John Cage Edition, Vol. 21: The Orchestral Works, Vol. 2 – Etcetera

Album review

The two excellently performed orchestral pieces which fill this CD are, in some aspects, mirror images of each other. In Etcetera (1973), performed here by the wonderfully named Callithumpian Consort of the New England Conservatory with three conductors (Tamara Brooks, Stephen Drury, and Charles Peltz), performers move between an open situation of freedom and responsibility to "stations" where they become conducted. In Etcetera 2/4 Orchestras (1986), performed here by the New England Conservatory Orchestra with four conductors (Tamara Brooks, Marsha Hassett, Charles Peltz, and Laurie K. Redmer), Cage observed that certain players are more comfortable being conducted, so the performers initially find themselves in a (musico-political) situation governed by four conductors who give downbeat cues for punctuated orchestral chords. The available instrumentation (freely chosen) for Etcetera is an ensemble including six percussionists, and all players thump on non-resonant cardboard boxes until each decides individually to produce a tone on his instrument, like thinking until you get an "idea." There is also a tape of environmental sounds (birds, wind, distant traffic) recorded outside Cage's home in Stony Point. The instruments begin to sound like birdcalls and animal noises, and the tapping on the boxes fits closely with the sounds of raindrops and the susurrus of leaves. The musicians move about the stage freely; then, at their choice, any performer can move to one of three "stations" provided with a conductor. Etcetera 2/4 Orchestras is for a large orchestra divided into four smaller ensembles, with an environmental tape of "city" sounds from Cage's New York City apartment. After the performers have played under a conductor, they can choose to move to one of eight "stations" where they play unconducted solo material. The conducted chords over long phrases are short, startling events because they cannot be anticipated.

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