OE


Clangor, subdued, an undulating. Cage’s early music is “surprisingly” (something), in contrast to something “electronically produced.” The reference to music is the primary proof that the first blank is something like music or sound. Clangor (loud racket or sustained noise) is a type of noise that could be electronically produced, and it contrasts nicely with the later clues about the earlier works having “melody” and “softness.” Timbre (unique combination of qualities distinguishing a sound from others) is a quality of a sound, not a sound itself; this is a theme trap. Murmur (soft, indistinct sound) typically refers to human-generated sound, not “electronically produced,” and also fails to contrast with “softness” as it should. Clangor serves as an additional piece of evidence for the second blank: Cage’s early music is surprisingly not clangorous, or soft. Subdued (quiet, soft) works perfectly, while deleterious (harmful; unhealthy) and auspicious (promising or propitious) are unrelated to the sentence. If “Music for Marcel Duchamp” “never rises above” some level of volume, only undulating (rising or falling in pitch, volume, or cadence) works in the last blank. Noisome (noxious, harmful, or dangerous) and erstwhile (former, in the past, previous) are unrelated to the sentence. Don’t be distracted by the superficial similarity between noisome and “noise.”