| Category: | Musical composition |
| Dated: | Stony Point, N.Y., January 1960 |
| Instrumentation: | for 1-8 performers |
| Duration: | indeterminate |
| Premiere and performer(s): | March 7, 1960 in the Square Theatre, New York City, performed by Merce Cunningham and Caroline Richards (dancing), Arline Carmen (singing) and 3 other musicians, David Tudor being one of them. |
| Dedicated to: | |
| Choreography: | Merce Cunningham: Theatre Piece (1960) |
| Published: | Edition Peters 6759a-h © 1977 by Henmar Press |
| Manuscript: |
Sketches for parts I-V (holograph in pencil - 10+10+11+9+10 p + 1 envelop. Folder 271); 8 parts (hologrpah in ink - 151 p. Folder 272);
Performance directions and other material (typescript and holograph in ink - 1 lf + 1 transparency. Folder 273), all in New York Public Library. Draft of realization (5 lvs.) in the Getty Center, Santa Monica, California. |
| Theatre Piece is a composition indeterminate of its performance.
It is one of the first works using time brackets. These time brackets indicate a period of time within which an action may be made. The actions are
taken from a gamut of 20 nouns and/or verbs, chosen by the performer. The compositional means were the materials of
Fontana Mix. Parts are provided for 1-8 performers, which may be used in whole or part and in any
combination
Sources: New York Public Library online catalog; Paul van Emmerik: Thema's en Variaties; Richard Kostelanetz: John Cage: Writer - Previously uncollected pieces; David Revill: The Roaring Silence |