Amour (Stockhausen)
Encyclopedia
Amour is a cycle of five pieces for clarinet
by Karlheinz Stockhausen
, composed in 1974–76. The composer thought of each piece as a gift for a close friend. The first piece of the cycle was composed in 1974 while Stockhausen was vacationing in Senegal
, at N'Gor, a beach resort near Dakar
; the rest were composed during a week in December 1976, in Kürten
, Germany
, as Christmas gifts for family members and close associates (Stockhausen 1978, 331).
Amour was first performed publicly on 9 January 1978, in Stuttgart
, by Suzanne Stephens. In 1981 Stockhausen created a flute version of the cycle, which was followed by a cello arrangement of Vier Sterne weisen Dir den Weg in 1998, and a saxophone version of the entire cycle, created in 2003.
Clarinet
The clarinet is a musical instrument of woodwind type. The name derives from adding the suffix -et to the Italian word clarino , as the first clarinets had a strident tone similar to that of a trumpet. The instrument has an approximately cylindrical bore, and uses a single reed...
by Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Karlheinz Stockhausen was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. Another critic calls him "one of the great visionaries of 20th-century music"...
, composed in 1974–76. The composer thought of each piece as a gift for a close friend. The first piece of the cycle was composed in 1974 while Stockhausen was vacationing in Senegal
Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal , is a country in western Africa. It owes its name to the Sénégal River that borders it to the east and north...
, at N'Gor, a beach resort near Dakar
Dakar
Dakar is the capital city and largest city of Senegal. It is located on the Cap-Vert Peninsula on the Atlantic coast and is the westernmost city on the African mainland...
; the rest were composed during a week in December 1976, in Kürten
Kürten
Kürten is a village and a municipality in the Rheinisch-Bergischer Kreis, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany.-Neighbouring places:Nearby cities include Bergisch Gladbach, Overath, Wermelskirchen, and Wipperfürth...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, as Christmas gifts for family members and close associates (Stockhausen 1978, 331).
- Sei wieder fröhlich ("Cheer up", 12 December 1974)
- Composed for clarinetist Suzee (Suzanne) StephensSuzanne StephensSuzanne Stephens is an American clarinetist, resident in Germany, described as "an outstanding performer and tireless promoter of the clarinet and basset horn" .-Biography:...
, who worked with Stockhausen on a number of projects, including Herbstmusik (1974), HarlekinHarlekinHarlekin is a composition for unaccompanied clarinet by Karlheinz Stockhausen, named for the commedia dell'arte character Harlequin. It was composed in 1975 and is Number 42 in his catalogue of works. A shorter, derived work called Der kleine Harlekin is Number 42½.-History:Harlekin was composed...
(1975), In FreundschaftIn FreundschaftIn Freundschaft is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, number 46 in his catalogue of works, which is playable on a wide variety of solo instruments.-History:...
(1977), Traum-Formel (1981), and others. This is a short (the score indicates approximate playing time of 1'30"), melodic work.- Dein Engel wacht über Dir ("Your angel is watching over you", 11 December 1976)
- Composed for Mary BauermeisterMary BauermeisterMary Hilde Ruth Bauermeister is a German artist.-Early life and family:Mary Bauermeister was artistically influenced in secondary school by her drawing teacher, Günter Ott. She studied in 1954–55 at the Hochschule für Gestaltung in Ulm and in 1955–56 at the Staatlichen Schule für Kunst und...
, the composer's second wife. This piece was conceived by Stockhausen as a dialogue between two voices: one low and soft, the other loud, two octaves higher. The voices unite into a single entity, which is then transformed several times (Stockhausen 1978, 331).- Die Schmetterlinge spielen ("Butterflies are playing", 16 December 1976)
- Composed for Jaynee Stephens, Suzanne's younger sister. This is a character piece in which the butterflies are represented by short, fast two-note motifs. One of the butterflies has, in the composer's words, "a beat of wide intervals in triplets", and the other's wings move in "fast duplets of small intervals" (Stockhausen 1978, 332).
- Ein Vöglein singt an Deinem Fenster ("A little bird is singing at your window", 12 December 1976)
- Composed for Suzanne Stephens. This also is a character piece, which begins with a "bird" melody—fast, wide intervals, trills—which gradually transforms into a calmer, unadorned "human" melody (Stockhausen 1978, 336).
- Vier Sterne weisen Dir den Weg ("Four stars show you the way", 13 December 1976)
- Composed for Doris Stockhausen-Andreae, the composer's first wife. The title refers to the four children Doris and Karlheinz had: Suja, Christel, MarkusMarkus StockhausenMarkus Pirol Stockhausen is a German trumpeter and composer.-Biography:Born in Cologne, he is the son of composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. At age four he appeared as "child at play" in his father's theatre piece Originals. He received his first piano lessons at age six, and at age twelve he began to...
, and Majella. There are, accordingly, four related, four-note formulasFormula compositionFormula composition is a serially-derived technique encountered principally in the music of Karlheinz Stockhausen, involving the projection, expansion, and Ausmultiplikation of either a single melody-formula, or a two- or three-voice contrapuntal construction .In contrast to serial music, where the...
in the piece, which are gradually transformed in various ways.
Amour was first performed publicly on 9 January 1978, in Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
, by Suzanne Stephens. In 1981 Stockhausen created a flute version of the cycle, which was followed by a cello arrangement of Vier Sterne weisen Dir den Weg in 1998, and a saxophone version of the entire cycle, created in 2003.