Stockhausen: Sounds in Space - POLE/EXPO

At the core of these works is the idea of "fusing" with a shortwave radio event and then performing considered, disciplined explorations (solo, duo and trio variations) of these basically unpredictable sound events (unless one knows the local DJ and can make requests :) ). It's possible that in POLE and EXPO that multiple layers ("trains") of radio themes could surface, but any parallel tracks usually end up joining due to the frequent instructions to "relate" to another person's layer.

As I wrote in my SPIRAL impressions, I think the impact of these works has much to do with the players and their chosen instrument(s). Stockhausen has arranged some of his other works for alternate instruments (IN FREUNDSCHAFT, TIERKREIS, etc...), and some others also have open-ended instrumentation (STOP, YLEM, SOLO, PLUS-MINUS), but I think none are as open-ended in content as these works, leaving the performers' instrumental timbre and playing style as defining characteristics for each interpretation (even the "intuitive music" works (AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN, FÜR KOMMENDE ZEITEN) have at their core the rhythmic concept of slow ensemble "vibrations"). The SPIRAL-POLE-EXPO trio of works seems more concerned with relative degrees and kinds of reflection between individual forces (including with oneself), rather than larger structural processes. Processes do exist, but since the choice and degree of parameters are so open-ended, it's harder to sense these without having an annotated score at hand. In fact, it's even expected that performers start from different assigned points in the score from performance to performance. ZYKLUS and KLAVIERSTÜCK XI also have this kind of "polyvalent form", but those are quite thoroughly-notated for percussion and piano (respectively) and require the player to "finish" the piece in one performance.

Probably more so than in any other Stockhausen work, the performers' individual instrumental style comes through as a primary focus when listening to these works, especially considering that there could be a relatively wide latitude to the interpretation of the score symbols. In other words, it may be possible to consider the version of POLE by Eötvös and Bojé as "showcases" for their skills on electrochord and electronium, and the more recent versions led by Michael Vetter to be something like fast-paced Brecht-ian comic-operas, threaded through with absurdist sound poetry and ethnic folk stylizations. Another version of POLE in 2010 featuring European free improvisors Frank Gratkowski (on saxophone) and Anton Lukoszevieze (cello) sounds very much like, well, European Free Improvisation.

Now, remarking on these performer-based factors is not meant to undercut Stockhausen's contribution, since the key idea of using a shortwave to germinate trains of development is unique, and the "velocity" (or perhaps "proportions of change") in these works is very Stockhausen-ian (and possibly even serially organized). The notation symbols are also a novel way of forming clear dramatic arcs, but leaving room for many surprises at every performance. POLE is also the only work of Stockhausen's which includes a "mix balance" score for live performance (other electronically-realized works of his have notated motions, but those are not really for a performers to interpret live). But for most casual listeners, the appreciation of these works may in the end come down to how much the listener likes the natural improvisational style and instrumentation of the performers themselves. Actually, come to think of it, one could say that these works are Stockhausen's gift to the creative improvising musician.

FRESCO
for 4 orchestra groups: Wall-Sounds for Meditation,
(1969) [approx. 5 hours length]

In 1969, Stockhausen was asked to present a concert program at the Beethovenhalle in Bonn (birth city of Beethoven). Stockhausen's idea was to do something along the lines of his previous works for independent-but-concurrent compositions, such as ENSEMBLE and MUSIK FÜR EIN HAUS. In this case, 3 rooms in the Beethovenhalle concert complex were used to present 3 simultaneous Stockhausen programs (some with pre-taped works, some performed live). Additionally, four foyer spaces (not normally used for presenting music) contained 4 chamber orchestras, which each independently played a layer of FRESCO ("wall sounds for meditation"), a new "ambient" work, mostly consisting of extremely slow glissandi. Since there were only 3 rehearsals available for this piece before the performance, Stockhausen wrote very technically simple music to play, but the real "magic" of the piece is how the individual players within a group "vibrate" together as they navigate the glissandi (heterophonically). For example, one intention is to create different speeds of frequency beating through close, but contrasting, unison lines.

More here:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/05/fresco.html

FREITAG-VERSUCHUNG (FRIDAY TEMPTATION)
for 5 musical performers (soprano, baritone, bass, flute, basset-horn), children’s orchestra, children’s choir, 12 choir singers, a synthesizer player, 12 couples of dancer-mimes (ad lib. in concert performances), Electronic Music with Sound Scenes (24-track tape)
(1991-1994) [145']

Analysis and appreciation here:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/05/freitag-versuchung.html


FRIDAY TEMPTATION is the main body of Stockhausen's opera, FRIDAY from LIGHT, where EVE is tempted by LUDON (Lucifer), resulting in the continued evolution of Mankind. Has a kind of ring to it...

This post was originally planned to go out tomorrow, but since today is the 1 year anniversary of beginning my Stockhausen project, I thought I might as well bust it out now (so some slight finessing might come in the days ahead). There's still plenty more to go before I finish covering all of Stockhausen's works (with some major pieces coming: KONTAKTE, HYMNEN, MOMENTE, etc...). But I think a short break may be in order...

My write-up on LITANEI 97:

Zitat

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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.

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

Some new blog entries on KREUZSPIEL and SCHLAGTRIO

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

From my "concluding remarks":
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.

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.

Stockhausen: Sounds in Space: COSPMIC PULSES (overview)

Stockhausen: Sounds in Space: KLANG Hours 14-21 (overview)

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!

Since the last post on my Stockhausen blog was so easy I updated it with a new...

TIMELINE HISTORY OF STOCKHAUSEN'S LIFE AND WORKS

Found alot of interesting factoids while putting this together. Didn't know that Stockhausen and Helmut Lachenmenn went to Darmstadt Summer school together for one thing...

Any corrections are welcome :)

AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN (From the Seven Days) (1968)
15 "intuitive music" text compositions
for electroacoustic ensemble

AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN could be seen as the 3rd in a trilogy of "process music" pieces. PROZESSION used pre-chosen Stockhausen works as source material to be developed, KURZWELLEN utilized shortwave radio signals as "input", and the intuitive texts use the "supra-conscious" as the generative element (SPIRAL, POLE and EXPO I consider to be children of KURZWELLEN). Actually the idea of "input" as mentioned in the case for KURZWELLEN reminds me of the 2 inputs necessary for a ring modulation circuit. In that scenario, one input source modulates the other input source and the result is literally the sum and difference of their parts. In AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN the output is, of course, not quite so cut and dry, but the cooperative element certainly produces a kind of sum and difference social ecosystem in a way.

Finally, the influence and importance of Stockhausen himself on these recording sessions cannot be overstated. Many groups have performed these intuitive texts (and new performances seemingly surface on Youtube all the time), but none of them seem to display quite the "fanatacism" (and I mean that in the most positive way) that is found in these recordings. Even without Stockhausen's very aural participation in these recordings (be sings or plays an instrument on all but 2 of these recordings), these works fearlessly represent Stockhausen at his most naked.

Full report here:
Stockhausen: Sounds in Space: AUS DEN SIEBEN TAGEN

HIMMELFAHRT (Ascension)
for organ/synthesizer, soprano and tenor vocal soloists
2004, 2005 [37 min.]

This is another case where my first time listening to an unfamiliar Stockhausen piece was a bit under-whelming, largely due to the synthesizer textures. I recall that at first they seemed somewhat "thin", but over several listens, I began to get use to them and was able to somewhat appreciate the overtone structures in the individual timbres. But more importantly, I began to hear the work as a dialogue between the 2 hands of the keyboardist, working through a 24-note melody-theme. The compositional ideas described above are very fascinating (especially being that HIMMELFAHRT was Stockhausen's first post-LICHT work), but at the end of the day, the tempo scales and families of rhythmic densities are actually not as meaningful to me as the moment-to-moment interaction between the left and right hand parts.

The synth tones, percussion and vocal elements also add to this almost "fusion jazz improvisation" feel - though of course there are no jazz chords or melodies to be found here. Perhaps another reason that jazz comes to mind is that the melodic figures in HIMMELFAHRT are consistently fleet-footed throughout, which is especially apparent after the sometimes thick, dense (but epic) architectural constructions in LICHT. Also, since the KLANG pitch row can be thought of as as a kind of expanding/consumed "jazz head", it's interesting to compare the perception of a theme as it's "tail" grows, versus the same theme as it's "head" gets progressively consumed (this refers to the expanding and truncating nature of the theme repetitions). It highlights (for me at least) how much more important the head is than the tail (no pun intended!).

More at the link:Stockhausen: Sounds in Space: HIMMELFAHRT

EVAs ZWEITGEBURT (EVE's Second Birth-Giving)
for girls' choir, piano, 7 solo boy singers, 3 basset-horns, 1 singing basset horn, choir (live or tape), 3 synthesizers, percussion, and tape (Sound Scenes), staged with 21 actresses

More beautiful, more bawdy! Not only that but the Songs in Wochenkreis are pretty awesome - they should be teaching all kids these songs.

In the second Act of MONTAG AUS LICHT, a sudden return to primitivism seems to occur when the electricity goes out and the stage is lit only with candles, as a ritualistic procession moves up the aisles. The girls' choir is yet another beautiful choral work in MONTAG, and the 3 against 4 nature of the rhythms continues a structural concept from the opposing shapes of the previous act's Boy's Hullabaloo. The "conception" piano solo is a fine melding of unique textures, as there are not very many works for piano and children's choir. It has some structural similarity to KLAVIERSTÜCK XIII "LUCIFER's Dream", but is much more concise and gets "down to business" so to speak.

WOCHENKREIS generates a new set of lively songs which I think have as much life as independent songs as TIERKREIS does away from MUSIK IM BAUCH. The 7 songs are each lots of fun and are perfectly fit for children to sing. INITIATION features an alluring vocal for soprano which has many fascinating colorations and is a wonderful showcase for Kathinka Pasveer's singing skills. At this point in MONTAG, the synthesizers also take on a more prominent role, and I would someday be curious to hear some sections of EVE's Song as electronic parts separate from the opera (perhaps as study tracks for 3 keyboardists). The interaction between the 4 incarnations of EVE as COEUR, BUSI, BUSA and MUSCHI are weaved together in a fascinating layering of wind and voice instruments. In the final section of EVE's Song, the forces become quite entangled, but yet still imply a certain kind of harmoniousness. Just as in Act 1's First Birth-Giving, there is alot of humor laced throughout these acts, but in a somewhat more innocent, child-like way than in the earlier Act.

The score also describes very precise hand gestures for each of the boy soloists, as well as many descriptions of color and lighting changes which unfortunately can't be experienced on an audio recording. The stage set is also decorated with many additional glass "chemistry lab" vials and tubes, which are used to collect water from the boiling steam and use it to grow a beautiful grass lawn by the end of the Act.

Full post here:
http://stockhausenspace.blogspot.com/2015/02/evas-erstgeburt.html

OK I do have lots of questions about this work regarding the melodic construction. Can anyone tell me how the melodic material for Girls Procession works? Also I wonder how the parts for Synths 1 and 2 work in Basset-Teases and Initiation? Synth 3 is the Lucifer formula, that's easy to see (but not hear), but I'm not really seeing Michael and Eve in Synth 1 and 2 like I would have expected....