So I know, here I go again with another performance piece. I keep talking about how much I like visual art and art history and I promise I'll get there in one of my following blog posts.
For this post though, I focus on music; or more abstractly silence. What is silence? Is it the absence of sound, or is it music that is free from human control? To try to help answer this question I look to the highly controversial 20th century composer John Cage.
One of his most famous pieces is entitled 4'33'', which stands for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. This piece (comprised of three movements) is based around the idea that no intentional sound is made for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. Some might view this as four and a half minutes of silence. Cage viewed it as four and a half minutes of music, free from manipulation. He wanted the piece to be "free of [his] own likes and dislikes, because...music should be free of the feelings and ideas of the composer." The piece is written for "any instrument or combination of instruments" although it has been traditionally performed on piano. Some may view this as ironic because the instruments themselves make no noise.
The purpose of the 4'33'' is for the audience to focus on the sounds of the environment around them. It also conveys that silence does not truly exist because there is always sound (and in turn music) even though it may not be actively created by musicians. After the premiere of the piece this is what Cage had to say about it:
"They missed the point. There’s no such thing as silence. What they thought was silence, because they didn’t know how to listen, was full of accidental sounds. You could hear the wind stirring outside during the first movement. During the second, raindrops began pattering the roof, and during the third the people themselves made all kinds of interesting sounds as they talked or walked out."
One of the most brilliant conductors that I have sung under, Dr. David Connell, always stressed the importance of a rest in music. He made sure that we understood that without perfectly measured silence there could not be perfectly measured sound. This was when I attended Governor's School West as a Choral student. That is also the same place that I learned about John Cage and in one of my classes, not in choir! In class we performed our own version of 4'33'' by simply sitting in our chairs and listening to the sounds around us. At the time I was unsure of how valid I thought John Cage was, but as I have grown as a person and musician I've come to learn what he was talking about. I hear music everywhere, and (although kind of cheesy, and loosely quoted from the movie August Rush) I truly do believe that music is a harmonic connection between all living beings, even the music that can be heard in silence. I hear it in the leaves shaking, cars braking, bells chiming, everywhere. I hope that some of you already have similar experiences or after thinking more about 4'33'' will have some!
On a kinda different note - I'll leave you with a fun fact, a great quote from Cage, a performance of the piece, and a website if you want to look into it more
Fun Fact: John Cage was a teacher for a few years (I had trouble finding the exact dates) at Black Mountain College which was founded in 1933 and closed in 1956. The school was focused on "education in a democracy" and was very progressive. Its philosophy was similar to what is now our liberal arts college in that it believed creative arts and "practical responsibilities" were equally important in the growth of intellect. The school housed many revolutionary, influential, and incredibly controversial teachers such as Cage. That's only the background info, but the fun fact is that the campus for the school from 1941 until its closing was on Lake Eden which is now the site for the Lake Eden Arts Festival (LEAF) that is held twice a year and is about 30 minutes from Asheville. I have been going to that festival since I was 5 years old probably and it's very cool that such an influential and inspiring musician could have been housed on those same grounds!
Great Quote: "When I hear what we call music, it seems to me that someone is talking. And talking about his feelings, or about his ideas of relationships. But when I hear traffic, the sound of traffic—here on Sixth Avenue, for instance—I don't have the feeling that anyone is talking. I have the feeling that sound is acting. And I love the activity of sound [...] I don't need sound to talk to me." -I thought this was a really cool addition to the concept behind 4'33''
Here is one performance:
And here is where I got a lot of my info for it: http://solomonsmusic.net/4min33se.htm#Composition
Hope you all enjoy!
-Allijah
this is my idea essay
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