TitleJohn Cage and Merce Cunningham: lecture-demonstration for the Kennedy Lecture Series at Ohio University
Additional title: How to pass, kick, fall and run (Choreographic work : Cunningham)Additional title: Second hand (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
NamesMerce Cunningham Dance Company (Associated name)Cage, John (Instrumentalist)Cage, John (Composer)Cage, John (Speaker)Cunningham, Merce (Speaker)Morrison, Jack, 1912-1997 (Presenter)Ohio University (Host)
CollectionMerce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials
Dates / OriginDate Created: 1970-01-19
Library locationsRodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded SoundShelf locator: *LT-7-A 2355
TopicsCage, JohnCunningham, MerceChoreographyMusic -- Philosophy and aestheticsCage, John. Cheap imitation
GenresLive sound recordingsLectures
NotesContent: Title provided by cataloger based on audition and handwritten notes on original container.Content: Handwritten notes on original container: "Cage-Cunningham 1/29/1970, Kennedy Lecture - Dialogue, O.U. ; Ohio University ; Merce Cunningham Dialogue, John Cage @ 3 3/4 ; (5-210 music (211- Cage (5 Introd. (Dean Jack Morrison) (583 Merce".Numbering: Donor's inventory number: R123.Venue: Recorded at Ohio University in Athens, Ohio, 1970 January 19.Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical DescriptionAudiotape reelExtent: 1 audiotape reel (129 minutes) : analog, 3 3/4 ips, half track, mono ; 7 in.Sound quality is uneven but mostly audible with a soft recording hiss throughout. The electronic music is distorted, at times, due to the high volume of the recording levels. The very beginning of John Cage's speech is soft in volume and then quickly levels out to a normal volume. Sound quality for Merce Cunningham's speech is mostly good as he speaks over the piano playing; there are occasional increases in volume of the piano solo over Cunningham's speech.
Description(0:00-21:50) Electronic music, unidentified but likely composed by John Cage.
(21:51-22:14) Recording gap.
(22:15-53:06) John Cage gives a lecture consisting of short, anecdotal writings; some of the writings are selections from his books: Silence: lectures and writings (Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1961), and A year from Monday: new lectures and writings (Middletown, Conn.: Wesleyan University Press, 1967); [ca. 35:15 and ca. 36:01, short, low tones interfere with the recording]. (53:07-53:54) Recording gap and audience applause.
(53:55-57:26) Ohio University Dean, Jack Morrison (1912-1997), introduces John Cage and Merce Cunningham to the audience.
(57:47-1:29:22) Cheap imitation, solo piano music for Cunningham's Second Hand (1970) is played live, likely by John Cage.
(1:04:56-1:29:22) Merce Cunningham speaks about dance while Cheap imitation continues to be played; Cunningham describes the overall shape and weight distribution of the human body, especially in relation to sculptural composition; body shape and physical movements; momentum in relation to human movements; theatrical dance technique and pedestrian movements; his interest in human weight and density in relation to his selection of dancers and his choreography; his choreography and visual perception; the first movements that he makes when creating a new piece; dancers and the physical purposes of their warm-ups; he quotes from an Edwin Denby article about the repetitive nature of dance rehearsals; the paradox between dance preparation and the achievement of a free quality in dance; his artistic philosophy that determines the separation of his choreography from musical phraseology; more on his choreographic interest in separating the production components of a dance piece; describes his [Merce Cunningham Dance] Company, especially the types of performance venues in which the Company performs; he briefly describes the selections from his repertory that composed a gymnasium Event performed in New Paltz, NY; the audience's visual perception of dance when performed on a stage versus when performed in theater in the round or an open space; his observations regarding an increase of public interest in dance; briefly, the individualism within modern dance.
(1:29:23-2:01:16) Audience applause followed by a question and answer period with Cage and Cunningham responding briefly [audience questions are very far from the microphone but some are audible]; Cage speaks about the reasons for his not having a stereo or musical instruments at home; Cunningham speaks about his choreographic decision for movement to be independent of sound; Cage speaks about their early collaborative process; Cunningham speaks about his compositional form in relation to examples from daily life experiences and media; some of the difficulties in shooting dance for television; an anecdote on audience perceptions of How to pass kick, fall and run (1965); an anecdote on the physical properties of [Andy Warhol's] pillows [in Rainforest (1968)]; Cage speaks about the influence of D.H. Suzuki and Zen Buddhism on his compositions; more artistic influences on Cage, including Lou Harrison and the concept of a quiet mind; Cage's short responses to inaudible questions, including a description of the audience's spatial arrangement during a performance at the University of Illinois; Cage lists the six categories of sounds that he devised for composing his chance operations: city sounds, country sounds, sounds technologically produced, sounds manually produced, sounds wind produced, sounds requiring amplification; briefly, how he manipulated these sounds; a summary of how he composed Cheap imitation; Cunningham speaks about dance training and his belief that study should not be serious until after 9 or 10 years of age; briefly, how he defines a good teacher and training; how he oriented to the performance space for this lecture-demonstration and the purposes behind his warm-up being done in front of the audience; Cage's interest in Marcel Duchamp including his current work and Duchamp's philosophy that the observer completes the work of art; [recording ends abruptly].
Type of ResourceSound recording
LanguagesEnglish
IdentifiersRLIN/OCLC: 880675208NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20211247Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): a7ea8330-b3fa-0133-b4bc-3c07547a230f
Rights StatementThis item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).
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