Cage — Forever and Sunsmell

John Cage Forever and Sunsmell for voice and 2 percussionists

The composition consists of 2 parts (the first dramatic, the second lyrical), connected by an unaccompanied hummed interlude. The work follows the phraseology of the dance by Jean Erdman.

Text by Edward Estlin Cummings.

Number of Players: 3

Instrumentation: Player I: Voice

Player II: Percussion

Player III: Percussion

John Cage was born on September 5, 1912 in Los Angeles, California and died in New York City on August 12, 1992. He studied liberal arts at Pomona College. Among his composition teachers were Henry Cowell and Arnold Schoenberg. Cage was elected to the American National Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters and received innumerable awards and honors both in the United States and in Europe.

-Annotated by Noah Rosen