18 microtonal Ragas
JOHN CAGE 18 MICROTONAL RAGAS:
SOLO 58 from SONG BOOKS (1970)
realized and interpreted by dhrupad singer AMELIA CUNI
premiere of the complete SOLO produced by
MAERZMUSIK / BERLINER FESTSPIELE
co-produced with Expozice nové hudby, Brno Musicadhoy,
Madrid Voix Nouvelles – Fondation Royaumont Casa da Música,
Porto Romaeuropa, Rome Handelsbeurs,
Gent Megaron, Athens Ultima,
Oslo Other Minds, San Francisco
During the 40′s, John Cage came in contact with Indian music and philosophy and started applying some of its principles to his own work. Indian thought has influenced Cage’s music mostly on a conceptual, theoretical level, therefore these 18 MICROTONAL RAGAS represent an exceptional and unique practical example of Cage’s own approach to this rich and stimulating musical tradition.
The SOLO FOR VOICE 58, consisting of 18 separate and independent parts is an ‘indeterminate’ work. The challenge for the performer is to develop ‘ragas’ out of tonal material which has been composed in a non-traditional context. This apparent contradiction has been the driving force behind Amelia Cuni’s intensive engagement with this work for the past few years.
She first performed this SOLO during the rendition of the COMPLETE SONG BOOKS at the Theater Bielefeld in Germany in May 2001, in collaboration with Christian Kesten and the new music vocal ensemble ‘Die Maulwerker’. She then went on deepening her involvement with this unusual work, feeling that this was a unique opportunity to further her own understanding of the relationship between tradition and experimentation, confronting East and West in a process of de-conditioning perfectly fitting her personal history as a European dhrupad singer.
John Cage uses the word ‘raga’ (melodic module) and ‘tala’ (rhythmic cycle) in his directions for SOLO 58, therefore the pieces are treated as such, although they do not match any traditional Indian raga because of several musicological divergencies. These discrepancies trigger a vast series of questions and challenges to the common understanding of Indian music. They introduce a valuable outsider perspective and suggest possible future developments for an ancient but lively tradition.
Two basic concepts are embodied in this realization of the complete SOLO 58: the meaning of raga,“to color the mind” and chance operations, a typically Cagean tool. Together, they will inform the sonic and visual result. Following Cage’s own instructions, other SOLOS FOR VOICE and SOLOS FOR THEATRE (with or without electronics) will be integrated or superimposed on the 18 microtonal ragas.
The overall outcome of Amelia’s interpretation of SOLO 58 is therefore some kind of recognizable raga music, although it cannot be defined as exclusively Indian. In these scores (series of graphically notated microtones among which the performer can select raga pitches), Cage leaves open a vast range of possibilities encouraging the interpreter to reflect, question, choose and create in an experimental way.
SOLO 58 embodies some of the most far-reaching and lesser known traits of John Cage’s work. Premiered on March19th, 2006 at MAERZMUSIK / BERLINER FESTSPIELE (www.maerzmusik.de)