Cartridge Music (1960) by John Cage
The main objective in this piece is the amplification of small sounds that under normal circumstances would remain inaudible. Small objects are inserted into phonograph cartridges, which reveal hidden sounds that are normally much too quiet too hear. In addition, tone changes and tape loops are employed, which provide further augmentation of the amplified sounds, revealing the various frequencies present in everyday objects such as pipe cleaners, paper clips, nails, matches, etc. Each performer makes his or her own part from the materials provided: 20 numbered sheets with irregular shapes (the number of shapes corresponding to the number of the sheets) and 4 transparencies, one with points, one with circles, another with a circle marked like a stopwatch, and the last with a dotted curving line, with a circle at one end. Cage also used Cartridge Music as a means to compose several of his lectures, including “Where Are We Going? And What Are We Doing?” (1960), “Rhythm, Etc.” (1962), “Jasper Johns: Stories and Ideas” (1963), and “On Robert Rauschenberg, Artist, and His Work” (1961?). This recording is from a live performance in Aaronsburg, PA on Saturday July 30, 2016. |
|