One8 is one of
John Cage's last compositions, written specifically for cellist
Michael Bach and his distinctive "BACH-Bow," specially curved in order to facilitate the playing of four cello strings at one time. Mode Records elected to release the first "authentic" recording of One8 as the 32nd volume in its
Cage recorded edition as John Cage: The Number Pieces 3. As in other "number pieces" by
Cage, the music is very thinly applied within the borders of its pre-designated time coordinates, with certain details left open for the interpreter but others reserved by the composer. No matter how much
Cage gives up in favor of the interpreter,
Cage always still sounds like
Cage -- several of the gestures heard in One8 are reminiscent of his String Quartet in Four Parts (1950). One amazing attribute of the BACH-Bow is its ability to sound like a full string quartet, even though there is only a single player;
Michael Bach has demonstrated this facility on another disc made for Mode, The Art of the Curved Bow.
For some listeners, John Cage: The Number Pieces 3 will be about as much fun as having a tooth pulled. Some of the sonorities played by
Bach are sharp and shrill and may give the impression of being sour and badly out-of-tune to some ears. For others, however, John Cage: The Number Pieces 3 could be about discovery, the result of two inventors working together to discover untried combinations of sounds utilizing a new technology, the full ramifications of some being yet unclear, but with the experiments nonetheless interesting. The only complaint is that the disc runs short; only running 43:35 -- one would've liked to hear
Bach's curved bow take on some of
Cage's earlier works for similar instrumental forces, such as 26'1.1499 for a string player, which would have fit, at least.