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Work Title
Hymnkus
Date
Composed in 1986.
Ensemble Type
Chamber Ensemble
Instrumentation
For any solo from or combination of voice, alto flute, flute, clainet, alto and tenor saxophones, bassoon, trombone, 2 percussionists, accordion, 2 pianos, violin, and cello.
Comments
The title of this work combines two words: Hymn and Haikus. The word Hymn is reflected in the parts, which are made up of repeated verses. The word Haikus is relevant because each of the verses consists of 17 events. The events are played (or sung) 4, 5, or 6 times, with varying tempi. Cage’s notation employs fixed time-brackets of 30”, 45”, and 60”. In total there are 14 parts, but no overall score. These parts may be performed as solos, or in any combination. The work is made up of the solos from Cage’s Etcetera 2/4 Orchestras, each reduced to the same repeated 8-note chromatic range between G2 and C3, an interval of a perfect fifth.
Dedicatee(s)
Matthew Kocmieroski and the New Performance Group
Publication
Peters Edition EP 67518
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