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Items John Cage's Irish Circus

John Cage's Irish Circus: BBC 3 radio program on Roaratorio with Cage, Merce Cunningham and Peadher Mercier, 1987-07-19

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LIBRARY DIVISION
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound

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COLLECTION
Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials

This Item

John Cage's Irish Circus

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Title
John Cage's Irish Circus: BBC 3 radio program on Roaratorio with Cage, Merce Cunningham and Peadher Mercier, 1987-07-19
Names
Merce Cunningham Dance Company (Associated name)
Cage, John (Interviewee)
Cage, John (Composer)
Joyce, James, 1882-1941 (Author)
Cheevers, Tony (Radio producer)
Cunningham, Merce (Commentator)
Dickson, Peter, 1957- (Host)
Heaney, Joe, 1919-1984 (Singer)
Joyce, James, 1882-1941 (Narrator)
Mercier, Mel (Musician)
Mercier, Peadher (Commentator)
Mercier, Peadher (Musician)
BBC Radio 3 (Broadcaster)
Collection

Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation Collection. Audio materials

Dates / Origin
Date Created: 1987-07-19
Library locations
Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound
Shelf locator: *LTC-A 1202
Topics
Cage, John
Cunningham, Merce
Merce Cunningham Dance Company
Roaratorio (Choreographic work : Cunningham)
Aleatory music
Bodhrán music
Choreography
Composition (Music)
Folk dance music -- Ireland
Music and dance
Cage, John. Roaratorio. Selections
Joyce, James, 1882-1941. Finnegans wake. Selections
Genres
Radio programs
Interviews
Notes
Content: Title provided by cataloger based on audition and typed note on original container.
Content: Typed notes on original container: "Cage's Irish Circus ; John Cage on Roaratorio with Merce Cunningham and Peader [Peadher] Mercier ; Presenter Peter Dickinson [Dickson] ; Producer Anthony [Tony] Cheevers x 5875 30716 LS ; Tx 19.7.87 ; BBC R3".
Numbering: Donor's inventory number: C381.
Venue: Broadcast on BBC radio station, Great Britain, 1987 July 19.
Acquisition: Gift; Merce Cunningham Dance Foundation, 2011-2012.
Physical Description
Audiocassette
Extent: 1 audio cassette (30 minutes) : analog
Sound quality is good.
Description
Clip of James Joyce reading from Finnegan's wake, ca. 0:00-0:57; radio host Peter Dickson introduces Joyce's reading, John Cage, and his Roaratorio (1979); Cage speaks about his first readings of Finnegans wake in the 1920s; his continued interest in Finnegans wake, including as basis for text in his Wonderful widow of eighteen springs (1942); Cage tells an anecdote about writing mesostics through the use of text from Finnegans wake for an article; Cage explains his use of mesostics in his compositional process, and as live readings in his Roaratorio; the use of recorded sounds in Roaratorio such as of animals and in locations specific to the book; Cage speaks more on his travels for recording the sounds; Cage speaks about meeting Joe Heaney, an Irish folksinger, and asking other Irish folk musicians to perform in Roaratorio; clip of Joe Heaney singing; Peadher Mercier speaks about meeting Cage and the atypical way Cage wanted to work with the folk musicians; Mercier names some of the other musicians who worked with Cage; Mercier describes the aleatory based instructions given to the musicians for performances of Roaratorio; short clip of bodhrán duet played by Peadher and Mel Mercier; Cage briefly speaks about the independent nature of the connection between the music and Merce Cunningham's dance; Cunningham speaks about using the rhythmic structure of reels and jigs in his choreography for Roaratorio; Cunningham speaks about his interest in the idea of human family and organizing the piece spatially; more on the choreography; the similarities of structure between the music and the dance, and the layers of the work as a whole; Cage speaks about his score for Roaratorio, including the structure of the title; Cage speaks about the role of the viewer and witnessing the work with an "empty mind"; more on the broader nature of music and culture; Mercier speaks about his initial distaste for the work and describes how that has been transformed, including several moments that he particularly enjoys; clip of Cage reading his mesostic text.
Type of Resource
Sound recording
Languages
English
Identifiers
RLIN/OCLC: 900290887
NYPL catalog ID (B-number): b20516332
Universal Unique Identifier (UUID): 26b5a490-b82d-0133-6278-60f81dd2b63c
Rights Statement
This item is protected by copyright and/or related rights. You are free to use this Item in any way that is permitted by the copyright and related rights legislation that applies to your use. For other uses you need to obtain permission from the rights-holder(s).

Item timeline of events

  • 1987: Created
  • 2024: Found by you!
  • 2025

MLA Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. "John Cage's Irish Circus" The New York Public Library Digital Collections. 1987. https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/2b735e30-b82d-0133-e5e5-60f81dd2b63c

Chicago/Turabian Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. "John Cage's Irish Circus" New York Public Library Digital Collections. Accessed November 25, 2024. https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/2b735e30-b82d-0133-e5e5-60f81dd2b63c

APA Format

Rodgers and Hammerstein Archives of Recorded Sound, The New York Public Library. (1987). John Cage's Irish Circus Retrieved from https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/2b735e30-b82d-0133-e5e5-60f81dd2b63c

Wikipedia Citation

<ref name=NYPL>{{cite web | url=https://qa-digitalcollections.nypl.org/items/2b735e30-b82d-0133-e5e5-60f81dd2b63c | title= (sound recording) John Cage's Irish Circus, (1987)|author=Digital Collections, The New York Public Library |accessdate=November 25, 2024 |publisher=The New York Public Library, Astor, Lenox, and Tilden Foundations}}</ref>

John Cage's Irish Circus