John Cage and Lejaren Hiller - HPSCHD

Introduction

In this program, Canby discusses the composition, HPSCHD (1967-1969), composed by John Cage in collaboration with Lejaren Hiller, founder of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign's Experimental Music Studio. In addition to his commentary on this computer-derived work, Canby also explores the philosophy of non-intention and the incorporation of non-Western conceptual models found in Cage's body of work.

Background:

The title was derived from the limitations of computers at the time. According to Canby, "computers do not accept more than six letters at a time, so what are you going to do with an old fashioned word like harpsichord? Well you digest it down to its computer consonants -- H.P.S.C.H.D.

The work itself was made using a computer system based on the Chinese I-Ching or "Book of Changes". Cage would use this program to create randomly generated patterns of harpsichord music that were then combined with 51 prerecorded tapes that sampled the works of Western composers like Mozart, Chopin, Beethoven and Schoenberg. Every iteration of the piece involves a different set of patterns determined by chance, so no one performance is quite the same. Cage describes possible uses of this material that is available to make this work into actual sound. He says, "The piece can exist as a performance of 1 to 7 live harpsichords and 1 to 51 tapes." The Nonesuch version, played on this program, is merely one version of HPSCHD out of an infinite number of possible variations.

HPSCHD first saw its premiere on May 16, 1969 at the Assembly Hall of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign campus and was performed by David Tudor, Antoinette Vischer, William Brooks, Ronald Peters, Yuji Takahashi, Neely Bruce and Philip Corner (harpsichords). The performance also included 7 pre-amplifiers, 208 computer-generated tapes, 52 projectors, 64 slide projectors with 6400 slides, 8 movie projectors with 40 movies, a 340 foot circular screen and several 11x40 foot rectangular screens.

Interestingly, Canby was sympathetic to the 'seriousness of ideas' in these seemingly chaotic compositions. In some circles at the time, Cage was considered a mere provocateur, but Canby counters this notion: "To shock constructively you must have not only finesse -- your shocks must really be nasty, aggravating, getting into the quick-- but behind them must be challenging ideas, concepts, and that of course is where this sort of sound is going: ideas." After playing 10 uninterrupted minutes of HPSCHD, Canby addresses a perceived confusion in his listening audience, but asks them to consider these sounds not as an affront to the senses, but as challenging our assumptions about what is and what can be considered music. He concludes the program with an impassioned appeal. "Don't blame me for this work, for these sounds -- I didn't compose them, I didn't record them. They would still be significant, even if I were to ignore them entirely... So we might as well listen and be shocked or be amused or just be interested... and there's no harm in that."

WNYC archives id: 58732