| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | c. 1944-1945 |
| Instrumentation: | Any melody or keyboard instruments |
| Duration: | 12' |
| Premiere and performer(s): | Instrumentation by Hughes: August 1982 at Cabrillo Music Festival in Aptos, California, USA |
| Dedicated to: | --- |
| Choreography: | --- |
| Published: | Edition Peters 66500 © 1982 by Henmar Press. (instrumentation by Robert Hughes) |
| Manuscript: |
| The pieces were composed in collaboration with Henry Cowell, Lou Harrison and Virgil Thomson.
One composer would write a bar of music plus two notes, folded the paper at the bar, passing it to the
next composer, who would use the two notes as a base for continuing the composition. The pieces are: Vivace (Cage-Harrison) Adagio (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) Grazioso (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Allegretto (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) Slowly, yet flowing (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) Flowing-broad (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) Allegro (Cage-Harrison) Majestic-broad (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) Vivo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Flowing-rubato (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Waltz tempo (Thomson-Cage-Harrison) Flowing (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Allegro (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) A slow, walking tempo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Maestoso, ma teneramente (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Allegro preciso (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) March tempo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Pastoral-softly-legato (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) A slow 2-walking tempo (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) Allegro (Cowell-Cage-Harrison) In 1982 Robert Hughes made an instrumentation for flute (& piccolo), clarinet, horn, bassoon and piano. Sources: Liner notes of LP Gramavision GR7006; Paul van Emmerik: Thema's en Variaties; David Revill: The Roaring Silence; David W. Patterson: John Cage. Music, Philosophy, and Intention, 1933-1950. |