John Cage

(1912-92)

mode 108

Cage Edition 26–Orchestral Works 3

$34.99

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mode 108  John CAGE, Vol. 26: The Orchestral Works 3 – One9 and 108 for sho- & large orchestra – Mayumi Miyata (sho-), Symphony Orchestra of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk/Ken Takaseki & Harry Vogt.
First recordings

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Cage Edition 26–Orchestral Works 3
Previously released as a compact disc. (viewed Feb. 7, 2013). WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln ; Mayumi Miyata, conductor. Recorded in 2000.

Mayumi Miyata, sho
WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln

One9 for sho- (1991)
&
108 for large orchestra (1991)   (43:30)
Played simultaneously

Cage scored 108 for the largest number of players in any of the Number Pieces – its duration of 43’30” makes an oblique reference to his groundbreaking 4’33” (1952). 108 can be played on its own or with either of two solo works from the same year, One8 (for cello) and One9 for the sho-, a mouth organ with bamboo pipes that acts as one of the harmony-producing instruments in Japanese gagaku. Both solo works were composed for artists very important in Cage’s final years – cellist Michael Bach (who can be heard on Mode 52) and Mayumi Miyata, who had pioneered the sho- as a contemporary concert instrument. Cage first met Miyata during his historic return to the 1990 Darmstadt summer course; enchanted with the sound of her instrument, Cage produced three works for her. (All of which will be recorded by Ms. Miyata on Mode.)

Cage always wanted to learn as many possibilities for a new instrument or medium as he could before composing a work, and among his papers are copious notes indicating all of the single tones and clusters that the sho- could play. Once this material was in place, he could then use chance operations to choose which of all these possibilities would become the sounds for his new pieces, thus producing results that he hoped would surprise and interest him when he finally heard them performed.

When One9 is performed with 108, it becomes a concerto – but a very unusual one, and a fine example of Cage’s aesthetic. The delicate sounds of the sho- enter almost imperceptibly, reminding one of Cage’s suggestion (in the performance notes for 101 [mode 41]) that tones be “brushed into existence as in oriental calligraphy where the ink (the sound) is not always seen, or if so, is streaked with white (silence).”  The orchestra disappears entirely in two sections of the piece, but not to herald a grand cadenza: the sho- music continues much as it had before, a quiet, serene, almost timeless utterance. Indeed, the regal simplicity of the sho- makes it an ideal instrument for Cage, who tried to make his final work like writing on water – an action, incomparably graceful, that would leave no traces.

Liner notes are by Cage scholar Rob Haskins.