Strahlen
Encyclopedia
Strahlen for a percussionist (vibraphone and/or glockenspiel) and ten-channel sound recording is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen
, and is Nr. 80½ in his catalog of works. Its performing duration is 35 minutes.
. It was commissioned by the Zentrum für Kunst und Mediatechnologie
(ZKM), Karlsruhe, with support from the Kunststiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen. For a performance, any nine of the ten channels of recorded sound are played back, and the remaining part is played live by the soloist (Stockhausen 2011).
Work on the ten-channel electronic music for Strahlen was begun in 2003 by the ZKM, but was interrupted in 2004 in favour of producing the visual elements for the third scene of Sonntag, Licht-Bilder. A preliminary version of the recording was used for the world premiere, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the ZKM on 4 December 2009, at the Museum für Neue Kunst in Karlsruhe, with László Hudacsek, vibraphone, and Kathinka Pasveer
, sound projection. The final version of the electronic music
was mixed down to ten tracks by Holger Stenschke and Kathinka Pasveer from 13 to 21 September 2010 at the ZKM (Stockhausen 2011).
tempos: 30, 40, 53.5, 71, 95, 134, and 180 per minute. The selection of tempos can focus on the faster or slower tempos, or combinations emphasizing the strongest oppositions. Many of the notated durations are longer than the vibraphone can sustain. For this reason, the sounds in the recording are lengthened electronically and amplitude modulated to supply an internal pulsation that defines the tempo for each layer (Stockhausen 2011). The pitches are drawn from the five melodic lines of the form scheme for Hoch-Zeiten for choir. This form scheme in turn consists of the final (Sunday) segment of the three-layered Licht
superformula
, with a superimposed faster version of the entire superformula compressed to the same length (only with the Lucifer layer left out). Each of these five lines is partitioned according to its changes of pitch into seven segments. Because the pitches in the different lines do not always change at the same time, the segmentation is different in each layer, and the composite changes produce a series of slow chord changes with fourteen phases. These fourteen phases also determine the tempo changes in each layer. For example, the five layers at the beginning (from high to low) are in tempos 30, 40, 95, 71, and 53.5. At the second of the fourteen sections, only the second layer changes, from 40 to 134, while the other four layers continue at their previous speeds and pitches. At the third chord, the upper four parts all change immediately, while the lowest layer begins a slow accelerando, and so on. An extra section, corresponding to the final fermata of the superformula, is added at the end. This is a quotation of the Sunday Song from the Sieben Lieder der Tage (Seven Songs of the Days), from Evas Lied, act 2, scene 4 of Montag aus Licht. Two inserts and a short introduction are also added. Each of the five layers is then composed out into two heterophonic
parts, bringing the total number of parts to ten (Stockhausen 2003, 9–12, 14).
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"...
, and is Nr. 80½ in his catalog of works. Its performing duration is 35 minutes.
History
Strahlen was composed in 2002, as a version of Hoch-Zeiten for choir, the fifth scene of Stockhausen's opera Sonntag aus LichtSonntag 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...
. It was commissioned by the Zentrum für Kunst und Mediatechnologie
Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe
The Center for Art and Media Karlsruhe in Karlsruhe, Germany is an interdisciplinary art museum and research institution focusing on new media....
(ZKM), Karlsruhe, with support from the Kunststiftung Nordrhein-Westfalen. For a performance, any nine of the ten channels of recorded sound are played back, and the remaining part is played live by the soloist (Stockhausen 2011).
Work on the ten-channel electronic music for Strahlen was begun in 2003 by the ZKM, but was interrupted in 2004 in favour of producing the visual elements for the third scene of Sonntag, Licht-Bilder. A preliminary version of the recording was used for the world premiere, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of the ZKM on 4 December 2009, at the Museum für Neue Kunst in Karlsruhe, with László Hudacsek, vibraphone, and 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...
, sound projection. The final version of the electronic music
Electronic music
Electronic music is music that employs electronic musical instruments and electronic music technology in its production. In general a distinction can be made between sound produced using electromechanical means and that produced using electronic technology. Examples of electromechanical sound...
was mixed down to ten tracks by Holger Stenschke and Kathinka Pasveer from 13 to 21 September 2010 at the ZKM (Stockhausen 2011).
Conception and form
The work's title suggests an impression of overwhelming radiance (Maconie 2005, 543). The central idea of the composition is the simultaneous layering of five different tempos. These are chosen in various combinations from a scale of seven metronomicMetronome
A metronome is any device that produces regular, metrical ticks — settable in beats per minute. These ticks represent a fixed, regular aural pulse; some metronomes also include synchronized visual motion...
tempos: 30, 40, 53.5, 71, 95, 134, and 180 per minute. The selection of tempos can focus on the faster or slower tempos, or combinations emphasizing the strongest oppositions. Many of the notated durations are longer than the vibraphone can sustain. For this reason, the sounds in the recording are lengthened electronically and amplitude modulated to supply an internal pulsation that defines the tempo for each layer (Stockhausen 2011). The pitches are drawn from the five melodic lines of the form scheme for Hoch-Zeiten for choir. This form scheme in turn consists of the final (Sunday) segment of the three-layered Licht
Licht
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:...
superformula
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...
, with a superimposed faster version of the entire superformula compressed to the same length (only with the Lucifer layer left out). Each of these five lines is partitioned according to its changes of pitch into seven segments. Because the pitches in the different lines do not always change at the same time, the segmentation is different in each layer, and the composite changes produce a series of slow chord changes with fourteen phases. These fourteen phases also determine the tempo changes in each layer. For example, the five layers at the beginning (from high to low) are in tempos 30, 40, 95, 71, and 53.5. At the second of the fourteen sections, only the second layer changes, from 40 to 134, while the other four layers continue at their previous speeds and pitches. At the third chord, the upper four parts all change immediately, while the lowest layer begins a slow accelerando, and so on. An extra section, corresponding to the final fermata of the superformula, is added at the end. This is a quotation of the Sunday Song from the Sieben Lieder der Tage (Seven Songs of the Days), from Evas Lied, act 2, scene 4 of Montag aus Licht. Two inserts and a short introduction are also added. Each of the five layers is then composed out into two heterophonic
Heterophony
In music, heterophony is a type of texture characterized by the simultaneous variation of a single melodic line. Such a texture can be regarded as a kind of complex monophony in which there is only one basic melody, but realized at the same time in multiple voices, each of which plays the melody...
parts, bringing the total number of parts to ten (Stockhausen 2003, 9–12, 14).
Sources
- Maconie, RobinRobin MaconieRobin Maconie is a New Zealand composer, pianist, and writer.Robin Maconie studied with Frederick Page and Roger Savage at the Victoria University of Wellington, receiving a Master of Arts in the History and Literature of Music in 1964...
. 2005. Other Planets: The Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen. Lanham, Maryland, Toronto, Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, Inc. ISBN 0-8108-5356-6. - Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2003. Stockhausen Courses Kürten 2003: Composition Course on Hoch-Zeiten (of Sunday from Light) for Choir (2001/02). Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
- Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2011. "Strahlen (2002) für einen Schlagzeuger und 10-kanalige Tonaufnahme"; English version as "Strahlen/Rays (2002) for a Percussionist and 10-track Recording", translated by Suzanne Stephens and Jayne Obst. In Programm zu den Konzerten und Kursen der Musik von / Programme for the Concerts and Courses of the Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen vom 6. bis 14 August 2011 in Kürten / from August 6th to 14th 2011 in Kürten, edited by Suzanne StephensSuzanne StephensSuzanne Stephens is an American clarinetist, resident in Germany, described as "an outstanding performer and tireless promoter of the clarinet and basset horn" .-Biography:...
and Kathinka PasveerKathinka 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...
, 13 and 49. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik.
External links
- "STOCKHAUSEN 80". Texte von der ZKM-Seite in der Neuen Zeitschrift für Musik, Ausgabe 05/2008 (September+Oktober). (Accessed 30 August 2011)
- Simon, Tuula. [2009] "Uraufführung von Stockhausens Strahlen". Audio report with sound examples. Kulturkanal (Accessed 29 August 2011).
- video clip of the world premiere from SWR 2 4 mins. (Accessed 29 August 2011).
- video clip of the world premiere 10:16. (Accessed 29 August 2011).