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Work Title
Score (40 Drawings by Thoreau) and 23 Parts
Date
Composed in 1974. Premiered in Saint Paul, MN., September 28, 1974.
Ensemble Type
Variable
Instrumentation
For any instruments and/or voices. Twelve haiku followed by a recording of the dawn at Stony Point, New York, August 6,1974.
Comments
This work is comprised of drawings by Henry David Thoreau, superimposed on 12 lines, each divided into 5+7+5 segments, the structure of Japanese Haiku poetry (a process similar to that Cage used in the composition of Renga). The tape recording used in this work was made by David Behrman. In performing this work, each individual haiku is to be followed by a silence equal to the length of time of the performance of the This score consists of 20 unnumbered pages plus title page with performance instructions. These 20 pages may be used in whole or in part by between 1 and 20 pianists. The performer(s) make(s) a program of a determined time length and then translates this to the page(s) to be played (with space equating to time). Each page of the score contains 5 systems, notated on 5 bars. Some pages contain very few events, while others are brimming. Most events are aggregates of notes to be played as a single ictus. Dynamics, resonances, overlappings, and interpenetrations are free. Cage’s composing means involved both chance operations and use of the imperfections found in the paper upon which the music was written. This work may be performed with Atlas Eclipticalis or Song Books. This score consists of 20 unnumbered pages plus title page with performance instructions. These 20 pages may be used in whole or in part by between 1 and 20 pianists. The performer(s) make(s) a program of a determined time length and then translates this to the page(s) to be played (with space equating to time). Each page of the score contains 5 systems, notated on 5 bars. Some pages contain very few events, while others are brimming. Most events are aggregates of notes to be played as a single ictus. Dynamics, resonances, overlappings, and interpenetrations are free. Cage’s composing means involved both chance operations and use of the imperfections found in the paper upon which the music was written. This work may be performed with Atlas Eclipticalis or Song Books. All twelve haikus should be followed by the tape recording, equal in duration to performed time of all twelve haiku.
Dedicatee(s)
Dennis Russell Davies and the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra
Publication
Peters Edition EP 6815
Recordings (click for details)
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