Cage: One¹⁰

Description

In One10, only natural harmonics are used, without microtonal changes. The work comprises three pieces (A, B, C), each with 15 time brackets containing single tones. As Cage himself instructs: "Make a sound that is repeated from bracket to bracket as long as possible without any noticeable bowing. When the sound is not repeated, leave a space of time before and after playing it. Light-face brackets indicate overlaps for which the performer must find a solution that satisfies each of the brackets." As is the case with Cage's One6, this composition may be performed as the instrumental part of an assemblage with a sound sculpture by Mineko Grimmer. Grimmer's sculpture consists of small stones encrusted in a good-sized block of shaped ice, which is itself housed within a wooden structure. As the ice melts, the stones are released, hitting metal wires placed below, causing the strings to "sing" before they fall with soft "plunks" into the accumulating pool of water at the very bottom. The sculpture for One10 is basically the same as is used in a performance of Cage's One6, but in a different configuration.