CDXXV. STOCKHAUSEN, Karlheinz (1928-2007)
Piet Mondrian
Composition II in Red, Blue and Yellow
Stockhausen's magnificent first wind quintet -- Zeitmaße (1955-56) -- replaced the French horn with an English horn. After Adieu, he wrote a third quintet: Rotary Wind Quintet (1997).
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After seeing the Mondrian (above) at The Hague, Stockhausen was inspired to begin work on Adieu, even though he was in the middle of completing Hymnen [see Post CDXIX].
After seeing the Mondrian (above) at The Hague, Stockhausen was inspired to begin work on Adieu, even though he was in the middle of completing Hymnen [see Post CDXIX].
Also, Stockhausen was aware of the impermanence of time, when the oboist Wilhelm Meyer -- who had asked Stockhausen to write a new quintet for his group's Asian tour -- lost his son, an organist, in a car crash.
Again (inspired by the painting), he used Fibonacci numbers to determine the length of each section.
The piece reveals feelings of separation and bereavement, through the use of long-held chords with microtonal fluctuations and gestures of interrupted movement -- unfinished cadences, abrupt changes in the sound. The musicians -- as required in all of Stockhausen's work -- must be able to experience deeply, and form into notes, the sense of closeness to death that vibrates in this music.
Again (inspired by the painting), he used Fibonacci numbers to determine the length of each section.
The piece reveals feelings of separation and bereavement, through the use of long-held chords with microtonal fluctuations and gestures of interrupted movement -- unfinished cadences, abrupt changes in the sound. The musicians -- as required in all of Stockhausen's work -- must be able to experience deeply, and form into notes, the sense of closeness to death that vibrates in this music.
Each Fibonacci duration is associated throughout with a particular type of articulation. The value 13, for example, is associated with trills. However the value 34 (13+21) takes on the trills plus the 34 value, which is "repetition of notes." Another example would be the 21 value (13+8), where in addition to trills the character of 21 would mean that the players include crescendi ...
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