Credo in Us
Encyclopedia
Credo in Us is a musical composition by the American
experimental music
composer
, writer and visual artist John Cage
. It was written in July 1942 and revised in October of that year. In the wake of Pearl Harbor, this piece avoided the populist tendencies of fellow American composers at the time, while the piece's title is thought to be a call to collective unity.
Styled as "a dramatic playlet for Two Characters", Cage described Credo in Us as a "a suite with a satirical character". It was composed to accompany a piece of contemporary dance choreographed by his partner and collaborator Merce Cunningham
and choreographer Jean Erdman
, who performed the piece at its premiere in Bennington College, Vermont in August 1942. After the first performance the subtitle of the piece was changed to A Suburban Idyll.
The instrumentation
for the original performance included four performers: a pianist; two percussionists playing muted gongs, tin cans, electric buzzer and tom-toms; and a fourth performer operating a radio
and a phonograph
. For the phonograph, Cage suggests using something "classic" such as Dvořák
, Beethoven, Sibelius or Shostakovich; and for the radio, to use any station but avoid news programs in the case of a "national emergency".
Jean Erdman recalls that for the first performance a 'tack-piano' was used—one of Cage's prepared piano
s, though the pianist is also called upon to play the soundbox of the instrument as a percussionist.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
experimental music
Experimental music
Experimental music refers, in the English-language literature, to a compositional tradition which arose in the mid-20th century, applied particularly in North America to music composed in such a way that its outcome is unforeseeable. Its most famous and influential exponent was John Cage...
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...
, writer and visual artist 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...
. It was written in July 1942 and revised in October of that year. In the wake of Pearl Harbor, this piece avoided the populist tendencies of fellow American composers at the time, while the piece's title is thought to be a call to collective unity.
Styled as "a dramatic playlet for Two Characters", Cage described Credo in Us as a "a suite with a satirical character". It was composed to accompany a piece of contemporary dance choreographed by his partner and collaborator Merce Cunningham
Merce Cunningham
Mercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
and choreographer Jean Erdman
Jean Erdman
Jean Erdman is a dancer and choreographer of modern dance as well as an avant-garde theater director.-Early years:Erdman was born on February 20, 1916 in Honolulu, Hawaii...
, who performed the piece at its premiere in Bennington College, Vermont in August 1942. After the first performance the subtitle of the piece was changed to A Suburban Idyll.
Instrumentation
One of a number of Cage's percussive works, Credo in Us is unusual in using sound samples from recordings of other works, fragments of radio broadcast, popular music, tin cans and tom toms.The instrumentation
Instrumentation (music)
In music, instrumentation refers to the particular combination of musical instruments employed in a composition, and to the properties of those instruments individually...
for the original performance included four performers: a pianist; two percussionists playing muted gongs, tin cans, electric buzzer and tom-toms; and a fourth performer operating a radio
Radio
Radio is the transmission of signals through free space by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
and a phonograph
Phonograph
The phonograph record player, or gramophone is a device introduced in 1877 that has had continued common use for reproducing sound recordings, although when first developed, the phonograph was used to both record and reproduce sounds...
. For the phonograph, Cage suggests using something "classic" such as Dvořák
Antonín Dvorák
Antonín Leopold Dvořák was a Czech composer of late Romantic music, who employed the idioms of the folk music of Moravia and his native Bohemia. Dvořák’s own style is sometimes called "romantic-classicist synthesis". His works include symphonic, choral and chamber music, concerti, operas and many...
, Beethoven, Sibelius or Shostakovich; and for the radio, to use any station but avoid news programs in the case of a "national emergency".
Jean Erdman recalls that for the first performance a 'tack-piano' was used—one of Cage's prepared piano
Prepared 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....
s, though the pianist is also called upon to play the soundbox of the instrument as a percussionist.
Recordings
- John Cage: Music for Percussion Quartet Mainz Percussion Ensemble (WWE1CD 20015)
- Credo in us...: More Works for Percussion Quatuor Helios (ASIN: B00005OCG3)
- Credo in Us' Musica Negativa, conducted by Reiner Riehn
- Will You Give Me to Tell You (ASIN: B0000E69JQ)