Genesis 1:1-2 – “In the beginning when God created the heavens and the earth, the earth was a formless void and darkness covered the face of the deep, while a wind from God swept over the face of the waters (NRSV),” can be put into an artistic conversation with a composition by twentieth century experimental composer, John Cage, called 4’33” (Four Minutes and Thirty-Three Seconds). The void (as described below) created by 4’33” and the “music” that comes from that void can be compared and contrasted with God’s creation of the heavens and the earth from nothing but a formless void.
John Cage (1912-1992) was an American composer who at one point (and most famously) in his career focused on indeterminacy, a compositional technique where “music” is determined only by limited, if any, guidelines, giving much freedom to the performer(s).[1] Cage held a very liberal view of the definition of music. He said that music is “’sound’ defined in the broadest possible sense, encompassing all types of incidental sounds [talking, machines, movement, etc.—My examples] as well as ‘normal’ musical events…”[2] Indeterminacy, according to Cage, is such a radical compositional technique that it allows the composer to abandon all control and allow the listener to hear the sounds as Cage’s composition, 4’33” (Four Minutes and Thirty-Three Seconds) may be the signature piece of his musical philosophy.[3] In 4’33”, the performer(s) bring their instruments and/or body to appear ready to play or sing, and then they remain silent for four minutes and thirty-three seconds. The music is found in the silence created by the performer(s) in such things as the conversations, laughing, coughing, other sounds of the audience, the chair creaking sounds, the sounds of the heating or air system, and audible sounds from outside. John Cage’s musical influence came as a result of his fascination with Eastern religions and philosophies including the I Ching [Book of Changes], Chinese book of oracles, Eastern mysticism, and especially Zen Buddhism.[4] Though this piece is not directly influenced by a Judeo-Christian worldview, it is very reminiscent of the Creation Story in Genesis 1.
In the first two verses of Genesis 1, the “formless void” is a major detail. This detail serves to proclaim God’s infinite power. It describes God’s transcendence above all things (and non-things) because of being an all-powerful God who can even take nothing, a concept that is very difficult for humans to understand, and create all that exists. The absolute power of God may be most evident in this passage (Genesis 1:1-2) from the Priestly source of the Torah.[5]
Just as 4’33” creates “music” out of a void, God creates the heavens and the earth from a void. God’s power and majesty is declared in the ability to create everything out of nothing. From the great abyss, God made all that exists. In 4’33”, John Cage allows his definition of music to be created out of silence. In both cases, where there is nothing, a new creation comes into being. Gods creation comes into being through God’s spoken word in the formless void, while in 4’33” the music emerges from nothing; silence.
Though 4’33” and Genesis 1:1-2 have much in common, there are significant differences. Genesis 1 tells of a creative God who knows exactly what the “final product” will be. God goes through an ordered process in creating all of creation. In contrast, every performance of 4’33” will, by definition of the compositional style, be different and indeterminable. In the remaining verses of Genesis 1, God creates the heavens, earth, and their inhabitants in a specific and well-defined order. By contrast, John Cage shuns any notion of order and definition in this composition. What is heard or what is not heard is by accident and by chance. However, both the Scripture and the composition are meant to be taken seriously. Though there are significant differences, there are significant commonalities. Readers and/or listeners have misunderstood both. Some people read Genesis as a “science or history book” of creation rather than its “narration of ancient Israel’s traditions and concepts of the past”[6] and it’s amazing description of God’s power. Similarly, listeners have misunderstood 4’33” to be humorous or have even rejected it as a music altogether rather than recognizing it as revolutionary composition. A simple youtube.com search [by typing “4’33”” in the search menu] can prove this through the many performances on this sight.
While reading Genesis one day, and especially these two verses, my mind as a trained and former semi-professional musician and music teacher was immediately drawn to my first experience of “hearing” 4’33” in a Twentieth Century Music History Class in my undergraduate education. The professor played this composition (and yes, there are recordings of 4’33”) and then explained the significance of this piece. Both the composition and the Scripture are reliant on “nothing” whether “nothing” is a formless void or a time of silence. And, out of “nothing” something is created. The final result of 4’33” is different from Genesis 1:1-2 in that the “music” is undefined while God’s final creation is defined (later in Genesis 1), but both form the creation of a work of art out of nothing. In 4’33”, John Cage does not need a certain grouping of instruments or vocalists or even a musical score to perform this work; only silence is needed. Similarly, in Genesis 1, God does not need anything to make the greatest work of art of all: the heavens and the earth. All God “needs” is God’s own spoken words, “Let there be…”.
[1] Robert P. Morgan, Twentieth Century Music- A History of Musical Style in Modern Europe and America, (New York: W.W. Norton & Company, 1991), 359.
[2] Ibid.
[3] Ibid., 363.
[4] Ibid., 362.
[5] Footnote from The Harper Collins Study Bible, NRSV, Harold W. Attridge, ed. Revised Edition, (New York: HarperCollins Publishers, 2006), 5.
[6] Harper Collins Study Bible, 4.
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