Stockhausen's Spaceship

[EigenUser]

COSMIC PULSES, the 241 spatially-shaped, 24-layered, 24-timbred, 24-melodically-designed, 24-etc... is one of those works which, I have to admit, took me a little while to come to grips with. But now, it's one of my favorite electronic works. The "children" of CP (HAVONA, EDENTIA, URANTIA, etc...) also took awhile before I could sit still for them. But again, now they are some of my favorite of KSs electroacoustic chamber works.

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/03/cosmic-pulses.html

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/03/klang-hours-14-21-overview.html

Anyways, looking forward to experiencing this in 8-channel at the Courses in Kurten this year. If Antonio is there then I will be interested in talking to him about how he selected these timbres as well.... and if there is a MIDI file for the loops!

That blinking photo pretty much makes me as dizzy as the actual piece (which, by the way, I do like).

[Uatu]

That blinking photo pretty much makes me as dizzy as the actual piece (which, by the way, I do like).

What blinking?

[Karl Henning]

(* chortle *)

[chadfeldheimer]

I understand your point completely.  In fact since the CD contains 90 seconds of each loop (in isolation), I created a "personal" remix of Cosmic Pulses (KS would have hated that, but, this is just between me you and the internet).  What I did was I layered it backwards, starting from high loops, adding more 1 by one, and then subtracting loops whenever more than 4 loops were present (this way there is only 4 layers at any given time - much more like "classical" polyphony).  In order to "spatialize" this mix (the loops are all in mono) I used Adobe Audition's stereo rotation software, and I chose the setting called "Seasick".

Nice idea. Most single layers are excellent sampling material. I agree with you there, that I do enjoy the high loops/layers more then the low ones. Would like to hear it.

[chadfeldheimer]

There you have it:  Some need editing, but are too sure of themselves to imagine so.  Others probably do not, so much, but their sensitivity leaves them open to at-times-destructive interference.

Nobody is perfect!

[Uatu]

This is kind of a cross between MIKROPHONIE I and ZYKLUS. I'm looking forward to hearing the "snare drum solo" being replaced by the "church door solo" in the future.

HIMMELS-TÜR
KLANG 4th Hour
(Heaven's Door), for a percussionist and a little girl, (2005) [28 min.]

     This is Stockhausen's second work for a custom made musical instrument (the first being TIERKREIS for custom made music boxes).  The focus on a single, monolithic object makes this a kind of sibling to MIKROPHONIE I, which focuses on a single large tam-tam (though with completely different textures created through a battery of implements and miking techniques).  I'm also reminded of one of Stockhausen's British lectures where he recommends a composer to take a snare and specialize in hitting the snare in different ways, in order to gain notoriety as "the snare - composer".  It's a fun idea and the language in HIMMELS-TÜR certainly finds it's own place in the door-percussion repertoire!

     On CD this work has a very accessible feel, though it's possible that without the visual element, a certain dramatic dynamic is lost.  In fact on the first few listens, it sounded very "monochromatic" to me, especially since the pitch range of the Lugo Heaven's Door only has a general pitch range (from top to bottom) of a minor 3rd.  However, after awhile the variety of sounds and rhythmic attacks becomes much more appreciable, and it becomes obvious which sounds are hand strikes and which are boot stamps.  In any case, the general texture has a kind of warm, soothing effect (at least for me), and it's apparent simplicity might make it much easier to "get" than, for example a work like REFRAIN or ZYKLUS.

     One thing that's interesting is that the score calls for a door with some general characteristics, but exact pitches for each panel is not specified.  In fact, the Lugo Heaven's Door as mentioned has a pitch range of a minor 3rd, whereas a second door created for American performances, D.J. Betsill's Spoleto Heaven's Door, has a range of an octave.  Additionally, the vertical scale of pitches is not as cut and dry as something like a marimba.  As one can see in the video, many times pitches can be higher or lower regardless of how high the panel is.  The beaters used against the door can also be of different varieties.  A 2007 performance by Arnold Marinissen features brushes along with the usual wooden dowels.  All of these factors make HIMMELS-TÜR a work which sounds quite different in its details, from performance to performance.

More here:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/04/himmels-tur.html

[Uatu]

A work ripe & begging for video presentation/release .. (perhaps MODE?) ..

I put the video in my blog post.  I wasn't sure if that was cool, since it is sold by Stockhauseb Verlag on DVD, but I checked with Kathinka and she said it was allowed 

[Uatu]

I think I would like to have the electronic works on DVD as long as they were in surround channel.  So many to list: Gesang Der Jungelinge, Sirius, Octophonie, Cosmic Pulses...Hymnen...Weltraum, so MANY!  For Himmels-Tur I would like to see a video of the Spoleto Festival performance with the Second Heaven's Door, since that had a full octave in its panels....also looks better...

[Uatu]

Some additional thoughts on "Heaven's Door", especially the CD:

     Since the visual element is obviously missing from the CD, Stockhausen makes up for that by recording each hand strike and foot stamp very carefully, and mixes the performance so that the left and right parts of the Heaven's Door are placed in a very wide panorama, almost as if it were an electro-acoustic piece.  In other words, if the percussionist plays a slow tremolo with arms apart, the sounds "ping-pong" when listening on headphones.  The "insert" on page 7 where a trill moves from the door to the floor, and then back to the door, is easy to pick out because of this careful placement of the "sounds in space".  At times the recording brings to mind the musique concrète works of the Paris-based GRM (Groupe de Recherches Musicales) where single sounds of things like wine glasses or plucked strings are sampled and then spread across the stereo field in different patterns (though of course, those are done purely through sampling technology).  Regarding the spatial element of sound in HIMMELS-TÜR, the score is a fascinating document because it very simply shows the horizontal positioning of each sound, which is pretty unusual to find, especially in such an intuitive form of notation (well, actually not THAT intuitive, since each vertical half of the Heaven's Door is mapped across the full stereo spectrum, so 4 horizontal hits from left to right across the full door would result in a left-right-left-right pattern).

[Uatu]

Some new thoughts on KREUZSPIEL and SCHLAGTRIO

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/04/kreuzspiel-schlagtrio.html

     Even though these works are basically part of the "avant-garde" classical movement of the post-war era (an era normally known for it's dry and impenetrable style), they are surprisingly accessible.  The percussion part for the 1st stage of KREUZSPIEL actually plays a continuous tremolo rhythm, which would never happen again in so continuous and obvious a manner in Stockhausen's percussion work .  The percussion parts of the 3rd section, as well as the dynamic timpani figures of SCHLAGTRIO, make these two pieces simply exciting to listen to.  Even without being aware of the "crossing" of pitch fields, the melodic elements of the pitched instruments interact with the percussive rolls and accents in a very organic, almost jazzy way.  It's fairly easy to appreciate the music just by listening to how the tom-toms and the piano parts set each other up.  Present also, of course, is the "song" Stockhausen mentions in several parts of KREUZSPIEL (where the points are at maximum convergence).

     SCHLAGTRIO presents the 6-note timpani melody as a kind of "shadow-mirror" to the 6 octave piano part.  On the first few listens the piano and fortissimo timpani accents dominate one's impressions, but on further listens the beauty of the timpani melody fragments become much more appreciable.  In the CD booklet, Stockhausen describes the concept of 2 "principles" coming together and creating a new, 3rd entity (after which they then "return to a situation which is beyond the physically representable").  However, I actually find listening to the "point" field and it's collective behavior against a canvas of "jagged" timpani dynamics to be more fun.

[Uatu]

Klang by Karlheinz Stockhausen (U.S. Premiere)
March 26, 2016

Karlheinz Stockhausen's fiercely original KLANG (meaning "sound" in German) is an acoustic and electronic work so massive that it requires all day and all three of the Met's iconic buildings to stage. This twenty-one-part, unfinished composition was originally envisioned by Stockhausen as consisting of twenty-four individual compositions (one for each hour of the day), but the work was left unfinished at the time of his death. This performance will mark the U.S. premiere of Klang in its entirety, and will be performed at the Metropolitan Museum's Fifth Avenue building, The Met Breuer, and The Cloisters museum and gardens in Fort Tryon Park. More details will follow.

http://www.metmuseum.org/visit/the-met-breuer/performance

FYI - This will be on March 26, 2016. 

[Uatu]

You talkin' to me? Cuz I know .. it says in the title. The event was just announced today. I'm so tempted to make the trip ...

Sorry, missed that 

[ritter]

Cross-posted from the "New Releases" thread:

This looks interesting:



The blurb on Presto:

Between 1965-68, the composer Luc Ferrari collaborated with director Gérard Patris on a series of filmed intimate portraits of great musicians, 'Les Grandes Répétitions' (The Great Rehearsals). Created for the ORTF, and encouraged by its director Pierre Schaeffer, these remarkable films were shown on French TV. They are remarkable not only for their exceptional content, but also for the creative camera work, including dynamic hand-held shots and croppings, and the juxtaposition of music and talk.

Mode has selected two of these films, on Karlheinz Stockhausen and Edgard Varèse, for this DVD. It is the first time these films have been released outside of France, and the first time they have been issued with English subtitles — prepared especially for this Mode release.

Karlheinz Stockhausen: 'Momente' is an extraordinary document. Recorded during rehearsals for the premiere of his monumental work 'Momente' (scored for soprano solo, 2 choirs, orchestra and 2 electric organs) in Cologne, Stockhausen discusses the genesis and meaning of this work dedicated to his wife. The film's rehearsal sequences, with Stockhausen as conductor, are a revelation as he works out details with the soprano Martina Arroyo, the choir and orchestra. The musical sections are intercut with footage of Stockhausen speaking — often as the camera follows him around the studio — capturing his youthful energy and charisma.

'Hommage à Edgard Varèse' (1965, nb, 66 ') is a tribute to Varèse, who unfortunately died a few days before filming began. Iannis Xenakis, Olivier Messiaen, Herman Scherchen, André Jolivet, Pierre Schaeffer, Pierre Boulez, Konstantin Simonovic, Ferdnand Ouellette and Marcel Duchamp speak of the personality and work of this 'musical architect'. Varèse's voice is also heard. A complete performance of Varèse's percussion ensemble classic 'Ionisation' is shown (Simonovic conducting), and Bruno Maderna directs a rehearsal of 'Deserts'.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/Mode/mode276dvd

[Uatu]

What better forum to post a link on the piece OUTER SPACE!  Stockhausen's Spaceship indeed.

FREITAGS GRUSS / FREITAGS ABSCHIED (WELTRAUM)

Sound Impressions
     This almost totally-electronic work appears at first to be a "drone-piece", since the melodic elements change so slowly, making the changing timbres the initial focus.  However upon closer inspection, there is quite alot of "action" going on under the hood.  The Greeting and Farewell start off fairly leisurely, but after several minutes other "celestial objects" enter and provide a new narrative to follow.   The changing of timbres every 68 seconds in FREITAGS ABSCHIED is quite a lot of fun to listen for.  Some of the timbre changes are very subtle, so these are a fun challenge to pick out.  The changing "satellite tones" and their unpredictable behaviors are equally fun to follow.  The slow expansion/contraction of the bass tremolo also provides a sense of tension, as if a rubber-band were being stretched and released (the microtonal bending of the tone certainly aids that impression).

     I'm not sure if this electronic music layer was created before or after the REAL SCENES and SOUND SCENES, but it must have been challenging to create a work which could stand on its own for almost 2 and a half hours, as well as provide a constant background "score" to the more foreground objects in the opera proper (without causing an overloaded sound atmosphere).  Though the formal design and organization of the sound materials is all due to Stockhausen, a good deal of credit should go to his son Simon Stockhausen, who programmed the many sound timbres employed in this work.  Simon also played an integral part of the creation of the sound timbres in OKTOPHONIE, and this makes WELTRAUM a kind of sequel to that work. 

More:

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/04/weltraum-freitags-grussfreitags-abschied.html

[Uatu]

One of my favorites (the version with Sound Scenes) .. and one of the late pieces that got me exploring Stockhausen again after losing touch for so long. Richard Toop likened aspects of the piece to Stimmung.

After getting to know WELTRAUM so intimately, it makes listening to the 2 other versions (w SS, W SS/RS) even more enjoyable.  Even KOMET makes more sense, because I can more easily separate the layers (not that that's necessary to enjoy the stuff, I just like to take things apart, obviously).

Where did Toop talk about WELTRAUM?  I'd like to read that too.

[Uatu]

LITANEI 97 for choir and conductor

     LITANEI 97 is basically a reworking of the piece LITANEI (Litany) from Stockhausen's 1968 collection of intuitive text pieces, AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN (From the Seven Days), which generally uses verbal instructions to direct improvisational ensembles performances.  In contrast to the other members of AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN, LITANEI is worded as a personal message from Stockhausen to the performer, and it's intention is more like "introducing" the concept of intuitive music, rather than instructing the players to play a specific melodic/rhythmic idea.  In 1997, a version of LITANEI, redubbed LITANEI 97, was premiered by the Choir of the South German Radio, and conducted by Rupert Huber.  This version is not based so much on intuitive improvisation, but there are definitely some aleatory elements relating to pitch ranges and glissandi.  Each line of the text is intoned microtonally by members of a mixed choir (SATB), and each voice group is assigned a different pitch range.  In addition, the conductor sometimes sings short phrases from the MICHAEL formula (one of the melodic themes dominating Stockhausen's LICHT opera cycle) and strikes metal percussion bowls as punctuation marks.

Sound Impressions
     LITANEI 97 to me is a kind of microtonal vocal prologue to AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN, especially considering the subject matter of the text.  On the CD 61 release, the premiere recording of this work is paired with KURZWELLEN (also the premiere recording).  It seems natural that AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN should follow, if this were a "cycle" of sorts.  Stockhausen might be surprised (or not?) that I actually find some ideas behind this work to remind me of STUDIE II, since the choir parts are essentially based on frequency "bandwidths" of aleatory spoken word.  Since the pitches for each vocal group are arranged as unbroken frequency ranges (for instance, low C up to E in the Basses in the excerpt above), this creates the vocal equivalent of "colored noise", or bandwidth filtering, at least in theory.  The glissandi also give me this impression.  Though this work is admittedly not one of my "top 10" favorite Stockhausen works, there are some unique effects to be found here (the high humming at the beginning of verse 5, for example, is pretty unique and sounds almost electronic), and these ensemble effects (tongue-rolls, whispering, hissing, etc...) make for an unpredictable timbre palate within a strict range of melodic material.

http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/04/litanei-97.html

[Uatu]

PAARE vom FREITAG (Couples of FRIDAY)
with soprano, bass, electronic instruments (tape)
(1992/1999)  [65']

PAARE vom FREITAG (Couples of FRIDAY) is the collective title for the "male and female" electroacoustic music comprising the 12 SOUND SCENES (taped interludes) in Stockhausen's opera, FREITAG AUS LICHT (FRIDAY from LIGHT). 

Probably the most immediately striking aspect of the COUPLES of FRIDAY are the electronic effects applied to the Soprano and Bass vocals (sung by Kathinka Pasveer and Stockhausen himself), as well as the "sound effects" and field recordings integrated with them.  Several electronic processing devices were used, usually in combinations with each other.

    Vocoder - this device takes 2 input signals and uses one to modulate the other.  In a typical scenario, a voice input modulates a synthesizer timbre to create a "robotic" voice (the vowel sounds are replaced by synth tones, called a "carrier").  These have various filters and noise elements which can also "flatten" an input signal into a monotone pitch.  An internal synth timbre can also be used as the carrier instead of a 2nd input (the concrete sounds in this case)
    Harmonizer - This device takes an input signal and mixes in a parallel pitch-transposed layer (or layers, if a harmonized chord melody is desired).  The original signal can also be left out, leaving only the pitch-transposed layer (which is also robotic-sounding).
    Sampler - Typically controlled with a keyboard, a sound (field recording, percussive attack, synth timbre, voice, etc...) is dynamically triggered according to different durations and pitches, and optionally looped.  In other words, by playing the keyboard as a trigger, it is possible to create rhythms and melodies using the sampled sounds.

More below:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/04/paare-vom-freitag.html

[Uatu]

CD 48 is good, but it's a bit hard to sit through in one go, at least for me.  But the male and female parts are separated hard left and right, so it makes the individual parts much easier to make out.  I would also love to see the opera, in fact I was just thinking that even with CD 49's EM w. SS from Freitag, if they did that in a planetarium, that would be cool if they projected the Couples around the room as they appear (and of course make them disappear as they fade out).  I doubt they have recorded multicamera tapes of each Couple from the one production, but that would be a wish of mine.

[Rex]

What has happened to James, and all his posts?

*perplexed*

[Uatu]

wow - that is odd...  now this thread will be very confusing!  It's a pity, I enjoyed James' posts.