Spontaneous Earth
Music for the dance by Merce Cunningham




Category: Musical composition
Dated: New York City, 1944
Instrumentation: Prepared piano
Duration: 3'
Premiere and performer(s): Apr. 5, 1944, at the Studio Theatre in New York City, performed with the dance by Merce Cunningham .
Dedicated to: ---
Choreography: Merce Cunningham: Spontaneous Earth (1944)
Published: Edition Peters 66753 © 1977 by Henmar Press. Also published in "John Cage - Prepared Piano Music, Volume 2 ¤ 1940-47", Edition Peters 67886b © 2000
Manuscript: Notes for piano preparation (holograph (photocopy) with annotations in pencil and red ink - 1 lf.); Score with table of preparations (holograph, signed, in ink - 2 p.), both in New York Public Library.


Not much has been published about this piece. The liner notes of the MDG and Col Legno recordings don't even mention the piece in any detail. Like most of the works from this period, it was written for a dance by Merce Cunningham. It is piece with many repetitions, and it uses very few different notes. The musical material is extremely limited as is the preparation of the piano.