John Cage's "Empty Words" (1974) is drawn from the Journals of Henry David Thoreau, written in four parts: Part I omits sentences, Part II omits phrases, and Part III omits words. Part IV, which omits syllables, leaves us nothing but a virtual lullaby of letters and sounds.
Format: 2 MP3 CDs Condition: New Released: 2011 Country: Germany Packaging: Cardstock 4 page foldover Recorded in Dusseldorf, Germany in 2010 and 2011.
begins by omitting sentences, has only phrases, words, syllables and letters.
The second part omits the phrases, has only words, syllables and letters. The third part omits the words, has only syllables and letters. And the last part ... has nothing but letters and sounds.
A mix of words, syllables, and letters obtained by subjecting the Journal of Henry David Thoreau to a series of I Ching chance operations.
What was interesting to me was making English less understandable. Because when it's understandable, well, people control one another, and poetry disappears.
A transition from language to music. It's bewildering at first, but it's extremely pleasurable as time goes on. And that's what I'm up to."-John Cage