Construction (Cage)
Encyclopedia
Construction is the title of several pieces by American
composer
John Cage
, all scored for unorthodox percussion
instruments. The pieces were composed in 1939–42 while Cage was working at the Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle, Washington
and touring the West Coast
with a percussion ensemble he and Lou Harrison
had founded. The series comprises three Constructions. A piece titled Fourth Construction, mentioned in several sources, is apparently either an unfinished work from 1942 or, more likely, an early title of the work we now know as Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March)
.
ese and Bali
nese gong
s, Chinese
and Turkish
cymbal
s, automobile brake
drums, anvil
s and a water gong (a gong lowered into water while vibrating, or struck while it is in the water, etc.) A piano is also used, with the assistant applying a metal rod to the strings.
In First Construction, Cage introduced the technique of composing using fixed "rhythmic structures". The idea was extremely important for his development as a composer, and during the next 17 years most of his work was done using the same technique or variations of it. In this particular case the basic structure is 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, and a single unit contains 16 bars. So the composition begins with four units of 16 bars each, then the next section has three units, the third has two, and so on. Each unit is also divided the same way: four bars, then three, then two, etc. The first part of the piece (four units of 16 bars each) was termed "exposition" by Cage, and the ending (which is a separate nine-bar section) "coda". The music itself is built around sixteen motives employed in strictly determined sequences. Both the use of ethnic percussion and the rhythmic proportions technique were inspired in part by Henry Cowell
's lectures that Cage attended in New York City
in 1933.
A recording of the piece by the London Sinfonietta
is included in their 2006 CD Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters
.
: although the technique is that of string piano
, the score instructs to place a piece of cardboard and a screw
in the strings. The nature of the motive use is fugal
, which caused Cage to become dissatisfied with the piece in his later years: in a 1980 interview he called it "[essentially] a fugue of a novel order" which has "carry-overs from education and theory" and expressed his dislike of repetition of material in fugues.
Instrumentation:
Player I:
North West Indian rattle
(wooden),
5 graduated tin can
s,
3 graduated drums (tom tom
s),
claves
,
large Chinese cymbal (suspended),
maracas
,
teponaztli
Player II:
3 graduated drums (tom toms),
5 graduated tin cans,
claves,
2 cowbells,
Indo-Chinese rattle (wooden, with many separate chambers),
lion's roar
Player III:
3 graduated drums (tom toms),
tambourine
,
5 graduated tin cans,
quijadas,
claves,
cricket callers (split bamboo
),
conch shell
Player IV:
tin can with tacks
(rattle),
5 graduated tin cans,
claves,
maracas,
3 graduated drums (tom toms),
wooden ratchet
,
bass drum
roar
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
composer
Composer
A composer is a person who creates music, either by musical notation or oral tradition, for interpretation and performance, or through direct manipulation of sonic material through electronic media...
John Cage
John Cage
John Milton Cage Jr. was an American composer, music theorist, writer, philosopher and artist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading figures of the post-war avant-garde...
, all scored for unorthodox percussion
Percussion instrument
A percussion instrument is any object which produces a sound when hit with an implement or when it is shaken, rubbed, scraped, or otherwise acted upon in a way that sets the object into vibration...
instruments. The pieces were composed in 1939–42 while Cage was working at the Cornish School of the Arts in Seattle, Washington
Seattle, Washington
Seattle is the county seat of King County, Washington. With 608,660 residents as of the 2010 Census, Seattle is the largest city in the Northwestern United States. The Seattle metropolitan area of about 3.4 million inhabitants is the 15th largest metropolitan area in the country...
and touring the West Coast
West Coast of the United States
West Coast or Pacific Coast are terms for the westernmost coastal states of the United States. The term most often refers to the states of California, Oregon, and Washington. Although not part of the contiguous United States, Alaska and Hawaii do border the Pacific Ocean but can't be included in...
with a percussion ensemble he and Lou Harrison
Lou Harrison
Lou Silver Harrison was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison (May 14, 1917 – February 2, 2003) was an American composer. He was a student of Henry Cowell, Arnold Schoenberg, and K. P. H. Notoprojo Lou Silver Harrison...
had founded. The series comprises three Constructions. A piece titled Fourth Construction, mentioned in several sources, is apparently either an unfinished work from 1942 or, more likely, an early title of the work we now know as Imaginary Landscape No. 2 (March)
Imaginary Landscape
Imaginary Landscape is the title of several pieces by American composer John Cage. The series comprises the following works:* Imaginary Landscape No. 1 **for two variable-speed turntables, frequency recordings, muted piano, and cymbal...
.
First Construction (in Metal)
First Construction (in Metal) was composed in 1939; its first title was Construction in Metal. Scored for six percussionists and an assistant. Instruments include, among other things, JapanJapan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese and Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
nese gong
Gong
A gong is an East and South East Asian musical percussion instrument that takes the form of a flat metal disc which is hit with a mallet....
s, Chinese
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
and Turkish
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
cymbal
Cymbal
Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...
s, automobile brake
Brake
A brake is a mechanical device which inhibits motion. Its opposite component is a clutch. The rest of this article is dedicated to various types of vehicular brakes....
drums, anvil
Anvil
An anvil is a basic tool, a block with a hard surface on which another object is struck. The inertia of the anvil allows the energy of the striking tool to be transferred to the work piece. In most cases the anvil is used as a forging tool...
s and a water gong (a gong lowered into water while vibrating, or struck while it is in the water, etc.) A piano is also used, with the assistant applying a metal rod to the strings.
In First Construction, Cage introduced the technique of composing using fixed "rhythmic structures". The idea was extremely important for his development as a composer, and during the next 17 years most of his work was done using the same technique or variations of it. In this particular case the basic structure is 4, 3, 2, 3, 4, and a single unit contains 16 bars. So the composition begins with four units of 16 bars each, then the next section has three units, the third has two, and so on. Each unit is also divided the same way: four bars, then three, then two, etc. The first part of the piece (four units of 16 bars each) was termed "exposition" by Cage, and the ending (which is a separate nine-bar section) "coda". The music itself is built around sixteen motives employed in strictly determined sequences. Both the use of ethnic percussion and the rhythmic proportions technique were inspired in part by Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell
Henry Cowell was an American composer, music theorist, pianist, teacher, publisher, and impresario. His contribution to the world of music was summed up by Virgil Thomson, writing in the early 1950s:...
's lectures that Cage attended in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1933.
A recording of the piece by the London Sinfonietta
London Sinfonietta
The London Sinfonietta is an English chamber orchestra founded in 1968 and based in London. The ensemble specialises in contemporary music and works across a wide range of genres, performing modern classics alongside world premieres, and includes music by electronica artists as well as folk and...
is included in their 2006 CD Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters
Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters
Warp Works & Twentieth Century Masters is a 2-CD set consisting of live performances by the London Sinfonietta, released by Warp Records in 2006...
.
Second Construction
Second Construction was composed in 1940 and scored for four percussionists. This work, which adopts roughly the same rhythmic scheme as in First Construction (sixteen 16-bar sections, only the proportion is different—here it is 4, 3, 4, 5), is notable for the use of prepared pianoPrepared piano
A prepared piano is a piano that has had its sound altered by placing objects between or on the strings or on the hammers or dampers....
: although the technique is that of string piano
String piano
String piano is a term coined by American composer-theorist Henry Cowell to collectively describe those pianistic extended techniques in which sound is produced by direct manipulation of the strings, instead of or in addition to striking the piano's keys...
, the score instructs to place a piece of cardboard and a screw
Screw
A screw, or bolt, is a type of fastener characterized by a helical ridge, known as an external thread or just thread, wrapped around a cylinder. Some screw threads are designed to mate with a complementary thread, known as an internal thread, often in the form of a nut or an object that has the...
in the strings. The nature of the motive use is fugal
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
, which caused Cage to become dissatisfied with the piece in his later years: in a 1980 interview he called it "[essentially] a fugue of a novel order" which has "carry-overs from education and theory" and expressed his dislike of repetition of material in fugues.
Third Construction
Third Construction was composed in 1941 and dedicated to Xenia Kashevaroff-Cage, to whom Cage was married at the time and who played in his percussion orchestra. Third Construction is scored for four percussionists. There are 24 sections of 24 bars each, and the rhythmic structure is rotated between the players: 8, 2, 4, 5, 3, 2 for the fourth, 2, 8, 2, 4, 5, 3 for the first, etc.Instrumentation:
Player I:
North West Indian rattle
Rattle (percussion)
A rattle is a percussion instrument. It consists of a hollow body filled with small uniform solid objects, like sand or nuts. Rhythmical shaking of this instrument produces repetitive, rather dry timbre noises. In some kinds of music, a rattle assumes the role of the metronome, as an alternative to...
(wooden),
5 graduated tin can
Tin can
A tin can, tin , steel can, or a can, is a sealed container for the distribution or storage of goods, composed of thin metal. Many cans require opening by cutting the "end" open; others have removable covers. Cans hold diverse contents: foods, beverages, oil, chemicals, etc."Tin" cans are made...
s,
3 graduated drums (tom tom
Tom tom
Tom tom and similar names may refer to:In music:* Tom Tom , 2010 alternative rock song* Tom-tom drum, a cylindrical drum with no snare* Tom Tom Club, a New Wave band** Tom Tom Club, an album by Tom Tom Club...
s),
claves
Claves
Claves are a percussion instrument , consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone), consisting of a pair of short Claves (Anglicized pronunciation: clah-vays, IPA:[ˈklαves]) are a percussion instrument (idiophone),...
,
large Chinese cymbal (suspended),
maracas
Maracás
Maracás is a town and municipality in the state of Bahia in the North-East region of Brazil.-References:...
,
teponaztli
Teponaztli
A teponaztli is a type of slit drum used in central Mexico by the Aztecs and related cultures.-Structure:Teponaztli are made of hollow hardwood logs, often fire-hardened. Like most slit drums, teponaztli have three slits on their topside, cut into the shape of an "H". The resultant tongues are then...
Player II:
3 graduated drums (tom toms),
5 graduated tin cans,
claves,
2 cowbells,
Indo-Chinese rattle (wooden, with many separate chambers),
lion's roar
Player III:
3 graduated drums (tom toms),
tambourine
Tambourine
The tambourine or marine is a musical instrument of the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zils". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, though some variants may not have a head at all....
,
5 graduated tin cans,
quijadas,
claves,
cricket callers (split bamboo
Bamboo
Bamboo is a group of perennial evergreens in the true grass family Poaceae, subfamily Bambusoideae, tribe Bambuseae. Giant bamboos are the largest members of the grass family....
),
conch shell
Player IV:
tin can with tacks
Thumbtack
A drawing pin , thumbtack , or push pin is a short nail or pin with a circular, sometimes domed, head, used to fasten items such as documents to a wall or board for display. Various designs and names are used. They are inserted and removed by hand, hence the terms "thumbtack" and "push pin"...
(rattle),
5 graduated tin cans,
claves,
maracas,
3 graduated drums (tom toms),
wooden ratchet
Ratchet (instrument)
A ratchet, also called a noisemaker , is an orchestral musical instrument played by percussionists. Operating on the principle of the ratchet device, a gearwheel and a stiff board is mounted on a handle, which can be freely rotated...
,
bass drum
Bass drum
Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...
roar
Sources
- Richard Kostelanetz. Conversing with John Cage, Routledge, 2003. ISBN 0-415-93792-2
- James Pritchett, Laura Kuhn. "John Cage", Grove Music OnlineGrove Dictionary of Music and MusiciansThe New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart, it is the largest single reference work on Western music. The dictionary has gone through several editions since the 19th century...
, ed. L. Macy, grovemusic.com (subscription access). - David Nicholls. The Cambridge Companion to John Cage. Cambridge University Press, 2002. ISBN 0521789680
- James Pritchett. The Music of John Cage. Cambridge University Press, 1993. ISBN 0521565448