Klang (Stockhausen)
Encyclopedia
Klang—Die 24 Stunden des Tages (Sound—The 24 Hours of the Day) is a cycle of compositions by Karlheinz Stockhausen
, on which he worked from 2004 until his death in 2007. It was intended to consist of 24 chamber-music compositions, each representing one hour of the day, with a different colour systematically assigned to every hour. The cycle was not yet finished when the composer died, so that the last three "hours" are lacking. The 21 completed pieces include solos, duos, trios, a septet, and Stockhausen's last entirely electronic composition, Cosmic Pulses
, and they bear the work (opus) numbers 81–101.
(1977–2004), Stockhausen felt he was shifting his focus from the visible world of the eyes—Licht is the German word meaning "light", as of the stars, the sun—to the invisible world of the ears. When planning his new cycle of pieces based on the hours of the day, he initially considered several possibilities for the title: Day, Nacht und Tag (Night and Day), Liebe (Love), Chi
(the life energy), or Spiegel (Mirror). The name he finally settled on, Klang, means "sound", acoustic vibrations, but for Stockhausen, above all "the INNER EAR, for the divine Klang, the mystic sound of the beyond with the voice of the conscience, in German: die Stimme des Gewissens" (Stockhausen 2006a, 10).
Although the solo percussion work Himmels-Tür has a decidedly theatrical character, the cycle otherwise consists of essentially concert works (Günther 2008). Three are for unaccompanied solo performer, one is a duo, seven are trios, one a septet, one is a purely electronic composition, and the remaining eight compositions are for soloist accompanied by electronic music.
With Klang Stockhausen moved away from the formula technique
he had used from Mantra
(1970) until the completion of the opera-cycle Licht in 2004. The pieces are based on a 24-note series
(each note of a two-octave chromatic scale) that has essentially the same all-interval sequence as the series for Gruppen
, and from which other formal and parametric properties are derived on a work-by-work basis (Toop [2008a]). Starting from the Fifth Hour, this row is used in inversion, until returning to its original form from the Thirteenth Hour onward (Pasveer and Wesley 2008, 3–4).
Stockhausen also felt that he was returning to the moment form approach he had used in the late 1950s and 1960s, in works such as Kontakte
, Momente
, Telemusik
, and Hymnen
.
A new device of proliferating "rhythm families" was developed for the first "hour" (Himmelfahrt) and is employed in many of the subsequent pieces. In addition, the exploration of multiple simultaneous tempi, pioneered in Zeitmaße
(1955–56) and Gruppen (1955–57), is pursued in Himmelfahrt and the trios of hours 6–12; in the 13th hour, Cosmic Pulses
, this is taken to the verge of sonic saturation (Toop [2008a]).
Initially, Stockhausen had no overall plan for the cycle but in the summer of 2006, as he was finishing Cosmic Pulses
, he altered his method of work and grouped the component pieces into three subcycles. In doing so, he displaced Cosmic Pulses from its originally intended position as the Sixth to the Thirteenth Hour (Kohl 2009a, 13). One theory has been advanced that the Fibonacci series (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.) may be the reason these two subcycles start on the fifth and thirteenth hours, and the second ends on the twenty-first (Pasveer and Wesley 2008, 3–4). Another hypothesis is that Stockhausen meant to close the circle with a third, seven-member, "overnight" subcycle covering hours 22, 23, 24, and the already-completed 1–4, which would drive home the fact that midnight is not a natural "beginning" of the daily cycle, but only an arbitrary, human convention. Combined with the "morning" (hours 5–12) and "afternoon-evening" (hours 13–21) subcycles, this would divide the 24 hours of Klang into a serial proportion pattern of 7:8:9 (Kohl 2009a, 14).
On 30 November 2007, Stockhausen wrote to Udo Zimmermann
, director of the Ars Viva Festival in Munich, politely declining an invitation to attend a performance on 25 January 2008, because "I have reserved the days—and nights—when your rehearsals and performance take place to work on a new composition." Doubtless the new work was to have been one of the remaining hours from Klang but, five days later, Stockhausen suddenly died, leaving the cycle incomplete (Frisius 2008, 165; Kohl 2009a, 14). After his death, a search in his sketchbooks failed to discover any plans for the remaining three hours (Pasveer and Bos 2010).
The last six component works to be premiered were given in Cologne
as part of the collective premiere of the cycle, at the MusikTriennale Köln festival on 8–9 May 2010, by members of musikFabrik
and others, in 176 individual concerts (Gimpel 2010).
of the Christian cycle of daily prayers
(Stockhausen 2006a, 10).
As had been the case with the Licht cycle, Stockhausen associated each component work with a colour. In this case, he sought out colour theories
using circular models
with 24 hue
s. He settled on Wilhelm Ostwald
's colour cycle, published in three books in 1917 (Ostwald 1917a, 1917b, 1917c), and modified it to suit his needs: "The Ostwald circle originally starts number 1 with the brightest colour yellow at midday of an ordinary clock, but in the colour circle for KLANG I change the order and start with the darkest colour at one o'clock in the night. Accordingly I turn the circle by one step in order to coincide with a clock" (Stockhausen 2006a, 10).
The resulting colour circle is printed on the cover of both the score and the CD of the Third Hour, Natural Durations, and in Stockhausen 2006a, 10. The 24 colours are specified in the German HKS system
for printing the covers of the scores, and it is suggested in the prefaces to many of the scores that clothing of the corresponding colour might or should be worn when performing that piece. In at least one case, the performer is cautioned to avoid "any associations with known cultures" (Stockhausen 2009c, II).
Himmelfahrt (Ascension), for organ or synthesizer, soprano, and tenor. 2004–05 (36 mins.). Work number 81. The specified colour is deep violet-blue (Stockhausen 2008a, cover; Stockhausen 2008b, cover).
Himmelfahrt was premiered at the Milan Cathedral on 5 May 2005 (version with organ), by Alessandro La Ciacera, organ, Barbara Zanichelli, soprano, Paolo Borgonovo, tenor, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, sound projection (Stockhausen 2006a, 3); the version with synthesizer was premiered in the Sülztalhalle, Kürten
on 9 July 2006, Antonio Pérez Abellán, synthesizer, Barbara Zanichelli, soprano, Hubert Mayer, tenor, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, sound projection (Stockhausen 2006b, 14 & 34).
Himmelfahrt was commissioned, with the support of a Milanese bank, by the priest and organist Don Luigi Garbini, director of the Laboratory of Contemporary Music in the Service of the Liturgy (LmcsL), for performance in the Milan Cathedral on Ascension Thursday 2005, as part of the Pause Festival that year (Gervasoni 2005a). LmcsL, founded by Don Luigi in 1999 with the support of the then-Archbishop of Milan, Monsignor Carlo Maria Martini
, had launched the multidisciplinary Pause Festival in 2004. It included Stockhausen's famous 1956 electronic composition, Gesang der Jünglinge
. When Stockhausen mentioned at that time his plan for a new cycle of compositions, Don Luigi seized the opportunity to commission the First Hour, because Stockhausen's approach to music "seems truly sacred" (Gervasoni 2005b).
The work uses 24 different tempo
s in a chromatic time scale, and the part for organ or synthesizer requires 24 corresponding registrations
/timbre
s—the more complex and heavier timbres for slower tempos, the more transparent and lighter timbres for the faster tempos. The keyboardist's two hands are required to play in different tempos simultaneously, performing "temporal head-stands for both hands—actually impossible for us today—and the relationship of the tempo to the intensity of a sound-colour was composed by me in the spirit of the Ascension: unimaginable—unheard—invisible" (Stockhausen 2006a, 4). The composer felt this "is like compelling a man to the physical rupture that allows him to go in the form of a spirit to another world" (Gervasoni 2005a).
The text proclaimed by the two singers was written by Stockhausen himself, and refers freely to the Ascension of Christ. The vocal parts, however, only occur intermittently, and it is the keyboard instrument
that accounts for the largest share of the music. The score describes an ascent, like climbing a stairway to the Most High, and is divided into 24 moments. The ascent, however, is not a constant progression—the climber sometimes seems to stop to look behind him or around him (Gervasoni 2008c, 67).
Freude was premiered in the Milan Cathedral on 7 June 2006 by Marianne Smit
and Esther Kooi, harps (Stockhausen 2006b, 19 & 39).
The earliest sketch for the Second Hour of Klang is headed with the title Galaxien (Galaxies), and has a later alternative suggestion of Kreuz-Klang-Rätsel (Cross-Klang-Puzzle) (Stockhausen 2007a, 5). When Stockhausen received a commission from Don Luigi Garbini of the Milan Cathedral for the work, to be premiered for Pentecost
2006, he provisionally titled the work Pentecost, and chose as text the Pentecost hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus
", to be sung in Latin by the two harpists as they play. Following the 24 verses of the Latin hymn, the work is composed, like the First Hour, in 24 moments, and the title was changed to Freude, because this was the fundamental feeling Stockhausen had about the composition (Stockhausen 2007a, 3).
The text setting is sometimes syllabic, sibilant, employs speech-song, and in places evokes plainchant and early polyphony. The music probes the meaning of joy through a deep and detailed text-setting reminiscent of the "frighteningly beautiful" Mikrophonie II
of 1965 (Medwin 2007).
At the French premiere in Lyon on Friday, 8 March 2008, the "formidable interpretation" by its dedicatees, the harpists Marianne Smit and Esther Kooi, Freude produced "the effect of a fountain of youth" (Gervasoni 2008a).
Natürliche Dauern consists of 24 pieces for solo piano. No. 1 was premiered in New York
23 February 2006, at the Holy Trinity Church, 65th Street and Central Park West by Philip Fisher (Anon. 2006); nos. 2–15 were premiered at the Sülztalhalle in Kürten on 12 July 2006 by the pianists Benjamin Kobler and Frank Gutschmidt; nos. 16–24 were premiered in Lisbon
on 17 July 2007 by the Spanish pianist Antonio Pérez Abellán, to whom these are dedicated (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2008, 37 & 78).
Himmels-Tür was premiered 13 June 2006 in the Teatro Rossini
in Lugo, Italy, by Stuart Gerber and Arianna Garotti (Stockhausen 2006b, 21 & 41).
The only overtly theatrical piece from Klang, the idea for Himmels-Tür came to Stockhausen in a dream, in which he found himself at the gates of heaven
, which are locked against him. (Several of Stockhausen's earlier theatrical compositions—such as Trans
, Musik im Bauch
, and the Helicopter String Quartet
—also had their origins in dreams.) Because of the indefinite pitches of the instruments (a large double-panelled door and an assortment of cymbals and gongs), Himmels-Tür is the only work in the Klang cycle that does not use the 24-note series extrapolated from the all-interval "Gruppen" row (Kohl 2008, 17; Toop 2008b, 199–200).
"A percussionist beats with wooden beaters on a heaven’s door made of wood. It is divided from bottom to top into six fields. Sometimes he (she) stomps on the floor with his (her) nailed shoes." There are fourteen main sections defined by moods, such as "cautious", "entreating", "agitated", and "angry", until finally, the door opens. "After a moment of silence, the percussionist cautiously steps through the doorway and disappears. A terrifying noise of tam-tams, hi-hats, and cymbals bursts out”, not to mention sirens. "A little girl comes out of the audience onto the stage, and disappears through the doorway. The metallic sounds become increasingly rare and gradually cease. Finally, the siren stops" (Stockhausen 2006b, 41).
It is probably no coincidence that many years earlier, in Kontakte
, Stockhausen had associated metallic sounds
with the "heavenly", in contrast to the "earthly" sounds of skin percussion
(entirely absent in Himmels-Tür), with wooden sounds functioning as a transition between them, like the door to heaven here. Although the graphic notation
is unconventional, the improvisatory appearance of both the performance and the score is deceptive. Every stroke, every gesture is precisely specified in its rhythm, dynamics, and timbre (Kohl 2008, 17).
In just two days in October 2006, Stockhausen realised a 13-minute electronic work to accompany Himmels-Tür on its first CD recording. The title Türin combines the names of the two sound sources used, the door (German: Tür) from the percussion piece, and a chromatic set of rin
—Japanese bowl-gongs that Stockhausen had previously used in several compositions, such as Telemusik
, Inori
, Lucifer's Dance from Samstag aus Licht
, and the orchestra version of Hoch-Zeiten from Sonntag aus Licht
, as well as in Himmelfahrt (Hour 1) and the twenty-second piece of Natural Durations (Hour 3) from Klang. The recorded sounds of strokes on the door are electronically processed to focus their pitch and extend their resonance, and a rin stroke of the corresponding pitch is added to each attack (Kohl 2008, 17).
The composition consists of a single, stately presentation of the 24-tone Klang row, in rhythms derived from the pitches. Within each of these long tones, Stockhausen's voice intones a different "noble word" (such as "hope", "fidelity", "balance", "generosity", etc.). The utter simplicity of this piece puts it at the opposite extreme from the hyper-complex Cosmic Pulses
, work on which was already in progress at the time Türin was created (Kohl 2008, 17).
There are two versions of Türin, one with the words spoken in German, the other in English. According to the composer, these "noble words" are meant to keep the Himmels-Tür open (booklet accompanying Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 86, pp. 12 & 24). This composition was not assigned a work-number by Stockhausen, but is now included in the official catalogue of his works as "Nr. 84 extra".
, or flute
, or trumpet
, 2006 (ca. 15 mins.). Work number 85. The specified colour is HKS 50 (light greenish blue) (Stockhausen 2008d, I; Stockhausen 2009a, I).
The bass clarinet version (work number 85.1) was premiered in Kürten
on 11 July 2007 by Suzanne Stephens
; the flute version (work number 85.2) was premiered in Kürten 13 July 2007 by Kathinka Pasveer
(Stockhausen 2007b and Stockhausen 2007c); the trumpet version (work 85.3) was premiered on 2 August 2008 by Marco Blaauw
in London
at a BBC Proms
concert (Stockhausen-Stiftung 2008, 7).
The bass clarinet version, originally titled Akkorde (Chords), was the first to be composed, as a birthday gift for Suzanne Stephens (Stockhausen 2007c). The flute and trumpet versions were made by transposing
the entire work up by a whole tone
, with numerous adjustments to fit the range and character of the instruments, as well as a few small additions. While the bass clarinet and flute versions are purely instrumental, in the trumpet version the player speaks three words between the four introductory notes: "Lob sei Gott" ("May God be praised").
"Harmonies come into being from successions of melodic groups.… At the end of a group, its pitches are repeated as very fast periods without rhythm and in different registral distribution, so that the melody has a harmonic effect, like a vibrating chord" (Stockhausen 2007c, 33 & 36).
Stockhausen’s original idea for the Fifth Hour of Klang was to have an unaccompanied instrumental piece in three different versions (for bass clarinet, flute, and trumpet), followed by a longer trio for the same instruments, built from the same material. In this conception, it was to have been called Akkorde (Chords). The title was later changed to Harmonien. Late in 2006 or early in 2007, when Stockhausen decided to group some of the hours into subcycles, the original trio became Hour 6, and the first of a set of seven trios extending to Hour 12, all based on the material of the three versions of Harmonien (Kohl 2009c, 22). Except for Glanz, the titles of these trios are amongst the "noble words" found in Türin, which are meant to "hold open the Heaven's Door" of the fourth hour (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 28, 30, 56 & 58).
The premiere of Schönheit was given in Lisbon on 5 October 2009, at the Grande Auditório of the Gulbenkian Foundation by Suzanne Stephens (bass clarinet), Marco Blaauw (trumpet) and Kathinka Pasveer (flute). Schönheit was commissioned by the music department of the Fundaçaõ Calouste Gulbenkian
, Lisbon.
Schönheit is the original trio of the subcycle comprising hours six to eleven, and as such is also the simplest. The other six trios permute its five main sections and add new material as insertions between them, as introductions, codas
, interludes, or cadenza
s. This permutability is an example of what Stockhausen called "polyvalent form" (Kohl 2009c). According to Marco Blaauw, "Like Bach’s Art of the Fugue, it is therefore a work of synthesis which requires a great intellectual effort on the part of the listener" (quoted in Martin 2009). As in the trumpet version of Harmonien, the performers punctuate the introductory chords with the words "Lob sei Gott", spoken in unison.
Balance was given its premiere in the Großer Sendesaal of the WDR, Cologne
on the composer’s eightieth birthday, 22 August 2008, by members of Ensemble recherche.
At the end of this trio, the performers speak in unison the Latin words of the first two lines of the Greater Doxology
: "Gloria in excelsis Deo / et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis" (Glory to God in the highest / and on earth peace, goodwill to all people).
Glück was premiered on 8 May 2010 at the Studio der musikFabrik
in Mediapark 7
in Cologne
, by members of musikFabrik, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln. The performers were Peter Veale (oboe), Piet van Bockstal (cor anglais), and Edurne Santos (bassoon). Sound direction was by Hans-Günther Kasper.
As in the other trios, the performers speak words aloud in unison. In this case, they are "Noten zu Klängen zu Kreislauf zu Glück" ([Written] notes to sounds to circular movement to bliss) and "GOTT ist GLÜCK" (God is bliss).
Hoffnung was premiered in the Klaus-von-Bismarck
-Saal at the WDR in Cologne on 31 August 2008 by members of musikFabrik: Juditha Haeberlin (violin), Axel Porath (viola), and Dirk Wietheger (cello).
Hoffnung is the sole example in Stockhausen's output of a piece scored for the standard string trio
of violin, viola, and cello. Only in the Helicopter String Quartet
did he similarly write for a standard small ensemble of strings, but there only with considerable additional technology. The performers in Hoffnung are asked to rotate their positions on the stage, and to describe certain musical figures with gestures in the air. Near the end, they speak in unison the words, "Dank sei Gott … Danke Gott für das Werk … Hoffnung" (Praise be to God … Thank God for the work … Hope" (Günther 2008). The uniform string timbre of Hoffnung is reflected by the scoring of two of the other trios: the Eighth Hour, Glück, is for three double reeds, and the Eleventh Hour, Treue, is for three sizes of clarinet
(the Tenth Hour, Glanz, also includes a homogeneous trio—of brass instrument
s—though these occur in separate solo and duo inserts, as supplemental timbres to the original mixed instrumental trio) (Kohl 2009b).
Glanz (Brilliance), for oboe, clarinet, bassoon, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and viola. 2007 (ca. 40 mins.). Work number 90. The specified colour is HKS 69 (sulphur green) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover; Stockhausen 2011, I and III).
Glanz was given its premiere in the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ
, Amsterdam
, on 19 June by members of the Asko Ensemble
, with Kathinka Pasveer as sound-projectionist (Beer 2008; Voermans 2008).
Originally intended as a trio for clarinet, bassoon, and viola, Stockhausen was persuaded by the Holland Festival
management to add four more instruments to the ensemble (Beer 2008; Swed 2008). The original trio remains as the main structure, but four inserts interrupt as "magic moments", in which other instruments engage in dialogue with the trio: the first is an imperious solo oboe, the second a stentorian trumpet-trombone duo, and the last a somnolent tuba. The third insert, on the other hand, is self-reflective, performed by the core trio and including, like the Seventh Hour, the spoken Latin words "Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis" (Kohl 2008, 16).
In the score, Stockhausen specified that the work should be performed with a "light sculpture" in the middle of the stage, and this sculpture should gradually become more brilliant. For the world premiere in Amsterdam, a pyramidal sculpture was designed by the lighting technician Maarten Warmerdam, which was made to increase in brightness over the course of the performance (Stockhausen 2011, I, III). One critic has described it as "a cheesy 4-foot pyramid" (Swed 2008).
Treue received its premiere on 8 May 2010 at the KOMED-Saal of Mediapark 7
, Cologne
, by Roberta Gottardi (E clarinet), Rumi Sota-Klemm (basset horn), and Petra Stump (bass clarinet), as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010). The MusikTriennale Köln commissioned the premiere with the support of the Kunst-Stiftung NRW (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 23 & 51).
The brief spoken text in this trio is "Treue zu Gott" (Fidelity to God).
Erwachen was premiered in Brussels
on 13 October 2009 by members of musikFabrik
: Marcus Weiss (saxophone), Marco Blaauw (trumpet), and Dirk Wietheger (cello) (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2009, 11).
Just before the fourth main section of this trio the performers speak in unison the words "Erwachen in Gott" (Awakening in God) (Stockhausen 2010e, 15).
, electronic music (8-track-tape, loudspeaker pairs, mixing desk / sound director) 2006–2007 (32 mins., 05 secs.). Work number 93. The specified colour is HKS 4 (yellow) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover).
Cosmic Pulses was premièred in Rome
on 7 May 2007 at Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli (Stockhausen 2007a).
The music is made from 24 melodic loops, each with a different number of pitches (from 1 to 24) and in a different tempo, calculated in sequences of eight pulses lasting between 1.17 and 240 per minute. This means the slowest tempo is 1.17 x 8 = 9.36 pulses per minute, and the fastest is 240 x 8 = 1920 pulses per minute. These loops, with a total pitch span of about seven octaves, were created and synchronized by Antonio Pérez Abellán. The loops enter successively from low to high and from slow to fast, and make their exits in the same order. Kathinka Pasveer "enlivened" the rhythms and pitches by hand, according to the composer's instructions, causing accelerandos and ritardandos around each basic tempo, and glissandos upwards and downwards around the melodic pitch successions (Stockhausen 2007b, 22 & 40). The music therefore begins and ends with relatively clear polyphony of the loops, but in the central part this dissolves into a statistical mass of sound in which only general shifts of texture and colour can be perceived (Grant 2008, 19).
In addition to all this, with the collaboration of Joachim Haas and Gregorio Karman of the Experimental Studio for Acoustic Art in Freiburg, Stockhausen spatialized each of the 24 layers in eight-channel sound, with a total of 241 different trajectories in space "as if I had to compose the orbits of 24 moons or 24 planets. … If it is possible to hear everything I do not yet know—it depends on how often one can experience an 8-channel performance. In any case, the experiment is extremely fascinating" (Stockhausen 2007b, 22 & 40).
The following eight pieces in the cycle each use three of the twenty-four melodic layers from Cosmic Pulses as the accompaniment for a slower-moving solo part. Four of these solos are vocal (hours 14, 15, 18, and 19), and four are for wind instruments (hours 16, 17, 20, and 21).
The premiere took place in the Salle de Concert Olivier Messiaen of Radio France in Paris
, on 10 January 2009, performed by Nicholas Isherwood
(bass) and Gérard Pape
(sound projection), as part of the Saison Musicale Multiphonies. It was commissioned by the Group de Recherches Musicales (GRM) of the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel
(INA).
The titles of Hours 14–21 are all place names in the Urantia Book
, and all are named in the text of Havona, as stages in a journey with the goal of studying cosmic music in Paradise. However, this text, like those for the following Hours, is not taken directly from the Urantia Book, but was written by the composer.
In the Urantia Book, Havona is "the central universe, … an existential, perfect, and replete universe surrounding the home of the eternal Deities, the center of all things" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 360).
According to the Urantia Book, "Harmony is the speech of Havona", and music is the eternal, universal language of men, angels, and spirits (Urantia Foundation 1955, 500).
Orvonton was premiered on 8 May 2010 at the KOMED-Saal in Mediapark 7 in Cologne
by Jonathan de la Paz Zaens, with sound direction by Hannah Weirich, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010).
According to the Urantia Book, "outside Havona there are just seven inhabited universes, the seven superuniverses", and the Earth's (Urantia) "local universe of Nebadon belongs to Orvonton, the seventh superuniverse" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 164–65).
In September 2007, when composition of Hours 14 to 21 was substantially completed, Stockhausen explained in an interview: "in the new works which I am now composing in Klang, I very often describe, in the sung text, how the piece that you are hearing is composed—and in fact right down to the details: how the rhythm goes, how the melody goes, how the harmony goes. So I very much love the fact that the music explains itself" (Stockhausen and Ermen 2007). Stockhausen composed Orvonton with de la Paz Zaens' voice in mind, and the composer assigned to him its extraordinarily long text (56 lines) because of the clarity of his German diction (Tariman 2011). The text provides "an analysis of the material and structure of the piece itself, and is also meant humorously" (Nonnenmann 2010): "Orvonton: I am a baritone, … / Layer nineteen has twenty-three tones as sound loop. / In the basic tempo 3.75 each note lasts 2 seconds, / and therefore the loop lasts 23 x 2 = 46 seconds", and so on (Nonnenmann 2010). Later on, this text includes an artistic credo: Each sound is a universe. / But one cannot tell if it is beautiful by the numbers: / that depends on who is counting. / Four hundred and forty Hertz is neither beautiful nor ugly. / Beauty lives. / … / Art music is not honky-tonk [i.e., low music-hall entertainment], / its number games need moments every now and then for the soul, / that touch, astonish: / time stands still".
Uversa was premiered by Michele Marelli, basset horn, with sound direction by Florian Zwißler, on 8 May 2010 at the Domforum in Cologne
, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010; Stockhausen 2010g, I). The premiere was commissioned by the MusikTriennale Köln, with the support of the Kunststiftung NRW (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 19 & 47; Stockhausen 2010g, I).
Uversa is the headquarters of the superuniverse of Orvonton (Urantia Foundation 1955, 74).
The sections of this and the other instrumental solos with electronic music are articulated by lines of spoken text in German, written by Stockhausen and loosely based on the Urantia Book. These were spoken by Kathinka Pasveer, recorded, and mixed with the electronic music on the eight-channel tape. The concluding portion refers to the learning of art by pilgrims to Uversa (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 47; Stockhausen 2010g, I):
bright and morning stars of UVERSA
brilliant evening stars
UVERSA'S archangels
divine counselors
celestial overseers
mansion world teachers
UVERSA'S star-student art
celestial artisans in UVERSA for the entire super-universe
student visitors
ascending pilgrims
ascending mortals
to UVERSA
Nebadon was given its premiere on 8 May 2010 by Christine Chapman, horn, and Hannah Weirich, sound direction, at the Christuskirche in Cologne
, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010; Stockhausen 2010h, I).
Nebadon is the local universe to which the earth (Urantia) belongs (Urantia Foundation 1955, 165).
Each of Nebadons 24 sections is announced by a word or phrase written into the score by Stockhausen. These mostly isolated words, in a mixture of English and German, begin to form a connected narrative in the last seven lines (original in German):ten million inhabited worlds in the superuniverse ORVONTON and central universe HAVONA rotates around SAGITTARIUS holy NEBADON
This text was recorded and mixed into the electronic music by Kathinka Pasveer. The horn is amplified and projected during a performance over all eight loudspeaker groups, which surround the audience in a circle. The solo part is notated flexibly, in order to allow the performer great freedom in forming groups, notes, and figures (Stockhausen 2010h, I and IV).
Hubert Mayer, tenor, and Melvyn Poore, sound direction, gave the world premiere of Jerusem on 8 May 2010 at the Christuskirche in Cologne
by, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010).
Jerusem is a planet, the headquarters of the cluster of 57 major and minor satellites constituting the administrative centre of the local system called Satania, which forms part of the local universe Nebadon (Urantia Foundation 1955, 509, 519, 1250). "Music, such as Urantia mortals understand, attains its highest expression in the schools of Jerusem" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 500).
The Urantia Books description is reflected in the very short text for Jerusem (the words are repeated frequently), written by the composer (Stockhausen 2010i, III):
Universes
GOD's schools
JERUSEM
without end
joy to learn
marvel
thank
help
HIM
Urantia, for soprano (live or prerecorded) and electronic music (layers 9, 8, 7 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (19 mins., 40 secs.). Work number 99. The specified colour is HKS 23 (fire-engine red [Verkehrsrot]) (Stockhausen 2008e, cover, I, and II).
Urantia was premiered in the Queen Elizabeth Hall
at the Southbank Centre, London, on 8 November 2008, by Kathinka Pasveer, soprano (prerecorded) and sound projection (Kohl 2008, 21).
Urantia is the name given to our earth in the Urantia Book (Urantia Foundation 1955, 1), "commonly referred to as 606 of Satania in Norlatiadek of Nebadon, meaning the six hundred sixth inhabited world in the local system of Satania, situated in the constellation of Norlatiadek, one of the one hundred constellations of the local universe of Nebadon" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 485).
The three layers of electronic music—which rotates in different orbits around the hall, projected in eight channels—are moderately high in pitch and contain amongst the highest number of notes of all of the layers from Cosmic Pulses: 20, 21 and 22 notes. The solo part, by contrast, is one of the simplest of this section of Klang. The German text, written by the composer, has only 26 syllables, and introduces just one new syllable in each of the work's 26 sections (Kohl 2008, 21):
Rotations everywhere
URANTIA in the cosmos
Father, Son and Holy Ghost
GOD GOD GOD
Edentia was premiered at the Rolf-Liebermann-Studio K-75 of the NDR
in Hamburg
on 6 August 2008 by Marcus Weiss, saxophone (Krause 2008; Stephan 2008; Mischke 2008).
Edentia is described in the Urantia Book as a planet, the centremost and largest of a cluster of 771 "architectural spheres" in the constellation of Norlatiadek, within the local universe of Nebadon (Urantia Foundation 1955, 485). "There is harmony of music and euphony of expression in the orations of Salvington and Edentia which are inspiring beyond description" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 503–04).
The saxophonist, who must play from memory, is amplified using a transmitter
and receiver
, and in some sections uses a reverberation unit with both long and extremely long reverberation times. The 24 sections of Edentia are articulated with texts written by the composer. These texts, recorded and mixed into the electronic music, at first describe the Edentia of the Urantia Book, and then announce the musical devices being used in the later sections: "trills", "repetitions", "tremoli", "micro-intervals", etc. (Stockhausen 2009d, I–II).
Paradies was premiered by Kathinka Pasveer, flute, and Bryan Wolf, sound direction, at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
, at the Laeiszhalle
in Hamburg on 24 August 2009 (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. 2009, 9). Paradies was commissioned by the North German Radio (NDR), Hamburg (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. 2010, 10 & 38).
According to the Urantia Book, "Paradise is the gigantic nuclear Isle of absolute stability which rests motionless at the very heart of the magnificent eternal universe" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 152).
As with the preceding pieces, Paradies has a text describing itself. In this case, it is spoken by Kathinka Pasveer on the tape, mixed with the electronic music. The 25 short lines articulate the 24 musical sections of the work. As in Orvonton, after announcing the piece in the first seven lines, the German words from section 8 onward analyse the stages of the work itself: "24 lines of notes for the flute /
from 1 to 24 pitches / of the original row / source of all melodies / each line, a different low note / fragments of the groups / jumps in the entire space / fitting dynamics / articulation free / legato or staccato / pauses ad libitum / flexible tempo / one insert per line / for the fantasy / and the play / and the joy / for the magic / the eternal GOD" (Stockhausen 2009e, I).
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"...
, on which he worked from 2004 until his death in 2007. It was intended to consist of 24 chamber-music compositions, each representing one hour of the day, with a different colour systematically assigned to every hour. The cycle was not yet finished when the composer died, so that the last three "hours" are lacking. The 21 completed pieces include solos, duos, trios, a septet, and Stockhausen's last entirely electronic composition, Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses is the last electronic composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and it is number 93 in his catalog of works. Its duration is 32 minutes. The piece has been described as "a sonic roller coaster", "a Copernican asylum", and a "tornado watch"....
, and they bear the work (opus) numbers 81–101.
History and character
After having spent 27 years composing the opera-cycle LichtLicht
Licht , subtitled "The Seven Days of the Week," is a cycle of seven operas composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen between 1977 and 2003. In total, the cycle contains over 29 hours of music.-Origin:...
(1977–2004), Stockhausen felt he was shifting his focus from the visible world of the eyes—Licht is the German word meaning "light", as of the stars, the sun—to the invisible world of the ears. When planning his new cycle of pieces based on the hours of the day, he initially considered several possibilities for the title: Day, Nacht und Tag (Night and Day), Liebe (Love), Chi
Qi
In traditional Chinese culture, qì is an active principle forming part of any living thing. Qi is frequently translated as life energy, lifeforce, or energy flow. Qi is the central underlying principle in traditional Chinese medicine and martial arts...
(the life energy), or Spiegel (Mirror). The name he finally settled on, Klang, means "sound", acoustic vibrations, but for Stockhausen, above all "the INNER EAR, for the divine Klang, the mystic sound of the beyond with the voice of the conscience, in German: die Stimme des Gewissens" (Stockhausen 2006a, 10).
Although the solo percussion work Himmels-Tür has a decidedly theatrical character, the cycle otherwise consists of essentially concert works (Günther 2008). Three are for unaccompanied solo performer, one is a duo, seven are trios, one a septet, one is a purely electronic composition, and the remaining eight compositions are for soloist accompanied by electronic music.
With Klang Stockhausen moved away from the formula technique
Formula composition
Formula 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...
he had used from Mantra
Mantra (Stockhausen)
Mantra is a composition by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. It was composed in 1970 and premiered in autumn of the same year in Donaueschingen...
(1970) until the completion of the opera-cycle Licht in 2004. The pieces are based on a 24-note series
Tone row
In music, a tone row or note row , also series and set, refers to a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets are sometimes found.-History and usage:Tone rows are the basis of...
(each note of a two-octave chromatic scale) that has essentially the same all-interval sequence as the series for Gruppen
Gruppen (Stockhausen)
Gruppen for three orchestras is amongst the best-known compositions of German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and is Work Number 6 in the composer's catalog of works. Gruppen is "a landmark in 20th-century music . ....
, and from which other formal and parametric properties are derived on a work-by-work basis (Toop [2008a]). Starting from the Fifth Hour, this row is used in inversion, until returning to its original form from the Thirteenth Hour onward (Pasveer and Wesley 2008, 3–4).
Stockhausen also felt that he was returning to the moment form approach he had used in the late 1950s and 1960s, in works such as Kontakte
Kontakte (Stockhausen)
Kontakte is a celebrated electronic music work by Karlheinz Stockhausen, realized in 1958–60 at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk electronic-music studio in Cologne with the assistance of Gottfried Michael Koenig .-Work history:The title of the work “refers both to contacts between instrumental and...
, Momente
Momente
Momente is a work by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, written between 1962 and 1969, scored for solo soprano, four mixed choirs, and thirteen instrumentalists...
, Telemusik
Telemusik
Telemusik is an electronic composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and is number 20 in his catalog of works.-History:Through his composition student, Makoto Shinohara, Stockhausen was invited by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation NHK to visit Tokyo, and to carry out two commissions in their...
, and Hymnen
Hymnen
Hymnen is an electronic and concrete work, with optional live performers, by Karlheinz Stockhausen, composed in 1966–67, and elaborated in 1969. In the composer's catalog of works, it is "Nr. 22".-Musical form and content:...
.
It seems that I am listening again more for moments, atmospheres, rather than formulas with their limbs, transpositions, transformations. Certainly both methods conjoint[ly] lead to good music. A special concentration and freedom must be trained for listening to the soul['s] vibrations. (Stockhausen 2006a, 10)
A new device of proliferating "rhythm families" was developed for the first "hour" (Himmelfahrt) and is employed in many of the subsequent pieces. In addition, the exploration of multiple simultaneous tempi, pioneered in Zeitmaße
Zeitmaße
Zeitmaße for five woodwinds is a chamber-music work by German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, and is Number 5 in the composer's catalog...
(1955–56) and Gruppen (1955–57), is pursued in Himmelfahrt and the trios of hours 6–12; in the 13th hour, Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses is the last electronic composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and it is number 93 in his catalog of works. Its duration is 32 minutes. The piece has been described as "a sonic roller coaster", "a Copernican asylum", and a "tornado watch"....
, this is taken to the verge of sonic saturation (Toop [2008a]).
Initially, Stockhausen had no overall plan for the cycle but in the summer of 2006, as he was finishing Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses is the last electronic composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and it is number 93 in his catalog of works. Its duration is 32 minutes. The piece has been described as "a sonic roller coaster", "a Copernican asylum", and a "tornado watch"....
, he altered his method of work and grouped the component pieces into three subcycles. In doing so, he displaced Cosmic Pulses from its originally intended position as the Sixth to the Thirteenth Hour (Kohl 2009a, 13). One theory has been advanced that the Fibonacci series (1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, etc.) may be the reason these two subcycles start on the fifth and thirteenth hours, and the second ends on the twenty-first (Pasveer and Wesley 2008, 3–4). Another hypothesis is that Stockhausen meant to close the circle with a third, seven-member, "overnight" subcycle covering hours 22, 23, 24, and the already-completed 1–4, which would drive home the fact that midnight is not a natural "beginning" of the daily cycle, but only an arbitrary, human convention. Combined with the "morning" (hours 5–12) and "afternoon-evening" (hours 13–21) subcycles, this would divide the 24 hours of Klang into a serial proportion pattern of 7:8:9 (Kohl 2009a, 14).
On 30 November 2007, Stockhausen wrote to Udo Zimmermann
Udo Zimmermann
Udo Zimmermann was born in Dresden on October 6, 1943. He is a German composer, music director, and conductor.- Biography :Zimmermann was a member of the Dresdner Kreuzchor from 1954 to 1962. He then continued his music education at the Dresden Music School. He studied composition with Johannes...
, director of the Ars Viva Festival in Munich, politely declining an invitation to attend a performance on 25 January 2008, because "I have reserved the days—and nights—when your rehearsals and performance take place to work on a new composition." Doubtless the new work was to have been one of the remaining hours from Klang but, five days later, Stockhausen suddenly died, leaving the cycle incomplete (Frisius 2008, 165; Kohl 2009a, 14). After his death, a search in his sketchbooks failed to discover any plans for the remaining three hours (Pasveer and Bos 2010).
The last six component works to be premiered were given in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
as part of the collective premiere of the cycle, at the MusikTriennale Köln festival on 8–9 May 2010, by members of musikFabrik
Musikfabrik
The musikFabrik is an ensemble for contemporary music located in Cologne. Their official name is: musikFabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. .-Overview:...
and others, in 176 individual concerts (Gimpel 2010).
Extramusical aspects
"The 24 Hours of the Day suggest a circle and two half circles of 2 × 12 hours like night and day, and also 4 × 6 hours like night—morning—afternoon—evening, or 8 × 3 hours like the Horen (Hours)Canonical hours
Canonical hours are divisions of time which serve as increments between the prescribed prayers of the daily round. A Book of Hours contains such a set of prayers....
of the Christian cycle of daily prayers
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
(Stockhausen 2006a, 10).
As had been the case with the Licht cycle, Stockhausen associated each component work with a colour. In this case, he sought out colour theories
Color theory
In the visual arts, color theory is a body of practical guidance to color mixing and the visual impacts of specific color combinations. Although color theory principles first appeared in the writings of Leone Battista Alberti and the notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci , a tradition of "colory theory"...
using circular models
Color wheel
A color wheel or color circle is an abstract illustrative organization of color hues around a circle that shows relationships between primary colors, secondary colors, complementary colors, etc....
with 24 hue
Hue
Hue is one of the main properties of a color, defined technically , as "the degree to which a stimulus can be describedas similar to or different from stimuli that are described as red, green, blue, and yellow,"...
s. He settled on Wilhelm Ostwald
Wilhelm Ostwald
Friedrich Wilhelm Ostwald was a Baltic German chemist. He received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry in 1909 for his work on catalysis, chemical equilibria and reaction velocities...
's colour cycle, published in three books in 1917 (Ostwald 1917a, 1917b, 1917c), and modified it to suit his needs: "The Ostwald circle originally starts number 1 with the brightest colour yellow at midday of an ordinary clock, but in the colour circle for KLANG I change the order and start with the darkest colour at one o'clock in the night. Accordingly I turn the circle by one step in order to coincide with a clock" (Stockhausen 2006a, 10).
The resulting colour circle is printed on the cover of both the score and the CD of the Third Hour, Natural Durations, and in Stockhausen 2006a, 10. The 24 colours are specified in the German HKS system
HKS (colour system)
The HKS is a colour system which contains 120 spot colours and 3250 tones for coated and uncoated paper. HKS is an abbreviation of three German colour manufacturers: Hostmann-Steinberg Druckfarben, Kast + Ehinger Druckfarben, and H. Schmincke & Co....
for printing the covers of the scores, and it is suggested in the prefaces to many of the scores that clothing of the corresponding colour might or should be worn when performing that piece. In at least one case, the performer is cautioned to avoid "any associations with known cultures" (Stockhausen 2009c, II).
First Hour: Himmelfahrt
Himmelfahrt was premiered at the Milan Cathedral on 5 May 2005 (version with organ), by Alessandro La Ciacera, organ, Barbara Zanichelli, soprano, Paolo Borgonovo, tenor, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, sound projection (Stockhausen 2006a, 3); the version with synthesizer was premiered in the Sülztalhalle, 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...
on 9 July 2006, Antonio Pérez Abellán, synthesizer, Barbara Zanichelli, soprano, Hubert Mayer, tenor, and Karlheinz Stockhausen, sound projection (Stockhausen 2006b, 14 & 34).
Himmelfahrt was commissioned, with the support of a Milanese bank, by the priest and organist Don Luigi Garbini, director of the Laboratory of Contemporary Music in the Service of the Liturgy (LmcsL), for performance in the Milan Cathedral on Ascension Thursday 2005, as part of the Pause Festival that year (Gervasoni 2005a). LmcsL, founded by Don Luigi in 1999 with the support of the then-Archbishop of Milan, Monsignor Carlo Maria Martini
Carlo Maria Martini
Carlo Maria Martini, SJ is an Italian Cardinal of the Catholic Church. He was Archbishop of Milan from 1980 to 2002, and was elevated to the cardinalate in 1983.-Early life and education:...
, had launched the multidisciplinary Pause Festival in 2004. It included Stockhausen's famous 1956 electronic composition, Gesang der Jünglinge
Gesang der Jünglinge
Gesang der Jünglinge is a noted electronic music work by Karlheinz Stockhausen. It was realized in 1955–56 at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk studio in Cologne and is Work Number 8 in the composer's catalog of works...
. When Stockhausen mentioned at that time his plan for a new cycle of compositions, Don Luigi seized the opportunity to commission the First Hour, because Stockhausen's approach to music "seems truly sacred" (Gervasoni 2005b).
The work uses 24 different tempo
Tempo
In musical terminology, tempo is the speed or pace of a given piece. Tempo is a crucial element of any musical composition, as it can affect the mood and difficulty of a piece.-Measuring tempo:...
s in a chromatic time scale, and the part for organ or synthesizer requires 24 corresponding registrations
Registration (organ)
Registration is the technique of choosing and combining the stops of a pipe organ in order to produce a particular sound. Registration can also refer to a particular combination of stops...
/timbre
Timbre
In music, timbre is the quality of a musical note or sound or tone that distinguishes different types of sound production, such as voices and musical instruments, such as string instruments, wind instruments, and percussion instruments. The physical characteristics of sound that determine the...
s—the more complex and heavier timbres for slower tempos, the more transparent and lighter timbres for the faster tempos. The keyboardist's two hands are required to play in different tempos simultaneously, performing "temporal head-stands for both hands—actually impossible for us today—and the relationship of the tempo to the intensity of a sound-colour was composed by me in the spirit of the Ascension: unimaginable—unheard—invisible" (Stockhausen 2006a, 4). The composer felt this "is like compelling a man to the physical rupture that allows him to go in the form of a spirit to another world" (Gervasoni 2005a).
The text proclaimed by the two singers was written by Stockhausen himself, and refers freely to the Ascension of Christ. The vocal parts, however, only occur intermittently, and it is the keyboard instrument
Keyboard instrument
A keyboard instrument is a musical instrument which is played using a musical keyboard. The most common of these is the piano. Other widely used keyboard instruments include organs of various types as well as other mechanical, electromechanical and electronic instruments...
that accounts for the largest share of the music. The score describes an ascent, like climbing a stairway to the Most High, and is divided into 24 moments. The ascent, however, is not a constant progression—the climber sometimes seems to stop to look behind him or around him (Gervasoni 2008c, 67).
Second Hour: Freude
Freude (Joy), for two harps. 2005 (40 mins.). Work number 82. The specified colour is a medium blue (Stockhausen 2007e, cover; Stockhausen 2008b cover).Freude was premiered in the Milan Cathedral on 7 June 2006 by Marianne Smit
Marianne Smit
Marianne Smit is a Dutch harpist. - Education :Marianne Smit plays the harp since 1995. She got her first harp lessons from her mother Gertru Smit-Pasveer. After one year she became student of Anke Anderson....
and Esther Kooi, harps (Stockhausen 2006b, 19 & 39).
The earliest sketch for the Second Hour of Klang is headed with the title Galaxien (Galaxies), and has a later alternative suggestion of Kreuz-Klang-Rätsel (Cross-Klang-Puzzle) (Stockhausen 2007a, 5). When Stockhausen received a commission from Don Luigi Garbini of the Milan Cathedral for the work, to be premiered for Pentecost
Pentecost
Pentecost is a prominent feast in the calendar of Ancient Israel celebrating the giving of the Law on Sinai, and also later in the Christian liturgical year commemorating the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the disciples of Christ after the Resurrection of Jesus...
2006, he provisionally titled the work Pentecost, and chose as text the Pentecost hymn "Veni Creator Spiritus
Veni Creator Spiritus
Veni Creator Spiritus is a hymn believed to have been written by Rabanus Maurus in the 9th century. It is normally sung in Gregorian Chant and often associated with the Roman Catholic Church, where it is performed during the liturgical celebration of the feast of Pentecost...
", to be sung in Latin by the two harpists as they play. Following the 24 verses of the Latin hymn, the work is composed, like the First Hour, in 24 moments, and the title was changed to Freude, because this was the fundamental feeling Stockhausen had about the composition (Stockhausen 2007a, 3).
The text setting is sometimes syllabic, sibilant, employs speech-song, and in places evokes plainchant and early polyphony. The music probes the meaning of joy through a deep and detailed text-setting reminiscent of the "frighteningly beautiful" Mikrophonie II
Mikrophonie (Stockhausen)
Mikrophonie is the title given by Karlheinz Stockhausen to two of his compositions, written in 1964 and 1965, in which “normally inaudible vibrations . ....
of 1965 (Medwin 2007).
At the French premiere in Lyon on Friday, 8 March 2008, the "formidable interpretation" by its dedicatees, the harpists Marianne Smit and Esther Kooi, Freude produced "the effect of a fountain of youth" (Gervasoni 2008a).
Third Hour: Natürliche Dauern
Natürliche Dauern 1–24 (Natural Durations 1–24), for piano, 2005–06 (ca. 140 mins.). Work number 83. The specified colour is teal blue (Stockhausen 2008b, cover).Natürliche Dauern consists of 24 pieces for solo piano. No. 1 was premiered in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
23 February 2006, at the Holy Trinity Church, 65th Street and Central Park West by Philip Fisher (Anon. 2006); nos. 2–15 were premiered at the Sülztalhalle in Kürten on 12 July 2006 by the pianists Benjamin Kobler and Frank Gutschmidt; nos. 16–24 were premiered in Lisbon
Lisbon
Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban...
on 17 July 2007 by the Spanish pianist Antonio Pérez Abellán, to whom these are dedicated (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2008, 37 & 78).
There are various ways to determine the intervals of entry using the durations of tones or sounds, whereby each time the entire rhythmic development of a piano piece is governed by natural durations. In some of the pieces, the durations are regulated by prescribed in- and exhaling, or by the resonances of RINSinging bowlSinging bowls are a type of bell, specifically classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, singing bowls sit with the bottom surface resting...
(Japanese temple instruments) which are struck. In this cycle, also various degrees of difficulty of the piano playing result in natural durations—for example, intervallic leaps of various sizes, or the way fingers mesh, or the bunching together of simultaneously played keys, or combinations of attacks, clusters, glissandi and the more or less complicated notation of the attack durations. (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2008, 77)
Fourth Hour: Himmels-Tür
Himmels-Tür (Heaven’s Door), for a percussionist and a little girl, 2005 (ca. 28 mins.). Work number 84. The specified colour is bright blue [Hellblau] (Stockhausen 2007f, cover; Stockhausen 2008b, cover).Himmels-Tür was premiered 13 June 2006 in the Teatro Rossini
Teatro Rossini (Lugo)
Teatro Rossini is the name of an opera house in Lugo, Italy that serves as an adjunct venue for the work of Teatro Comunale di Bologna.The Teatro Rossini was built in 1760, its main parts following a design of Ambrogio Petrocchi. Work on its interior, including the stage, seating, and balconies,...
in Lugo, Italy, by Stuart Gerber and Arianna Garotti (Stockhausen 2006b, 21 & 41).
The only overtly theatrical piece from Klang, the idea for Himmels-Tür came to Stockhausen in a dream, in which he found himself at the gates of heaven
Heaven
Heaven, the Heavens or Seven Heavens, is a common religious cosmological or metaphysical term for the physical or transcendent place from which heavenly beings originate, are enthroned or inhabit...
, which are locked against him. (Several of Stockhausen's earlier theatrical compositions—such as Trans
Trans (Stockhausen)
Trans is a composition for orchestra and tape by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1971. It is Number 35 in the composer's catalog of works....
, Musik im Bauch
Musik im Bauch
Musik im Bauch is a piece of scenic music for six percussionists and music boxes composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1975, and is Number 41 in his catalog of works. The world premiere was presented on 28 March 1975 by the Royan Festival. The performance was given by Les Percussions de Strasbourg...
, and the Helicopter String Quartet
Helikopter-Streichquartett
The Helikopter-Streichquartett is one of Karlheinz Stockhausen's best-known pieces, and one of the most complex to perform. It involves a string quartet, four helicopters with pilots, as well as audio and video equipment and technicians. It was first performed and recorded in 1995...
—also had their origins in dreams.) Because of the indefinite pitches of the instruments (a large double-panelled door and an assortment of cymbals and gongs), Himmels-Tür is the only work in the Klang cycle that does not use the 24-note series extrapolated from the all-interval "Gruppen" row (Kohl 2008, 17; Toop 2008b, 199–200).
"A percussionist beats with wooden beaters on a heaven’s door made of wood. It is divided from bottom to top into six fields. Sometimes he (she) stomps on the floor with his (her) nailed shoes." There are fourteen main sections defined by moods, such as "cautious", "entreating", "agitated", and "angry", until finally, the door opens. "After a moment of silence, the percussionist cautiously steps through the doorway and disappears. A terrifying noise of tam-tams, hi-hats, and cymbals bursts out”, not to mention sirens. "A little girl comes out of the audience onto the stage, and disappears through the doorway. The metallic sounds become increasingly rare and gradually cease. Finally, the siren stops" (Stockhausen 2006b, 41).
It is probably no coincidence that many years earlier, in Kontakte
Kontakte (Stockhausen)
Kontakte is a celebrated electronic music work by Karlheinz Stockhausen, realized in 1958–60 at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk electronic-music studio in Cologne with the assistance of Gottfried Michael Koenig .-Work history:The title of the work “refers both to contacts between instrumental and...
, Stockhausen had associated metallic sounds
Metallophone
A metallophone is any musical instrument consisting of tuned metal bars which are struck to make sound, usually with a mallet.Metallophones have been used in music for hundreds of years. There are several different types used in Balinese and Javanese gamelan ensembles, including the gendér, gangsa...
with the "heavenly", in contrast to the "earthly" sounds of skin percussion
Membranophone
A membranophone is any musical instrument which produces sound primarily by way of a vibrating stretched membrane. It is one of the four main divisions of instruments in the original Hornbostel-Sachs scheme of musical instrument classification....
(entirely absent in Himmels-Tür), with wooden sounds functioning as a transition between them, like the door to heaven here. Although the graphic notation
Graphic notation
Graphic notation is the representation of music through the use of visual symbols outside the realm of traditional music notation. Graphic notation evolved in the 1950s, and it is often used in combination with traditional music notation...
is unconventional, the improvisatory appearance of both the performance and the score is deceptive. Every stroke, every gesture is precisely specified in its rhythm, dynamics, and timbre (Kohl 2008, 17).
Türin
Singing bowl
Singing bowls are a type of bell, specifically classified as a standing bell. Rather than hanging inverted or attached to a handle, singing bowls sit with the bottom surface resting...
—Japanese bowl-gongs that Stockhausen had previously used in several compositions, such as Telemusik
Telemusik
Telemusik is an electronic composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and is number 20 in his catalog of works.-History:Through his composition student, Makoto Shinohara, Stockhausen was invited by the Japan Broadcasting Corporation NHK to visit Tokyo, and to carry out two commissions in their...
, Inori
Inori
Inori: Adorations for One or Two Soloists with Orchestra is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1973–74 ....
, Lucifer's Dance from Samstag aus Licht
Samstag aus Licht
Samstag aus Licht is an opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen in a greeting and four scenes, and was the second of seven to be composed for the opera cycle Licht: die sieben Tage der Woche...
, and the orchestra version of Hoch-Zeiten from Sonntag aus Licht
Sonntag aus Licht
Sonntag aus Licht is an opera by Karlheinz Stockhausen in five scenes and a farewell, to a libretto written and compiled by the composer. It is the last-composed of seven operas that comprise the cycle Licht...
, as well as in Himmelfahrt (Hour 1) and the twenty-second piece of Natural Durations (Hour 3) from Klang. The recorded sounds of strokes on the door are electronically processed to focus their pitch and extend their resonance, and a rin stroke of the corresponding pitch is added to each attack (Kohl 2008, 17).
The composition consists of a single, stately presentation of the 24-tone Klang row, in rhythms derived from the pitches. Within each of these long tones, Stockhausen's voice intones a different "noble word" (such as "hope", "fidelity", "balance", "generosity", etc.). The utter simplicity of this piece puts it at the opposite extreme from the hyper-complex Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses is the last electronic composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and it is number 93 in his catalog of works. Its duration is 32 minutes. The piece has been described as "a sonic roller coaster", "a Copernican asylum", and a "tornado watch"....
, work on which was already in progress at the time Türin was created (Kohl 2008, 17).
There are two versions of Türin, one with the words spoken in German, the other in English. According to the composer, these "noble words" are meant to keep the Himmels-Tür open (booklet accompanying Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 86, pp. 12 & 24). This composition was not assigned a work-number by Stockhausen, but is now included in the official catalogue of his works as "Nr. 84 extra".
Fifth Hour: Harmonien
Harmonien (Harmonies), for bass clarinetBass clarinet
The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B , but it plays notes an octave below the soprano B clarinet...
, or flute
Western concert flute
The Western concert flute is a transverse woodwind instrument made of metal or wood. It is the most common variant of the flute. A musician who plays the flute is called a flautist, flutist, or flute player....
, or trumpet
Trumpet
The trumpet is the musical instrument with the highest register in the brass family. Trumpets are among the oldest musical instruments, dating back to at least 1500 BCE. They are played by blowing air through closed lips, producing a "buzzing" sound which starts a standing wave vibration in the air...
, 2006 (ca. 15 mins.). Work number 85. The specified colour is HKS 50 (light greenish blue) (Stockhausen 2008d, I; Stockhausen 2009a, I).
The bass clarinet version (work number 85.1) was premiered 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...
on 11 July 2007 by Suzanne Stephens
Suzanne Stephens
Suzanne Stephens is an American clarinetist, resident in Germany, described as "an outstanding performer and tireless promoter of the clarinet and basset horn" .-Biography:...
; the flute version (work number 85.2) was premiered in Kürten 13 July 2007 by Kathinka Pasveer
Kathinka Pasveer
-Biography:Kathinka Pasveer was born in Zaandam, North Holland, the daughter of a conductor who also taught at the Amsterdam Conservatory . She studied with Frans Vester at the Royal Conservatory of The Hague, where she received her performer's diploma, with the distinction of the Nicolai Prize in...
(Stockhausen 2007b and Stockhausen 2007c); the trumpet version (work 85.3) was premiered on 2 August 2008 by Marco Blaauw
Marco Blaauw
Marco Blaauw is a Dutch trumpeter.- Biography :Marco Blaauw studied trumpet at the Sweelinck Conservatorium in Amsterdam. He continued studying with Pierre Thibaud and with Markus Stockhausen. He has an international career as a trumpet soloist and is a permanent member of the ensemble musikFabrik...
in London
London
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
at a BBC Proms
The Proms
The Proms, more formally known as The BBC Proms, or The Henry Wood Promenade Concerts presented by the BBC, is an eight-week summer season of daily orchestral classical music concerts and other events held annually, predominantly in the Royal Albert Hall in London...
concert (Stockhausen-Stiftung 2008, 7).
The bass clarinet version, originally titled Akkorde (Chords), was the first to be composed, as a birthday gift for Suzanne Stephens (Stockhausen 2007c). The flute and trumpet versions were made by transposing
Transposition (music)
In music transposition refers to the process, or operation, of moving a collection of notes up or down in pitch by a constant interval.For example, one might transpose an entire piece of music into another key...
the entire work up by a whole tone
Major second
In Western music theory, a major second is a musical interval spanning two semitones, and encompassing two adjacent staff positions . For example, the interval from C to D is a major second, as the note D lies two semitones above C, and the two notes are notated on adjacent staff postions...
, with numerous adjustments to fit the range and character of the instruments, as well as a few small additions. While the bass clarinet and flute versions are purely instrumental, in the trumpet version the player speaks three words between the four introductory notes: "Lob sei Gott" ("May God be praised").
"Harmonies come into being from successions of melodic groups.… At the end of a group, its pitches are repeated as very fast periods without rhythm and in different registral distribution, so that the melody has a harmonic effect, like a vibrating chord" (Stockhausen 2007c, 33 & 36).
Stockhausen’s original idea for the Fifth Hour of Klang was to have an unaccompanied instrumental piece in three different versions (for bass clarinet, flute, and trumpet), followed by a longer trio for the same instruments, built from the same material. In this conception, it was to have been called Akkorde (Chords). The title was later changed to Harmonien. Late in 2006 or early in 2007, when Stockhausen decided to group some of the hours into subcycles, the original trio became Hour 6, and the first of a set of seven trios extending to Hour 12, all based on the material of the three versions of Harmonien (Kohl 2009c, 22). Except for Glanz, the titles of these trios are amongst the "noble words" found in Türin, which are meant to "hold open the Heaven's Door" of the fourth hour (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 28, 30, 56 & 58).
Katikati
At about the time he was working on Harmonien in 2006, Stockhausen composed a short (ca. 4 minutes) flute piece for Kathinka Pasveer, titled Katikati. This work has not yet been premiered, and its connection (if any) with the Klang cycle has not been determined, but it has been assigned the work number 85.2 extra, following the flute version of Harmonien in the composer's work list (Stockhausen-Verlag 2010, 49).Sixth Hour: Schönheit
Schönheit (Beauty), for flute, bass clarinet, and trumpet, 2006 (ca. 30 mins.). Work number 86. The specified colour is HKS 51 (turquoise blue).The premiere of Schönheit was given in Lisbon on 5 October 2009, at the Grande Auditório of the Gulbenkian Foundation by Suzanne Stephens (bass clarinet), Marco Blaauw (trumpet) and Kathinka Pasveer (flute). Schönheit was commissioned by the music department of the Fundaçaõ Calouste Gulbenkian
Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation
The Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation is a Portuguese private foundation of public utility whose statutory aims are in the fields of arts, charity, education, and science...
, Lisbon.
Schönheit is the original trio of the subcycle comprising hours six to eleven, and as such is also the simplest. The other six trios permute its five main sections and add new material as insertions between them, as introductions, codas
Coda (music)
Coda is a term used in music in a number of different senses, primarily to designate a passage that brings a piece to an end. Technically, it is an expanded cadence...
, interludes, or cadenza
Cadenza
In music, a cadenza is, generically, an improvised or written-out ornamental passage played or sung by a soloist or soloists, usually in a "free" rhythmic style, and often allowing for virtuosic display....
s. This permutability is an example of what Stockhausen called "polyvalent form" (Kohl 2009c). According to Marco Blaauw, "Like Bach’s Art of the Fugue, it is therefore a work of synthesis which requires a great intellectual effort on the part of the listener" (quoted in Martin 2009). As in the trumpet version of Harmonien, the performers punctuate the introductory chords with the words "Lob sei Gott", spoken in unison.
Seventh Hour: Balance
Balance, for flute, cor anglais, and bass clarinet. 2007 (ca. 30 mins.). Work number 87. The specified colour is HKS 54 (bluish green [Verkehrsgrün]) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover).Balance was given its premiere in the Großer Sendesaal of the WDR, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
on the composer’s eightieth birthday, 22 August 2008, by members of Ensemble recherche.
At the end of this trio, the performers speak in unison the Latin words of the first two lines of the Greater Doxology
Gloria in Excelsis Deo
"Gloria in excelsis Deo" is the title and beginning of a hymn known also as the Greater Doxology and the Angelic Hymn. The name is often abbreviated to Gloria in Excelsis or simply Gloria.It is an example of the psalmi idiotici "Gloria in excelsis Deo" (Latin for "Glory to God in the highest")...
: "Gloria in excelsis Deo / et in terra pax hominibus bonae voluntatis" (Glory to God in the highest / and on earth peace, goodwill to all people).
Eighth Hour: Glück
Glück (Bliss), for oboe, cor anglais, and bassoon. 2007 (ca. 30 mins.). Work number 88. The specified colour is HKS 60 (yellow-green) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover; Stockhausen 2010b, I–II).Glück was premiered on 8 May 2010 at the Studio der musikFabrik
Musikfabrik
The musikFabrik is an ensemble for contemporary music located in Cologne. Their official name is: musikFabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. .-Overview:...
in Mediapark 7
MediaPark
The MediaPark is a urban regeneration neighborhood in Cologne, Germany, completed by the turn of the millennium. It was set up to accommodate companies of the media and communication industry, as well as cultural institutions, a hotel and some apartment buildings. The MediaPark is situated in...
in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, by members of musikFabrik, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln. The performers were Peter Veale (oboe), Piet van Bockstal (cor anglais), and Edurne Santos (bassoon). Sound direction was by Hans-Günther Kasper.
As in the other trios, the performers speak words aloud in unison. In this case, they are "Noten zu Klängen zu Kreislauf zu Glück" ([Written] notes to sounds to circular movement to bliss) and "GOTT ist GLÜCK" (God is bliss).
Ninth Hour: Hoffnung
Hoffnung (Hope) for violin, viola, and cello. 2007 (ca. 35 mins.). Work number 89. The specified colour is HKS 67 (yellowish-green) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover).Hoffnung was premiered in the Klaus-von-Bismarck
Klaus von Bismarck
Klaus von Bismarck was the Director General of the Westdeutscher Rundfunk from 1961 to 1976, and the President of the ARD from 1963 to 1964...
-Saal at the WDR in Cologne on 31 August 2008 by members of musikFabrik: Juditha Haeberlin (violin), Axel Porath (viola), and Dirk Wietheger (cello).
Hoffnung is the sole example in Stockhausen's output of a piece scored for the standard string trio
String trio
A string trio is a group of three string instruments or a piece written for such a group. The term is generally used with reference to works of chamber music from the Classical period to the present.-History:...
of violin, viola, and cello. Only in the Helicopter String Quartet
Helikopter-Streichquartett
The Helikopter-Streichquartett is one of Karlheinz Stockhausen's best-known pieces, and one of the most complex to perform. It involves a string quartet, four helicopters with pilots, as well as audio and video equipment and technicians. It was first performed and recorded in 1995...
did he similarly write for a standard small ensemble of strings, but there only with considerable additional technology. The performers in Hoffnung are asked to rotate their positions on the stage, and to describe certain musical figures with gestures in the air. Near the end, they speak in unison the words, "Dank sei Gott … Danke Gott für das Werk … Hoffnung" (Praise be to God … Thank God for the work … Hope" (Günther 2008). The uniform string timbre of Hoffnung is reflected by the scoring of two of the other trios: the Eighth Hour, Glück, is for three double reeds, and the Eleventh Hour, Treue, is for three sizes of clarinet
Clarinet family
The clarinet family is a musical instrument family including the well-known B♭ clarinet, the slightly less familiar E♭, A, and bass clarinets, and other clarinets....
(the Tenth Hour, Glanz, also includes a homogeneous trio—of brass instrument
Brass instrument
A brass instrument is a musical instrument whose sound is produced by sympathetic vibration of air in a tubular resonator in sympathy with the vibration of the player's lips...
s—though these occur in separate solo and duo inserts, as supplemental timbres to the original mixed instrumental trio) (Kohl 2009b).
Tenth Hour: Glanz
Glanz was given its premiere in the Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ
Muziekgebouw aan 't IJ is a concert hall for contemporary classical music on the IJ in Amsterdam, Netherlands. The building opened in 2005 and is located above the IJtunnel, a ten-minute walk from Amsterdam Centraal station.The building was designed by Danish architects 3XN...
, Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, on 19 June by members of the Asko Ensemble
Asko Ensemble
Asko Ensemble is a Dutch chamber orchestra that specializes in contemporary classical music. Formed in 1965 and based in Amsterdam, the group performs traditional concerts along with film music programmes, dance and multimedia projects and modern opera....
, with Kathinka Pasveer as sound-projectionist (Beer 2008; Voermans 2008).
Originally intended as a trio for clarinet, bassoon, and viola, Stockhausen was persuaded by the Holland Festival
Holland Festival
The Holland Festival is The Netherlands' oldest and largest performing arts festival, and takes place every June in Amsterdam. It comprises theater, music, opera and modern dance. In recent years, multimedia, visual arts, film and architecture were added to the festival roster...
management to add four more instruments to the ensemble (Beer 2008; Swed 2008). The original trio remains as the main structure, but four inserts interrupt as "magic moments", in which other instruments engage in dialogue with the trio: the first is an imperious solo oboe, the second a stentorian trumpet-trombone duo, and the last a somnolent tuba. The third insert, on the other hand, is self-reflective, performed by the core trio and including, like the Seventh Hour, the spoken Latin words "Gloria in excelsis Deo et in terra pax in hominibus bonae voluntatis" (Kohl 2008, 16).
In the score, Stockhausen specified that the work should be performed with a "light sculpture" in the middle of the stage, and this sculpture should gradually become more brilliant. For the world premiere in Amsterdam, a pyramidal sculpture was designed by the lighting technician Maarten Warmerdam, which was made to increase in brightness over the course of the performance (Stockhausen 2011, I, III). One critic has described it as "a cheesy 4-foot pyramid" (Swed 2008).
Eleventh Hour: Treue
Treue (Fidelity), for E clarinet, basset horn, and bass clarinet. 2007 (ca. 30 mins.). Work number 91. The specified colour is HKS 2 (zinc yellow [Zinkgelb]) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover; Stockhausen 2010d, I–II).Treue received its premiere on 8 May 2010 at the KOMED-Saal of Mediapark 7
MediaPark
The MediaPark is a urban regeneration neighborhood in Cologne, Germany, completed by the turn of the millennium. It was set up to accommodate companies of the media and communication industry, as well as cultural institutions, a hotel and some apartment buildings. The MediaPark is situated in...
, Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, by Roberta Gottardi (E clarinet), Rumi Sota-Klemm (basset horn), and Petra Stump (bass clarinet), as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010). The MusikTriennale Köln commissioned the premiere with the support of the Kunst-Stiftung NRW (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 23 & 51).
The brief spoken text in this trio is "Treue zu Gott" (Fidelity to God).
Twelfth Hour: Erwachen
Erwachen (Awakening), for soprano saxophone, trumpet, and cello. 2007 (ca. 30 mins.). Work number 92. The specified colour is HKS 3 (bright yellow [Verkehrsgelb]) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover; Stockhausen 2010e, I–II).Erwachen was premiered in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
on 13 October 2009 by members of musikFabrik
Musikfabrik
The musikFabrik is an ensemble for contemporary music located in Cologne. Their official name is: musikFabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. .-Overview:...
: Marcus Weiss (saxophone), Marco Blaauw (trumpet), and Dirk Wietheger (cello) (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2009, 11).
Just before the fourth main section of this trio the performers speak in unison the words "Erwachen in Gott" (Awakening in God) (Stockhausen 2010e, 15).
Thirteenth Hour: Cosmic Pulses
Cosmic PulsesCosmic Pulses
Cosmic Pulses is the last electronic composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, and it is number 93 in his catalog of works. Its duration is 32 minutes. The piece has been described as "a sonic roller coaster", "a Copernican asylum", and a "tornado watch"....
, electronic music (8-track-tape, loudspeaker pairs, mixing desk / sound director) 2006–2007 (32 mins., 05 secs.). Work number 93. The specified colour is HKS 4 (yellow) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover).
Cosmic Pulses was premièred in Rome
Rome
Rome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
on 7 May 2007 at Auditorium Parco della Musica, Sala Sinopoli (Stockhausen 2007a).
The music is made from 24 melodic loops, each with a different number of pitches (from 1 to 24) and in a different tempo, calculated in sequences of eight pulses lasting between 1.17 and 240 per minute. This means the slowest tempo is 1.17 x 8 = 9.36 pulses per minute, and the fastest is 240 x 8 = 1920 pulses per minute. These loops, with a total pitch span of about seven octaves, were created and synchronized by Antonio Pérez Abellán. The loops enter successively from low to high and from slow to fast, and make their exits in the same order. Kathinka Pasveer "enlivened" the rhythms and pitches by hand, according to the composer's instructions, causing accelerandos and ritardandos around each basic tempo, and glissandos upwards and downwards around the melodic pitch successions (Stockhausen 2007b, 22 & 40). The music therefore begins and ends with relatively clear polyphony of the loops, but in the central part this dissolves into a statistical mass of sound in which only general shifts of texture and colour can be perceived (Grant 2008, 19).
In addition to all this, with the collaboration of Joachim Haas and Gregorio Karman of the Experimental Studio for Acoustic Art in Freiburg, Stockhausen spatialized each of the 24 layers in eight-channel sound, with a total of 241 different trajectories in space "as if I had to compose the orbits of 24 moons or 24 planets. … If it is possible to hear everything I do not yet know—it depends on how often one can experience an 8-channel performance. In any case, the experiment is extremely fascinating" (Stockhausen 2007b, 22 & 40).
The following eight pieces in the cycle each use three of the twenty-four melodic layers from Cosmic Pulses as the accompaniment for a slower-moving solo part. Four of these solos are vocal (hours 14, 15, 18, and 19), and four are for wind instruments (hours 16, 17, 20, and 21).
Fourteenth Hour: Havona
Havona, for bass and electronic music (layers 24, 23, 22 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (25 mins., 10 secs.). Work number 94. The specified colour is HKS 5 (melon yellow) (Stockhausen 2008b, cover; Stockhausen 2009c, cover and II).The premiere took place in the Salle de Concert Olivier Messiaen of Radio France in Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, on 10 January 2009, performed by Nicholas Isherwood
Nicholas Isherwood
Nicholas Isherwood is US-born bass singer, who specialises in contemporary and baroque music. Notable roles include "Lucifer" in the world premieres of Stockhausen’s Montag, Dienstag, and Freitag from Licht at La Scala and the Leipzig Opera, and in Donnerstag aus Licht at Covent Garden.Isherwood...
(bass) and Gérard Pape
Gérard Pape
Gérard Pape is a composer of electronic music, author, and psychologist. He is a former student of David Winkler, George Cacioppo, William Albright, and George Balch Wilson...
(sound projection), as part of the Saison Musicale Multiphonies. It was commissioned by the Group de Recherches Musicales (GRM) of the Institut National de l'Audiovisuel
Institut national de l'audiovisuel
The Institut national de l'audiovisuel , is a repository of all French radio and television audiovisual archives. Additionally it provides customers with a free and immediate access to archives of countries such as Afghanistan and Cambodia...
(INA).
The titles of Hours 14–21 are all place names in the Urantia Book
The Urantia Book
The Urantia Book is a spiritual and philosophical book that discusses God, Jesus, science, cosmology, religion, history, and destiny. It originated in Chicago, Illinois, sometime between 1924 and 1955...
, and all are named in the text of Havona, as stages in a journey with the goal of studying cosmic music in Paradise. However, this text, like those for the following Hours, is not taken directly from the Urantia Book, but was written by the composer.
In the Urantia Book, Havona is "the central universe, … an existential, perfect, and replete universe surrounding the home of the eternal Deities, the center of all things" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 360).
This central planetary family … is far-distant from the local universe of Nebadon. It is of enormous dimensions and almost unbelievable mass and consists of one billion spheres of unimagined beauty and superb grandeur … arranged in seven concentric circuits immediately surrounding the three circuits of Paradise satellites. There are upwards of thirty-five million worlds in the innermost Havona circuit and over two hundred and forty-five million in the outermost, with proportionate numbers intervening. (Urantia Foundation 1955, 152)
According to the Urantia Book, "Harmony is the speech of Havona", and music is the eternal, universal language of men, angels, and spirits (Urantia Foundation 1955, 500).
Fifteenth Hour: Orvonton
Orvonton, for baritone and electronic music (layers 21, 20, 19 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (24 mins.). Work number 95. The specified colour is HKS 6 (yellow-orange) (Stockhausen 2010f, cover, I, and III).Orvonton was premiered on 8 May 2010 at the KOMED-Saal in Mediapark 7 in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
by Jonathan de la Paz Zaens, with sound direction by Hannah Weirich, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010).
According to the Urantia Book, "outside Havona there are just seven inhabited universes, the seven superuniverses", and the Earth's (Urantia) "local universe of Nebadon belongs to Orvonton, the seventh superuniverse" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 164–65).
In September 2007, when composition of Hours 14 to 21 was substantially completed, Stockhausen explained in an interview: "in the new works which I am now composing in Klang, I very often describe, in the sung text, how the piece that you are hearing is composed—and in fact right down to the details: how the rhythm goes, how the melody goes, how the harmony goes. So I very much love the fact that the music explains itself" (Stockhausen and Ermen 2007). Stockhausen composed Orvonton with de la Paz Zaens' voice in mind, and the composer assigned to him its extraordinarily long text (56 lines) because of the clarity of his German diction (Tariman 2011). The text provides "an analysis of the material and structure of the piece itself, and is also meant humorously" (Nonnenmann 2010): "Orvonton: I am a baritone, … / Layer nineteen has twenty-three tones as sound loop. / In the basic tempo 3.75 each note lasts 2 seconds, / and therefore the loop lasts 23 x 2 = 46 seconds", and so on (Nonnenmann 2010). Later on, this text includes an artistic credo: Each sound is a universe. / But one cannot tell if it is beautiful by the numbers: / that depends on who is counting. / Four hundred and forty Hertz is neither beautiful nor ugly. / Beauty lives. / … / Art music is not honky-tonk [i.e., low music-hall entertainment], / its number games need moments every now and then for the soul, / that touch, astonish: / time stands still".
Sixteenth Hour: Uversa
Uversa, for basset horn and electronic music (layers 18, 17, 16 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (22 mins., 40 secs.). Work number 96. The specified colour is HKS 7, orange (Stockhausen 2010g, II).Uversa was premiered by Michele Marelli, basset horn, with sound direction by Florian Zwißler, on 8 May 2010 at the Domforum in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010; Stockhausen 2010g, I). The premiere was commissioned by the MusikTriennale Köln, with the support of the Kunststiftung NRW (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 19 & 47; Stockhausen 2010g, I).
Uversa is the headquarters of the superuniverse of Orvonton (Urantia Foundation 1955, 74).
The sections of this and the other instrumental solos with electronic music are articulated by lines of spoken text in German, written by Stockhausen and loosely based on the Urantia Book. These were spoken by Kathinka Pasveer, recorded, and mixed with the electronic music on the eight-channel tape. The concluding portion refers to the learning of art by pilgrims to Uversa (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010, 47; Stockhausen 2010g, I):
Seventeenth Hour: Nebadon
Nebadon, for horn and electronic music (layers 15, 14, 13 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (21 mins., 40 secs.). Work number 97. The specified colour is HKS 10 (red-orange) (Stockhausen 2010h, cover and II).Nebadon was given its premiere on 8 May 2010 by Christine Chapman, horn, and Hannah Weirich, sound direction, at the Christuskirche in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010; Stockhausen 2010h, I).
Nebadon is the local universe to which the earth (Urantia) belongs (Urantia Foundation 1955, 165).
Each of Nebadons 24 sections is announced by a word or phrase written into the score by Stockhausen. These mostly isolated words, in a mixture of English and German, begin to form a connected narrative in the last seven lines (original in German):
This text was recorded and mixed into the electronic music by Kathinka Pasveer. The horn is amplified and projected during a performance over all eight loudspeaker groups, which surround the audience in a circle. The solo part is notated flexibly, in order to allow the performer great freedom in forming groups, notes, and figures (Stockhausen 2010h, I and IV).
Eighteenth Hour: Jerusem
Jerusem, for tenor and electronic music (layers 12, 11, 10 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (20 mins., 40 secs.) Work number 98. The specified colour is HKS 22 (orange-red) (Stockhausen 2010i, cover, I, and III).Hubert Mayer, tenor, and Melvyn Poore, sound direction, gave the world premiere of Jerusem on 8 May 2010 at the Christuskirche in Cologne
Cologne
Cologne is Germany's fourth-largest city , and is the largest city both in the Germany Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia and within the Rhine-Ruhr Metropolitan Area, one of the major European metropolitan areas with more than ten million inhabitants.Cologne is located on both sides of the...
by, as part of the MusikTriennale Köln (Gimpel 2010).
Jerusem is a planet, the headquarters of the cluster of 57 major and minor satellites constituting the administrative centre of the local system called Satania, which forms part of the local universe Nebadon (Urantia Foundation 1955, 509, 519, 1250). "Music, such as Urantia mortals understand, attains its highest expression in the schools of Jerusem" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 500).
The Urantia Books description is reflected in the very short text for Jerusem (the words are repeated frequently), written by the composer (Stockhausen 2010i, III):
Nineteenth Hour: Urantia
Urantia was premiered in the Queen Elizabeth Hall
Queen Elizabeth Hall
The Queen Elizabeth Hall is a music venue on the South Bank in London, United Kingdom that hosts daily classical, jazz, and avant-garde music and dance performances. The QEH forms part of Southbank Centre arts complex and stands alongside the Royal Festival Hall, which was built for the Festival...
at the Southbank Centre, London, on 8 November 2008, by Kathinka Pasveer, soprano (prerecorded) and sound projection (Kohl 2008, 21).
Urantia is the name given to our earth in the Urantia Book (Urantia Foundation 1955, 1), "commonly referred to as 606 of Satania in Norlatiadek of Nebadon, meaning the six hundred sixth inhabited world in the local system of Satania, situated in the constellation of Norlatiadek, one of the one hundred constellations of the local universe of Nebadon" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 485).
The three layers of electronic music—which rotates in different orbits around the hall, projected in eight channels—are moderately high in pitch and contain amongst the highest number of notes of all of the layers from Cosmic Pulses: 20, 21 and 22 notes. The solo part, by contrast, is one of the simplest of this section of Klang. The German text, written by the composer, has only 26 syllables, and introduces just one new syllable in each of the work's 26 sections (Kohl 2008, 21):
Twentieth Hour: Edentia
Edentia, for soprano saxophone and electronic music (layers 6, 5, 4 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (18 mins., 40 secs.). Work number 100. The specified colour is HKS 25 (magenta-red [Telemagenta]) (Stockhausen 2009d, cover and II).Edentia was premiered at the Rolf-Liebermann-Studio K-75 of the NDR
Norddeutscher Rundfunk
Norddeutscher Rundfunk is a public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR transmits for the German states of Lower Saxony, Mecklenburg-Vorpommern and Schleswig-Holstein...
in Hamburg
Hamburg
-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...
on 6 August 2008 by Marcus Weiss, saxophone (Krause 2008; Stephan 2008; Mischke 2008).
Edentia is described in the Urantia Book as a planet, the centremost and largest of a cluster of 771 "architectural spheres" in the constellation of Norlatiadek, within the local universe of Nebadon (Urantia Foundation 1955, 485). "There is harmony of music and euphony of expression in the orations of Salvington and Edentia which are inspiring beyond description" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 503–04).
The saxophonist, who must play from memory, is amplified using a transmitter
Transmitter
In electronics and telecommunications a transmitter or radio transmitter is an electronic device which, with the aid of an antenna, produces radio waves. The transmitter itself generates a radio frequency alternating current, which is applied to the antenna. When excited by this alternating...
and receiver
Receiver (radio)
A radio receiver converts signals from a radio antenna to a usable form. It uses electronic filters to separate a wanted radio frequency signal from all other signals, the electronic amplifier increases the level suitable for further processing, and finally recovers the desired information through...
, and in some sections uses a reverberation unit with both long and extremely long reverberation times. The 24 sections of Edentia are articulated with texts written by the composer. These texts, recorded and mixed into the electronic music, at first describe the Edentia of the Urantia Book, and then announce the musical devices being used in the later sections: "trills", "repetitions", "tremoli", "micro-intervals", etc. (Stockhausen 2009d, I–II).
Twenty-first Hour: Paradies
Paradies (Paradise), for flute and electronic music (layers 3, 2, 1 from Cosmic Pulses) 2007 (18 mins., 02 secs.). Work number 101. The specified colour is HKS 31 (purple) (Stockhausen 2009e, cover and II).Paradies was premiered by Kathinka Pasveer, flute, and Bryan Wolf, sound direction, at the Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival
The Schleswig-Holstein Musik Festival is a classical music festival held every year in summer time all over the state of Schleswig-Holstein in Northern Germany....
, at the Laeiszhalle
Laeiszhalle
The Laeiszhalle is a concert hall in Hamburg, Germany and home to the Hamburger Symphoniker.The hall is named after the German shipowning company F. Laeisz, founder of the concert venue and was planned by the architect Martin Haller.-External links:...
in Hamburg on 24 August 2009 (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. 2009, 9). Paradies was commissioned by the North German Radio (NDR), Hamburg (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. 2010, 10 & 38).
According to the Urantia Book, "Paradise is the gigantic nuclear Isle of absolute stability which rests motionless at the very heart of the magnificent eternal universe" (Urantia Foundation 1955, 152).
As with the preceding pieces, Paradies has a text describing itself. In this case, it is spoken by Kathinka Pasveer on the tape, mixed with the electronic music. The 25 short lines articulate the 24 musical sections of the work. As in Orvonton, after announcing the piece in the first seven lines, the German words from section 8 onward analyse the stages of the work itself: "24 lines of notes for the flute /
from 1 to 24 pitches / of the original row / source of all melodies / each line, a different low note / fragments of the groups / jumps in the entire space / fitting dynamics / articulation free / legato or staccato / pauses ad libitum / flexible tempo / one insert per line / for the fantasy / and the play / and the joy / for the magic / the eternal GOD" (Stockhausen 2009e, I).
Discography
- Himmelfahrt, für Synthesizer, Sopran und Tenor: 1. Stunde aus Klang. Antonio Pérez Abellán, synthesizer; Barbara Zanichelli, soprano; Hubert Mayer, tenor; Karlheinz Stockhausen, musical direction and sound projection. Additionally includes an explanation read by Stockhausen of the timbres by in German and English, and timbre examples played by Antonio Pérez Abellán. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 83. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2006.
- Freude, für 2 Harfen: 2. Stunde aus Klang. Marianne Smit and Esther Kooi, harps; Karlheinz Stockhausen, musical direction and sound projection. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 84. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2006.
- Natürliche Dauern, für Klavier: 3. Stunde aus Klang. Frank Gutschmidt (nos. 1, 3, 5, 7, 10, 13, 14), Benjamin Kobler (nos. 2, 4, 6, 8, 9, 11, 12, 15), and Antonio Pérez Abellán (nos. 16–24), piano; Karlheinz Stockhausen, musical direction and sound projection. Stockhausen Complete Edition 2-CD set 85A&B. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2007.
- Himmels-Tür: 4. Stunde aus Klang and 24 Türin (German and English versions). Stuart Gerber, percussion; Karlheinz Stockhausen, musical direction, voice and realisation of Türin. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 86. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2006.
- Harmonien für Baßklarinette, Harmonien für Flöte, Harmonien für Trompete: 5. Stunde aus Klang; Schönheit für Baßklarinette, Flöte, und Trompete: 6. Stunde aus Klang. Suzanne Stephens, bass clarinet; Kathinka Pasveer, flute; Marco Blaauw, trumpet. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 87. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2010.
- Balance und Glück: 7. Stunde und 8. Stunde aus Klang. Ensemble recherche: Martin Fahlenbock, flute; Jaime González, cor anglais; Shizuyo Oka, bass clarinet. MusikFabrik: Peter Veale, oboe; Piet van Bockstal, cor anglais; Edurne Santos, bassoon. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 88. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2010.
- Hoffnung und Glanz: 9. Stunde und 10. Stunde aus Klang. Members of musikFabrikMusikfabrikThe musikFabrik is an ensemble for contemporary music located in Cologne. Their official name is: musikFabrik Landesensemble NRW e.V. .-Overview:...
: Juditha Haeberlin (violin), Axel Porath (viola), Dirk Wietheger (cello) in Hoffnung; Peter Veale (oboe), Richard Hayes (clarinet), Heidi Mockert (bassoon), Marco Blaauw (trumpet), Bruce Collings (trombone), Melvyn Poore (tuba), and Axel Porath (viola) in Glanz. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 89. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2011. - Treue und Erwachen: 11. Stunde und 12. Stunde aus Klang. Roberta Gottardi (E clarinet), Rumi Sota-Klemm (basset horn), and Petra Stump (bass clarinet); Marcus Weiss (saxophone), Marco Blaauw (trumpet), and Dirk Wietheger (cello). Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 90. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2010.
- Cosmic Pulses: 13. Stunde aus Klang (and the opening of each of the 24 layers, for study purposes). Electronic music. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 91. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2007.
- Havona, für Bass und elektronische Musik: 14. Stunde aus Klang (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Nicholas Isherwood, bass. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 92. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2009.
- Orvonton: 15. Stunde aus Klang, für Bariton und elektronische Musik (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Jonathan de la Paz Zaens, baritone. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 93. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2010.
- Uversa: 16. Stunde aus Klang, für Bassetthorn und elektronische Musik (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Michele Marelli, basset horn. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 94. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2010.
- Nebadon: 17. Stunde aus Klang, für Horn und Elektronische Musik (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Christine Chapman, horn. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 95. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2010.
- Jerusem: 18. Stunde aus Klang, für Tenor und Elektronische Musik (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Hubert Mayer, tenor. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 96. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2010.
- Urantia, für Sopran und elektronische Musik: 19. Stunde aus Klang (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Kathinka Pasveer, soprano. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 97. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2008.
- Edentia, für Sopransaxophon und elektronische Musik: 20. Stunde aus Klang (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Marcus Weiss, saxophone. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 98. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2008.
- Paradies, für Flöte und elektronische Musik: 21. Stunde aus Klang (and electronic music alone, for rehearsals). Kathinka Pasveer, flute. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 99. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2009.
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- Urantia Foundation. 1955. The Urantia Book. Chicago: Urantia Foundation. ISBN 9780911560077 (cloth) ISBN 9780911560510 (pbk.) Online version
- Voermans, Erik. 2008. "Besluit van een machtig oeuvre". Het Parool (20 June).
- Weiden, Olaf. 2010. "Kölner Musiktriennale: Wie klingt eigentlich Klang?" Kölnische Rundschau (9 May).
- Yáñez, Paco. 2011. "Novedades discográficas: Klang: horas 4, 5 & 6". Mundoclasico.com (24 January), (Accessed 24 January 2011)
External links
- Al Moritz essay on Himmelfahrt
- Hour 2: Joy, for two harps, video excerpt. Esther Kooi and Marianne Smit, harps.
- Hour 3: Natural Durations 10, for piano, video excerpt. Frank Gutschmidt, piano.
- Hour 4: Heaven's Door, for a percussionist and little girl, video excerpt. Stuart Gerber, percussion.