John Bickerton
Atlas Eclipticalis - The music of John Cage & Earle Brown
The John Cage Trilogy – Inspired by Hidekazu Yoshida’s interpretations of Japanese Haiku poetry, John Cage formed a trilogy of his existing works honoring the essence of the poetry. Atlas Eclipticalis (1961), the first piece in the trilogy, represents nirvana. Variations IV (1963), the second work, represents samsara—the turmoil of everyday life. 0’00” (1962), the third piece, represents individual action. Simple Harmonic Motion Records is proud to be the first to present a realization of Cage's…
Four Systems
Four Systems (1954) is an early and influential example of Earle Brown’s open-form approach to composition. Written as a graphic score, the work replaces traditional notation with visual elements that suggest relationships of pitch, duration, dynamics, and rhythm rather than prescribing exact sounds.
Four Systems may be performed by any number of musicians using any instruments, and its duration is equally open: the piece may last as long as desired, provided the time frame is agreed upon in adv…