John Cage's Daughters of the Lonesome Isle score

id
11763
origination
Cage, John
date statement
1945-1993
key date
1945
identifier (local_mss)
186417
org unit
Music Division
call number
JPB 24-11
b-number
b23441420
total components
7
total series
0
max depth
2
boost queries
(none)
component layout
Default Layout
Extended MARC Fields
false
Extended Navigation
false
created
2024-10-23 15:47:50 UTC
updated
2025-08-20 15:55:41 UTC
status note
(missing)
Display Aeon link
true

Description data TOP

unitid
{"value"=>"186417", "type"=>"local_mss"}
{"value"=>"JPB 24-11", "type"=>"local_call"}
{"value"=>"b23441420", "type"=>"local_b"}
unitdate
{"value"=>"1945-1993", "type"=>"inclusive", "normal"=>"1945/1993"}
unittitle
{"value"=>"John Cage's <span class=\"title\">Daughters of the Lonesome Isle</span> score"}
physdesc
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"2 boxes", "unit"=>"containers"}, {"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1.25 linear feet", "unit"=>"linear_feet"}]}
{"format"=>"structured", "physdesc_components"=>[{"name"=>"extent", "value"=>"1 video recording", "unit"=>"video recordings"}]}
repository
{"value"=>"<span class=\"corpname\">Music Division</span>"}
abstract
{"value"=>"<span class=\"title\">Daughters of the Lonesome Isle</span> is a solo prepared piano piece composed by John Cage in 1945 to accompany a three-person dance choreographed by Jean Erdman. This collection contains Cage's original score, which features the thirty-nine sets of piano preparations he prescribed for initial performances. A video recording of a later performance of the dance is included as well."}
langmaterial
{"value"=>"English"}
origination
{"value"=>"Cage, John", "type"=>"persname"}
bioghist
{"value"=>"<p>John Cage (1912-1992) was an American composer and theorist who was one of the leading figures in twentieth century avant-garde music. Cage invented prepared piano composition, wherein a piano's sounds are altered by placing bolts, screws, and other objects between or on top of the strings. Cage's <span class=\"title\">Bacchanale</span> (1940) was the first prepared piano piece, which he composed for a dance by Syvilla Fort. His subsequent prepared piano pieces were mostly written to accompany dances, including many by Merce Cunningham. The majority of Cage's prepared piano compositions are for solo piano; others are for two pianos, or piano with different instruments.</p> <p><span class=\"title\">Daughters of the Lonesome Isle</span> was composed in 1945 for a three-person dance choreographed by Jean Erdman. She choreographed the dance in silence, then commissioned Cage to compose solo piano music around the rhythmic movements of the dancers, taking timings of each section. The score contains nineteen distinct sections and thirty-nine piano notes prepared with bolts, screws, nuts, and rubber fragments of various sizes.</p> <p>Costumes for <span class=\"title\">Daughters of the Lonesome Isle</span> were designed by Erdman and Elizabeth Parsons. The dance premiered on February 4, 1945 in New York City. Cage's score has been recorded by numerous pianists, while the dance has been performed by various dance companies since its premiere.</p>"}
scopecontent
{"value"=>"<p>The collection contains John Cage's original 1945 score for <span class=\"title\">Daughters of the Lonesome Isle</span>, including the thirty-nine sets of preparations he prescribed for initial performances. The score features a list of preparations on the last three pages that describes material types, tones, assigned strings, placement distance from dampers, and affected surrounding strings. Each set of preparations is assigned a number one through thirty-nine. The score has numerous annotations and edits, some of which are likely by Cage. A 1960 published version of the score is also included in the collection.</p> <p>The thirty-nine sets of preparations are housed in individual envelopes. Each set contains some combination of screws, bolts, nuts, and rubber fragments; most sets contain one or two items, while a few contain as many as four. The envelopes have the information from the preparations list written on them, including assigned numbers. Several spare preparations are included as well.</p> <p>The video recording features a performance of <span class=\"title\">Daughters of the Lonesome Isle</span> excerpted from the 1993 documentary <span class=\"title\">Dance and Myth: The World of Jean Erdman</span>. The dance is performed by Nancy Allison, Leslie Dillingham, and Dianne Howarth, with piano played by Jerry Benton.</p>"}
acqinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Donated by Nancy Allison in 2024.</p>"}
processinfo
{"value"=>"<p>Processed by <span class=\"name\">Nathan Evans</span> in <span class=\"date\">2024</span>.</p>"}
date_start
1945
keydate
1945
date_end
1993
date_inclusive_start
1945
date_inclusive_end
1993
prefercite
{"value"=>"John Cage's <span class=\"title\">Daughters of the Lonesome Isle</span> score, JPB 24-11. Music Division, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts"}

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