[silence] Songbooks

[Marcthor97@aol.com]

In a message dated 1/22/07 5:46:13 AM, vgaidatzi@yahoo.gr writes:


> Hello silencers! I'm currently working on Cage's songbooks and i was 
> wondering whether any of you could tell me where i could find a detailed 
> information about it (analysis, ect.) Unfortunatelly all the sources i could come up 
> with, only mention the work very briefly...Another thing i'd like to ask; does 
> anybody have any ideas or suggestions about the connection between Thoreau 
> and Satie? Thank you for your help!!!
> 

It might be helpful if you could explain what "working on" means, and if you 
could enumerate the sources you have already consulted. I would suggest going 
back to the first three solos for voice from the 1950's , since much of the 
songbooks material is a reworking of these. I assume you have checked all 
references in Kostelanetz's Conversing with Cage? There is a dissertation on the 
vocal works by Janetta Petkus , and another dissertation (as I remember) on the 
songbooks specifically. I also discuss songbooks briefly in my dissertation on 
Cage's works with speech and text.

Cage's statement "WE connect Thoreau to Satie" is meant, I believe, to 
suggest that each of us is free to find connections on our own. There   are of 
course many references, direct or oblique, to both thoreau and satie in songbooks, 
but the connections between the two are not specific as far as I can tell. A 
good place to start is to read some of the writings of thoreau and satie, and 
listen to satie's music, and then to read Cage's own commentaries on both men 
to understand his interest in their philosophies and aesthetics. My article in 
American Music from a year ago, "John Cage's Letters to Erik Satie" might be a 
useful summary. 

Professor Marc Thorman
Brooklyn College
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