John Cage (1912-1992)
Music For Three

Premsyl Vojta, cor
Ye Wu, violon
Florence Millet, piano

Composée en 1984 (et révisée trois ans plus tard), la pièce "Music For…" (les points de suspension sont à remplacer par le nombre d’intervenants) est faite de 17 parties pour voix et instruments sans partition globale, qui peuvent être associées aléatoirement les unes aux autres – le hasard est une notion chère à John Cage (1912-1992), curieux et expérimentateur, à une époque où d’autres parient sur une structuration stricte de la musique. Les trois instrumentistes conviés pour cet enregistrement mené par la WDR choisissent d’alterner trios et solos (Music for Three et Music for One) et l’assemblage des timbres du cor, du violon et du piano (dont les cordes sont à certains moments frottées au crin de cheval – une extension du travail du compositeur américain, apprise auprès d’Henry Cowell, sur la préparation de l’instrument), singulier et rare, permet au piano d’apporter harmonies et résonnance aux deux autres instruments, plus directement mélodiques. La liberté laissée aux interprètes séduit et enrichit l’œuvre – même si elle est toujours relative, comme l’impose l’orientation temporelle constante voulue par Cage et son minuteur : l’instrumentiste peut étoffer ses éléments, mais doit les jouer dans la tranche temporelle impartie – et les trois musiciens, s’ils finissent par s’ajuster, (re)découvrent des flexibilités à chaque exécution de la pièce. (Bernard Vincken)

John Cage (1912-1992) holds his own special place amidst this stylistic pluralism. Although Cage did not specifically write a trio for horn, violin, and piano, his work Music For (1984) can be easily fleshed out in this instrumental lineup. Music For is a bundle of 17 parts that can be randomly associated with one another. Each possible combination represents an entirely valid version of the piece – ranging from a solo performance to piano duet, string quartet, or ensemble with voice. The version for horn trio is called Music For Three, and this version also allows for several performance alternatives: YE WU: …...Cage was truly trying out a lot of different things. I find that horn, piano, and violin, with their differing timbres, offer the perfect lineup for this music……..We’re also dealing with a kind of freedom when such moments emerge quasi-spontaneously from our playing without having to plan them together beforehand. ” Premysl Vojta: …...John Cage’s Music For Three allows us such freedoms and possibilities. That is why this music emerges so fresh and turns out differently every time it is performed on stage or in the recording studio. For me, it’s been a thrilling experience, this way of dealing with time and the position we occupy within it – thanks to a score that always allows us to find that standpoint and interpret it anew.…. Florence Millet: IWe’re allowed to set in for the first time whenever we want within the first 35 seconds. That is already the first freedom this piece allows us. As soon as we hear one of our colleague’s notes, or the breath inhale that precedes it, we can react to what is going on. We feel a pulse – perhaps it’s the rhythm of the planets, or the pulse of our lives – as if life was just one long inhalation and exhalation. What comes before it? Another inhalation and exhalation. That is what we discover in this piece. At many points, you have shorter rhythm or pulse values. For instance, I am pulling the bowhairs along the strings. That comes from a movement in my body. I need to pay close attention to the kind of sound this produces, including which harmonics, and whether Premysl or Ye are playing while I am carrying this out. All of a sudden, I realize: this is the point where the next note should come. It is a recognition that emerges from a simultaneous interplay of body, movement, and instinct, almost like dancing a waltz….(Johannes Zink)