Amores

A major source of inspiration for associate artist Bill T. Jones is the composer John Cage, one of the great innovators in classical music of the twentieth century. Cage’s most well-known work is 4’33”, which has the performing musician doing exactly nothing for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. Coincidences and minimalism play an important part in his work, and his handling of musical instruments was highly original. For example, he put pieces of paper and erasers between the piano strings to alter the sound. Cage wrote his early, tranquil work Amores (1943) for prepared piano and percussion especially for his friend, the well-known choreographer Merce Cunningham. Though it was actually written for three percussionists and one pianist, here it is performed by just two musicians from Ensemble Klang. Since percussionist Joey Marijs and pianist Saskia Lankhoorn each had to record their own parts individually anyway because of the corona measures, Marijs could just as well record all three percussion sections, which results in an unusual visual tripling. Watch and listen to Amores to understand why Bill T. Jones loves Cage so much.

I 

Solo: Prepared Piano

II

Trio: Nine Tom Toms, Pod Rattle

III

Trio: Seven Woodblocks

IV

Solo: Prepared Piano

This relatively unknown piece of chamber music by John Cage consists of four parts. In the first and last, it is the prepared piano’s turn, and in the two parts in between it is the percussion section’s. An old piece of work like Amores is a rarity for Ensemble Klang, which has been around since 2003 and almost exclusively performs new compositions from living composers. The ensemble decided to perform this work because the first and fourth part were originally written for a choreography by Merce Cunningham.

The title Amores appeals to the imagination, but the music is far from romantic. Rather, it consists of separate elements, small islands of sound that you travel through. The light touch gives it a sensual quality, the peculiar sound of the prepared piano a dreaminess. In his early compositions, Cage supplanted melody and harmony by timbre and rhythm; percussion took centre stage, and the piano’s tonal universe was broken wide open. Though it may seem like improvisation, the notation is precise and the instructions are exact. But still there is room for interpretation.

The performance is in the hands of pianist Saskia Lankhoorn and percussionist Joey Marijs. Lankhoorn painstakingly puts the screws, bolts, nuts and erasers between the strings of her concert grand piano herself. She is free to choose the extent and size of the objects, so long as the metallic resonance is not too loud.Like cage, Lankhoorn plays the keys with a light touch. Her highly acclaimed solo concerts often submerge listeners in a new world of sound.

Like Lankhoorn, percussionist Marijs went to the hardware store to look for materials. Marijs’ instructions are just as cryptic as they are logical: the woodblock cannot be a woodblock but should rather be a wooden beam or block, as it should not resonate too much. Marijs says Cage was looking for percussive sounds that even a prepared piano is incapable of producing. Marijs has ample experience with the repertoire of John Cage. He is the sole percussionist in Ensemble Klang and plays a trio of toms, a guiro and wooden blocks.

This pandemic has taught us a new etiquette, like allowing someone to finish their sentence before saying something during a conference call or zoom meeting. This is also how it worksin Amores (1943), according to Pete Harden, the artistic director of Ensemble Klang.