For ‘Atlas Eclipticalis’ John Cage was inspired by the star atlas ‘Atlas Eclipticalis 1950.0’, published in 1958 by the Czech astronomer Antonín Becvár. Cage literally took this book as his point of departure: on top of the charts he put staves on which he -depending on the strength of the starlight- drew smaller or bigger, lighter or heavier dots. The result being a score that looks like as if you’re watching a starry sky. This is also how the work sounds, with usually soft and fine tones in a continuum of silence.
De parts have been worked out as ‘events’ of 1 to 10 notes. The pitch is clear, but written in unconventional way. The size of the notes determines their volume. Conductor and orchestra need to keep strictly to the description of the score. Cage wrote the work for an orchestra that can vary in size from 1 up to 86 musicians. B’Rock chooses a version for 8 baroque instruments. Therefore the music will definitely gain in purity and serenity. Plastic artist Joëlle Tuerlinckx, fascinated by the visual aspect of the score, takes on the challenge to provide Cage’s composition with her visual interpretation. A fascinating concert to hear.. and to see.