Stockhausen
In Memoriam
New for December 2007: HIMMELFAHRT (2004/05)
Introduction to the essays
Since the inception of this project in 2000 I have steadily added new texts to this site, and my final goal is to write essays on the complete recorded works of Stockhausen. Thus, this site will be regularly updated with new texts over the next years.
These texts address musicians and general listeners likewise. The essays are mainly the result of just listening (and studying the informative CD booklets of course), and closely observing what the music I heard told me. They intend to raise interest in the works from any potential listeners, listeners with either advanced or basic musical background, and they intend to facilitate listening once the music is experienced. The texts are addressed to all music lovers; all should listen to Stockhausen's music and enjoy its greatness!
I am deeply satisfied and excited to experience that the more recent output of Stockhausen continued the amazing quality and innovativeness of his well-known classics, and that works like MONTAG aus LICHT and WELT-PARLAMENT are not only among the very best of the music of the last two decades but also among the best music ever written. I truly mean it, while I dearly love the music of Bach, Beethoven, Bruckner, Bartok and so many others before, in between and after. My essays on these and other more recent works – including electronic ones – therefore were a great pleasure to write, as were the others.
The music is all at Stockhausen-Verlag to be acquired, CDs and scores. No worry about deletions of works from the CD catalog (to how many frustrations these can lead with other composers I do not need to tell anybody) – Stockhausen's output can be heard practically in its entirety. Only few of the works have not been recorded thus far.
What amazes me is that Stockhausen not only continued to write fantastic music until the end, but that he also kept creating new sound worlds with every new work. Stockhausen did not repeat himself or others, settling into a "style", but instead continued to always create new excitement in unique sonic textures. That during his long career as a composer he always managed to do that according to his motto, which he formulated with KREUZSPIEL from 1951, amounts to a staggering lifetime achievement.
Many thanks to Kathinka Pasveer, a close collaborator of Stockhausen, for taking the time to read the "Introduction to Stockhausen" and my first six essays (Gruppen, Carré, Mixtur, Ylem, Montag aus Licht, Welt-Parlament) as well as the essay on Tierkreis (Trio Version), and suggesting small revisions.
I am especially grateful to Stockhausen for his interest shown by reading all my other texts until he passed away, a generosity very much appreciated in my quest for musical accuracy. I incorporated minor corrections or additions suggested by the composer. I thank both Stockhausen and Kathinka Pasveer for answering several specific questions regarding the music.
Many thanks also to Jerome Kohl, music theorist and a leading expert on Stockhausen with long experience as managing editor of Perspectives of New Music, for editing my texts on HYMNEN, HARLEKIN, DER JAHRESLAUF, WELTRAUM and SAMSTAG aus LICHT, and for numerous invaluable musical discussions.
All older texts were edited in 2005 by me for language and style. Novel information on the form of MOMENTE and KURZWELLEN, which the composer communicated in letters to me, was quoted and incorporated into the respective texts. Other than this, content was not changed, with a handful of minor exceptions. For a later stage of the project, substantial extensions of the discussion of the music in some of the first essays (e.g. Gruppen, Carré, Montag) are planned.
I hope that these texts convey my genuine enthusiasm for Stockhausen's music, and I wish that this enthusiasm may be reflected, at least to some extent, in the reader's listening experience.
© Albrecht Moritz 2000 – 2007
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Impressions from the 2002 world premiere of ENGEL-PROZESSIONEN (2000)
ELECTRONIC MUSIC 1952–1960:
ETUDE (1952)
STUDIE I AND II (1953/54)
GESANG DER JÜNGLINGE (Song of the Youths), 1955/56
KONTAKTE Electronic Music (1959/60)
GRUPPEN (1955–57)
KONTAKTE for electronic sounds, piano and percussion (1959/60)
CARRÉ (1959–60)
MOMENTE (1962–64/69)
MIXTUR (1964)
MIKROPHONIE I (1964)
HYMNEN (ANTHEMS), 1966/67 –
Electronic and Concrete Music
(text edited by Jerome Kohl)
Introduction
Detailed Guide through the work
Notes to the text
Appendix I
Appendix II
KURZWELLEN (1968)
YLEM (1972)
INORI (1973–74) – Overview and Detailed Guide
HARLEKIN, Der Kleine Harlekin (1975)
(text edited by Jerome Kohl)
SIRIUS (1975–77)
(For electronic music and soloists)
TIERKREIS (ZODIAC) Trio Version (1975/83)
DER JAHRESLAUF (1977)
(text edited by Jerome Kohl)
DONNERSTAG aus LICHT (1978–81)
UNSICHTBARE CHÖRE (INVISIBLE CHOIRS), 1979
SAMSTAG aus LICHT, 1981–83:
(texts edited by Jerome Kohl)
Introduction
LUZIFERs TANZ (1983)
MONTAG aus LICHT (1984–88)
AVE (1984/85)
OKTOPHONIE (1990/91)
(Electronic music of TUESDAY from LIGHT)
WELTRAUM (OUTER SPACE), 1992/94 –
Electronic music of FRIDAY from LIGHT:
(text edited by Jerome Kohl)
Introduction
Detailed Guide through the work
WELT-PARLAMENT (1995)
LICHTER-WASSER (LIGHTS-WATERS), 1998–99
HIMMELFAHRT (ASCENSION), 2004/05