Roaratorio is an acoustic experimental production created by the composer John Cage in 1979 for West German Radio. Cage, whose complex and challenging music often seemed chaotic, was actually a meticulous designer of his compositions, and this lush work is a good example of his mode of operation.
As part of the class Radio/Audio Masterworks, which explores significant productions through a rigorous critical lens, filmmaker and sound artist Peter Lucas spoke with the class about the history of the work and led the class, operating in teams, through an exercise that resulted in the creation of their own Roaratorio.
