Quartets I–VIII (1976)
(Version for an Orchestra of 93 Instruments)

An orchestral work in three versions: for 24 instruments, for 41 instruments and for 93 instruments, each of 40 minutes duration. The Quartets are among Cage’s “Americana” pieces, utilizing “found” materials from (mostly) American music history, which were subjected to a unique “subtraction” technique. They are called “quartets” because at any given time only four instruments play simultaneously.

They were composed after the earlier Americana work, Renga and Apartment House 1776 which were commissioned for the bicentennial. Each work is comprised of eight “quartets” or sections, which are based on/deriving from a particular hymn tune: I. “Lift up your heads, o ye Gates” (Jacob French); II. “The Lord Descended” (William Billings); III. “Old North” (W.B.); IV. “New York” (Andrew Law); V. “Heath” (W.B.); VI. “Judea” (W.B.); VI. “Greenwich” (A.L.); VIII. “The Lord is Risʼn” (W.B.).