy Berberian
Choreography: ---
Published: Edition Peters 67039 © 1984 by Henmar Press
Manuscript: Score (holograph in red pencil - 1 p. Folder 638) in New York Public Library


This song should be sung without a break, after a performance of The Wonderful Widow of Eighteen Springs. The keyboard lid is opened and and struck against the piano structure with the pedal down. This action is repeated two more times.
The text is from `Finnegans WakeŽ by James Joyce.

Sources: David Revill: The Roaring Silence; Richard Kostelanetz: John Cage writer - Previously uncollected pieces; Martin Erdmann: Chronologisches Verzeichnis der musikalischen Kompositionen, Schriften, Gespräche, Hörspiele, Bilder, Objekte und Filme. In: Musik-Konzepte Sonderband - John Cage II; New York Public Library online catalog