Review
The OgreOgress label continues its mission of documenting many of the late works of John Cage, especially the so-called number pieces. In a sense, they're very hard compositions to evaluate. The aspects I enjoy about them (and there are many) - I'm never quite sure if it's what I'm 'supposed' to be enjoying. The spacing of these elements seems to be of greater import than the sounds themselves which are (intentionally?) rather prosaic. But by varying these sounds instead of dealing with self-similar sonic material, one's ears are drawn a bit away from that spatial aspect toward the sounds as such, causing an amount of tension that's less than comfortable. Of course, perhaps that's the intent and disquiet is certainly a valuable commodity itself. Not having seen the scores, I have no idea of what latitude, if any, is given the performers, so I'm left simply reacting to what I hear and find that I (inevitably) slip into enjoying the 'fuller' pieces much more.
The second recording contains two of Cage's last works; in fact, I believe 'One13' is actually the final (possibly unfinished) piece of his. 'One8' was originally written for cellist Michael Bach to take advantage of the curved bow he'd invented, apparently adapted from models used in the Baroque and perhaps previously, which allows it to come into contact with as many as all four strings simultaneously. A salient feature of this performance is that the cellist has chosen to remain unidentified. A little more on this below.
'One7 (from One13)' is 30 minutes of the same note (F sharp), played over and over in long segments. It's fantastic. The cellist wisely doesn't vary her (I'm entirely guessing as to gender) attacks in a drastic manner, rather choosing to subtly vary the dynamics, graininess and timbre in addition to altering the duration of the sounds and the silences, often prolonged, between them. The recording has a wonderful rawness to it, every rough edge limned, every resonance and overtone captured in fine detail. You inevitably get drawn into a kind of breathing rhythm, carefully contemplating each in- and exhalation.
You can hear the difference the Bach bow makes immediately as 'One8' begins, especially after the austerity of the first piece. Though structurally somewhat similar, consisting of longish notes placed amidst silences (the work, by the way, lasts precisely 43:30, heh-heh), the notes have become complex chords, full of whistles, groans and scratches. There are occasions--the stretch beginning about 8 minutes in, for instance--where she achieves a remarkable juicy, gurgling texture that's simply quiver-inducing. The silent spaces are longer than the prior piece, leading one away from hearing it in breathing terms. For me, it's more like being out in a quiet landscape, the silence broken sporadically by birds, wind, far-off highways. Unlike 'One7', for which I couldn't locate any other recordings, I understand that 'One8' has been released by several musicians, including Mr. Bach. I'd be very curious to hear comparison thoughts from Bags readers who know any of the other versions.
Though I can't think of any examples off the top of my head, it wouldn't totally surprise me if there have been recordings released by people without any sort of personal credit, but I've certainly never seen anything like it in the 'classical' world. I do find this kind of self-effacement quite appealing, removing a layer between listener and music. It'd be interesting to see what would happen if this sort of thing ever became the rule, not that there's the slightest danger of that happening. --Brian Olewnick, Bagatellen, January 8th 2006
Product Description
Fifth and final in a series featuring the complete "number pieces" for strings and/or percussion, this CD contains the world premiere recording of John Cage's One7 [from One13] and is first to include the complete final works for cello.
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$18.99
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