''Apartment House 1776'' is a 1976 composition by the American composer

John Cage John Milton Cage Jr. (September 5, 1912 – August 12, 1992) was an American composer and music theorist. A pioneer of indeterminacy in music, electroacoustic music, and non-standard use of musical instruments, Cage was one of the leading fi ...

, composed for the

United States Bicentennial The United States Bicentennial was a series of celebrations and observances during the mid-1970s that paid tribute to historical events leading up to the creation of the United States of America as an independent republic. It was a central event ...

and premiered by six orchestras across the country in 1976. The work was commissioned jointly by the orchestras of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Cleveland Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, and

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

. In these performances, the work was performed together with Cage's 1975–76 orchestral work ''Renga''.

Structure

Following Cage's ''Musicircus'' principle (featuring what he called a "multiplicity of centers"), the work calls for four solo vocalists, each representing a different religious tradition in the United States:

Protestant Protestantism is a Christian denomination, branch of Christianity that follows the theological tenets of the Reformation, Protestant Reformation, a movement that began seeking to reform the Catholic Church from within in the 16th century agai ...

Sephardic Sephardic (or Sephardi) Jews (, ; lad, Djudíos Sefardíes), also ''Sepharadim'' , Modern Hebrew: ''Sfaradim'', Tiberian Hebrew, Tiberian: Səp̄āraddîm, also , ''Ye'hude Sepharad'', lit. "The Jews of Spain", es, Judíos sefardíes (or ), ...

, Native American, and

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

. The singers, who represent the four religious traditions practiced at the U.S.'s founding in 1776, select authentic songs from their respective traditions and sing them without attempting to match them to those of the other singers. The soloists for the original performances were Helen Schneyer (Protestant),

Nico Castel Nico Castel (August 1, 1931 – May 31, 2015), born Naftali Chaim Castel Kalinhoff, was a comprimario tenor and well-known language and diction coach, as well as a prolific translator of libretti and writer of books on singing diction. Although Cas ...

(Sephardic), Swift Eagle (Native American –

Apache The Apache () are a group of culturally related Native American tribes in the Southwestern United States, which include the Chiricahua, Jicarilla, Lipan, Mescalero, Mimbreño, Ndendahe (Bedonkohe or Mogollon and Nednhi or Carrizaleño an ...

and

Santo Domingo Pueblo Kewa Pueblo ( Eastern Keres , Keres: ''Díiwʾi'', Navajo: ''Tó Hájiiloh'') is a federally-recognized tribe of Native American Pueblo people in northern New Mexico, in Sandoval County southwest of Santa Fe. The pueblo is recorded as the Santo ...

), and

Jeanne Lee Jeanne Lee (January 29, 1939 – October 25, 2000) was an American jazz singer, poet and composer. Best known for a wide range of vocal styles she mastered, Lee collaborated with numerous distinguished composers and performers who included Gunter ...

(African American). The original performances were conducted by

Seiji Ozawa Seiji (written: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , or in hiragana) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese ski jumper *, Japanese racing driver *, Japanese politician *, Japanese film directo ...

(Boston),

Pierre Boulez Pierre Louis Joseph Boulez (; 26 March 1925 – 5 January 2016) was a French composer, conductor and writer, and the founder of several musical institutions. He was one of the dominant figures of post-war Western classical music. Born in Mont ...

(New York) and

Zubin Mehta Zubin Mehta (born 29 April 1936) is an Indian conductor of Western classical music. He is music director emeritus of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra (IPO) and conductor emeritus of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Mehta's father was the foun ...

(Los Angeles) . The singers are accompanied by versions of anthems and congregational music written by composers who were at least 20 years old at the time of the American Revolution, which Cage recomposed by means of chance operations. The composers whose works are so used include

William Billings William Billings (October 7, 1746 – September 26, 1800) is regarded as the first American choral composer and leading member of the First New England School. Life William Billings was born in Boston, Massachusetts. At the age of 14, t ...

, James Lyon,

Jacob French Jacob French (July 15, 1754 – May 1817) was a singing master and one of the first American composers, sometimes called Yankee tunesmiths. "A student of William Billings, French adopted Billings' innovative approach to psalmody ... His music tend ...

, Andrew Law, and

Supply Belcher Supply Belcher (March 29, 1751 – June 9, 1836) was an American composer, singer, and compiler of tune books. He was one of the so-called Yankee tunesmiths or First New England School, a group of mostly self-taught composers who created sacred vo ...

. In addition, Cage provides four marches for solo drums (transcribed by James Barnes from Benjamin Clark's Drum Book of 1797) and 14 tunes for melody instruments, which are based on dance or military tunes of the period.

Recordings

*1994 – ''John Cage: Orchestral Works I'' (

Mode Mode ( la, modus meaning "manner, tune, measure, due measure, rhythm, melody") may refer to: Arts and entertainment * '' MO''D''E (magazine)'', a defunct U.S. women's fashion magazine * ''Mode'' magazine, a fictional fashion magazine which is ...

)

References

*Cage, John, and

Richard Kostelanetz Richard Cory Kostelanetz (born May 14, 1940) is an American artist, author, and critic. Birth and Education Kostelanetz was born to Boris Kostelanetz and Ethel Cory and is the nephew of the conductor Andre Kostelanetz. He has a B.A. (1962) from ...

(1988). "His Own Music: Part Two — Ur-Conversation With John Cage produced by Richard Kostelanetz." ''

Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was first ...

'', vol. 26, no. 1 (Winter 1988), pp. 26–49. *Fetterman, William (1996). ''John Cage's Theatre Pieces: Notations and Performances''. Routledge. . * Fleming, Shirley (1976). "Music Notes: Asked for One, Cage Writes Two; Music Notes: Two From John Cage." ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'', September 19, 1976. * Henahan, Donal (1976). "John Cage, Elfin Enigma, at 64; Reappraising John Cage, Elfin Enigma at 64." ''The New York Times'', October 22, 1976. *Henahan, Donal (1976). "Music: Cage's ''Renga'' Gives Lift To Festival of Modern Works." ''The New York Times'', October 29, 1976 * Hughes, Allen (1976). "Hundreds Walk Out of Premiere Of John Cage Work at Fisher Hall." ''The New York Times'', November 5, 1976. * Johnson, Tom (1989). ''The Voice of New Music: New York City 1972–1982 — A Collection of Articles Originally Published by the

Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the creat ...

'', pp. 247–248. Eindhoven, Netherlands:

Het Apollohuis ''Het Apollohuis'' ( en, The Apollo House) was a space for experimental music and visual arts, "focused in particular on...sound art, new music, performance art and the new media," founded in Eindhoven, Netherlands, by Remko Scha and Paul Panhuysen ...

. . * Kostelanetz, Richard (2003). ''Conversing With Cage'', p. 126. Routledge. . *Pritchett, James (1993). ''The Music of John Cage''. Cambridge University Press. . *"The Week's Concerts; Today." ''

'', February 20, 1977.

External links

''Apartment House 1776'' page
{{Authority control Compositions by John Cage 1976 compositions 1976 in the United States Music commissioned by the Boston Symphony Orchestra Music commissioned by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra Music commissioned by the Cleveland Orchestra Music commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Music commissioned by the New York Philharmonic Music commissioned by the Philadelphia Orchestra

Structure

Recordings

See also

References

External links