condition (records/cover): M / EX- (minimal wear)

Gatefold sleeve. The Empty Words series represents John Cage's most sustained engagement with language as raw sonic material. Working from Henry David Thoreau's Journal, he progressively dismantled grammatical structure across four parts: sentences to phrases to words to syllables and letters, until only breath and sound remain. Part IV - the most extreme reduction - approaches pure vocality, the distance between speech and music collapsed entirely. Issued by Edition Michael Frauenlob Bauer in a limited 2LP pressing that has remained difficult to locate. Truly extreme stuff. The cover is overall dominated by white, text in black, with a photography of John Cage on the back. Inside left there's an extract of the work. Inside right there's a photography of the first manuscript of Empty Words Part IV. Recorded at Römerkeller, Cologne, 4.9.1984. Empty Words was composed between 1973 and 1978. Empty Words Part IV was premiered at "WCH WAY" during the autumn in 1975. Total time: 150'00"