But what about the noise of crumpling paper which he used to do in order to paint the series of "Papiers froissés" or tearing up paper to make "Papiers déchirés?" Arp was stimulated by water (sea, lake, and flowing waters like rivers), forests (1985)

The first question, of course, is: what the hell is up with that title? I'm not sure why he was feeling so logorrheic when he wrote that, but the musical content is nothing unusual for late-period Cage.

It's a largely percussive piece for 3 to 10 players, with a rich variety of different percussive sounds - some metallic, some wooden, some rattle, some make a watery 'plop', etc. What stands out about it is its unusual rhythm, a result of the fact that (1) each player hits his instrument just once then waits a long time before hitting again just once, and repeat; and (2) each player keeps his own time. The rhythm is somewhat reminiscent of water dripping in a cave; this impression is underlined by the watery timbre of many of the noises.

The effect of the rhythm is somewhat meditative. As with water dripping in a cave, there is a distinctive rhythm to the piece, but one that emerges only after each sound has occurred. That is, unlike with any kind of standard rhythm, you can't predict when the next sound will come. The rhythm here is slippery, snakelike, constantly outside the mind's grasp. Any attempt to play along with it, even just in your head, will be stymied. Hence, listening to this piece, you are forced to empty your mind, and simply accept each sound as it comes. And also as it goes, for they are all fleeting. Thus: emptiness and non-attachment. Cage's Zen influences certainly shine through here. There is even a kind of Zen playfulness to this, in its wide variety of sounds and its unwavering, impish refusal to march to any kind of standard beat. I can imagine Cage writing the title with a sly smile and that sets the tone for the music, too.

Occasionally other sounds enter the mix. A few times, we hear a snippet of an uneasy whistle and a low, ominous groaning sound, which evoke weird animal calls. They emphasize the sense of being in a cave, albeit a very strange and alien cave. Other times we hear things that sound like wind, water, crunching paper, a creaky door, etc. It's great fun. I'm not sure I would say it's one of Cage's best compositions, but that's simply because he has such a large quantity of fantastic compositions.