Scholarly discussion of the music of John Cage.

[Stefano Pocci <>]

This is the 'irresolvable' problem of translations, I believe.

Is it better to literally translate the text trying to stick as much as possible to the original text, or is it better to convey the meaning intended by the original author of the text?

As usual with John Cage, things get even more complex than a 'simple' translation because the idea lying behind mesostics defies the concept of translation itself and there is the 50% or 100% rule to factor in :)

Il giorno dom 23 gen 2022 alle ore 23:43 Goldstein, Louis <> ha scritto:

I agree the #1 option is the one faithful to the original intention.  But I keep thinking of the differences different translations can make.  In class I've used 3 English translations of two H. Hesse poems, ones used by R. Strauss in "Four Last Songs."  In addition to the different choices of adjectives and adverbs to translate individual words, and which can alter the slant of the meaning, - - -  one of the translations preserves Hesse's rhyme scheme, surely a vital element of the poems.  But in doing so the meaning of the text becomes convoluted and difficult to follow.  German speakers have told me that one of the 3 translations best conveys the language and intent of the original, but in English it reads as an unrhymed, unmetered contemporary verse.

On Sun, Jan 23, 2022 at 11:41 AM Rod Stasick <> wrote:

I was going to check my copy of the Mudima text as well, but Stefano beat me to it.

That mesostic slipped thru with an unnoticed “a” in the word “am” (and it is highlighted for some reason?)

Still, it works well if you chop everything off after the word “or” in that line and just continue reading.

I’ll check my copy of the “Kunst = Leben” catalog. I seem to remember a German language mesostic there.

Anyway, possibilities exist to move forward no matter what previous versions are already out there.

Rod

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