| MITTWOCH AUS LICHT | |||||
| Greeting MITTWOCHS- GRUSS |
Scene 1 WELT-PARLAMENT |
Scene 2 ORCHESTER-FINALISTEN |
Scene 3 HELIKOPTER-STREICHQUARTETT |
Scene 4 MICHAELION |
Farewell MITTWOCHS- ABSCHIED |
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| LUZIKAMEL (misnamed "Horsehead Nebula" by Terrans) |
for choir (w misc. whistles, noise-makers, toys), bass vocal soloist (with short-wave radio), flute, basset-horn, trumpet, trombone, synthesizer, tape, 2 dancers in a camel suit
4th Scene of MITTWOCH AUS LICHT (WEDNESDAY FROM LIGHT)
(1997) [ca. 60']
Also:
Extract 1: THINKI for flute (~4:30)
Extract 2: BASSETSU for basset-horn (~5:30)
Extract 3: BASSETSU-TRIO for basset-horn, trumpet, trombone (~26:00)
Extract 4: "MENSCHEN, HÖRT" (MANKIND, HEAR) for vocal sextet (2 S, A, T, 2 B) (~16:00)
Extract 5: KAMEL-TANZ (CAMEL-DANCE) for bass, trombone, synthesizer/tape, 2 dancers (~5:00)
Nr. 70 1/2: ROTARY Woodwind Quintet (~8:00)
Introduction and Brief Synopsis
MICHAELION is the final Scene of Stockhausen's dramatic music work MITTWOCH AUS LICHT (WEDNESDAY from LIGHT), which was the 6th-composed entry of his 7-part, 29-hour opera cycle LICHT (Light). In this scene, set at the MICHAELION ("a galactic headquarters for delegates of the universe"), a meeting is held to decide on a new President, who will also hopefully act as an OPERATOR (translator/mediator). A talking camel named LUCICAMEL appears, and dispenses 7 large colored globes representing the 7 Days of Licht. Some delegates proceed to playfully shine LUCICAMEL's hooves. After getting drunk on champagne, LUCICAMEL dances in different styles and engages in a playful bullfight with his "Trombonut" assistant. After the fight, a surprising figure (LUCA) emerges out of the camel's body. This person takes his position as President (and more importantly, OPERATOR) and interprets signals from a shortwave radio for the delegation. He then individually receives a procession of 11 delegates from different alien races speaking in 11 different languages. Finally, 6 delegates (with 6 globes) go out into the universe, spreading the message of MICHAEL.
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| lip whistle (or "mouth siren") |
LICHT is a work of monumental proportions for acoustic and electronic operatic forces, divided into the 7 days of the week (one opera for each day). This opera cycle revolves around 3 archetype characters, MICHAEL, EVE and LUCIFER, and over the 29 hours each of these characters are introduced, come into conflict, face temptation and finally come into union. The music is almost entirely based on a "super-formula", which is a 3-layered melodic-thematic representation of the 3 characters. These formula-themes are together and separately threaded throughout the opera's vocal and instrumental fabric. Story-wise, actors and narrative can (and often do) change from scene to scene, and the libretto text is sometimes made up of non-traditional grammar (or even purely phonetic sounds).
MITTWOCH (Wednesday) is the Day of Cooperation and Reconciliation. The scenes in MITTWOCH do not have a dramatic arc connecting them, instead the theme of Cooperation and Reconciliation between the characters is achieved through musical, visual, and spatial means. MICHAELION, as the final Scene of MITTWOCH, reflects the natural progression of a premise that was begun in Scene 1, WELT-PARLAMENT. In that work, the setting was a skyscraper, and in the following Scenes the setting spreads farther and farther away from the Earth until in MICHAELION, it reaches deep space. Due to its setting, MICHAELION could be considered a science fiction story, in a similar vein as the earlier science fiction-based work, SIRIUS, though its message is, like that work, very much directed towards our current world. Like WELT-PARLAMENT, it also features a meeting of various characters from different locales, and here the end result is a consensus leading to the transmission of a message to the universe .
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| CASIO PT-88 |
The 3 layers of the MITTWOCH-FORMEL (Wednesday Formula) are played live by a synthesizer player as one of the electronic background layers to MICHAELION. This triple-layer electronic part is the same material as the electronic work MITTWOCHS-GRUSS, though with a different spatial organization (and played live). The other electronic element in this work is the "signal tape", which is used only in the PRESIDENCY section. This tape is made up of short electronic melody fragments (from the LICHT formulas) which provide a kind of "fanfare" for the entrance of soloists and choir groups, and generally help to synchronize the various forces. After PRESIDENCY, this element is not heard again.
Shortwaves (Kurzwellen)
In the PRESIDENCY and the OPERATOR sections, a shortwave radio (SWR) is used to allow the "President" to receive and translate transmissions from other worlds (using "plus-minus" notation from KURZWELLEN). The President-to-be first appears about 4 minutes into PRESIDENCY, and innocuously imitates and transforms radio noise and signals independently from the other performers. He disappears during LUCICAMEL (since he is inside LUCICAMEL), but from just before OPERATOR onwards he again reacts to the shortwave radio, and then later also to the delegates beseeching him.
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| rosin stick with string attached to resonating drum head ("waldteufel") |
MICHAELION is divided into 3 main sections, with the 2nd and 3rd section having sub-scenes:
In this opening section, vocal soloists, choir groups and instrumental soloists perform in various layers of polyphony, creating solos, duos, trios, etc... This section also features constant movement from the performers, who move on and off stage (conveying the feeling of a busy intersection of different groups of people). An integral part are the electronic melodies ("signals") which announce the entry of each musical element. A Bass also adds an independent layer as he interacts with a shortwave radio during several stretches.
This section features a camel who sings/talks with a Bass voice (from the previous section). The Bass is essentially the main soloist, and a trombone is it's main accompaniment. The choir groups interact with the Bass/trombone duo. The section is divided into 5 sub-sections:
LUCICAMELOPERATOR
KAKABEL
SHOE-SHINE SERENADE
CAMEL-DANCE (KAMEL-TANZ)
BULLFIGHT (STIERKAMPF)
In this section the Bass interacts with his shortwave radio receiver, but also engages in dialogues with 11 vocal soloists who use unique "toys" to complement their dialects. After this procession, an instrumental "BASSETSU" trio is featured, during which 6 vocal soloists (Space Sextet) are sent to positions in the auditorium. The ending is an arrangement of the 3-layer LICHT super-formula for the Space Sextet. OPERATOR is divided into 3 sub-sections:
OPERATOR
BASSETSU-TRIO (CAROUSEL/KARUSSEL)
"MANKIND, HEAR" (Space Sextet) ("MENSCHEN, HÖRT" (RAUM SEXTETT))
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| Time Structure of MICHAELION |
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| bulb horn |
The stage production of MICHAELION (and for all of MITTWOCH AUS LICHT for that matter) is very elaborate, and a text synopsis really can't do justice to all of the many rich visual elements. For example, the performers in this scene constantly move around and behind several partitions, and the changing density of vocalists and instrumental soloists visible to the audience is difficult to describe, and is obviously lost in a CD recording. The CD recording is an excellent studio representation of the scene's musical elements and so here I will mainly concentrate on that. The booklet (book, actually) that comes with the MICHAELION CD has detailed descriptions and photographs, and a complete (I think) libretto. The text itself is very humorous and playful, and it's recommended to get the CD to enjoy reading the German and English translations.
| CD Trk Dur. |
Music | Stage Action | ||||||||||||||||||||
| 1 (10:40) |
PRÄSIDIUM (w Signal tape)
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A Bass (later to be revealed as the OPERATOR) sits in the front row of the auditorium and transforms signals from a shortwave radio (SWR). A "Trombonut" (Tbn player) dressed in black enters. The vocalists and instrumental soloists move in front of, between and behind several partitions, sometimes "acting out" the text (for example, pretending to talk on the telephone while singing "Hallo?") |
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| 2 (2:03) |
LUZIKAMEL
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LUCICAMEL (a talking camel) slowly enters with Trombonut (who has changed into a white costume), and interacts with the delegates. |
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| 3 (1:27) |
KAKABEL
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LUCICAMEL discharges out of its rump 7 large colored globes, which are each distributed to 7 soloists (SATB):S: GreenAs each globe appears, the vocalists cry "KAKABEL!" (meaning "Star of God, a powerful angel of folklore in charge of the stars and constellations"). |
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| 4 (2:55) |
SHOE-SHINE SERENADE
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Tenors shoe-shine LUCICAMEL's left foreleg, and the delegates sway back and forth with the shoe-shiners. The hooves change from black to gold. LUCICAMEL cries out 13 appreciative words. His left hindleg is also polished and he cries out 20 more times in pleasure and makes front and back counter-movements. Tenors give champagne to LUCICAMEL from a huge bottle. LUCICAMEL sticks his foot in a side pocket, and tries to leave. |
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| 5 (4:05) |
KAMEL-TANZ
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LUCICAMEL is lured back, and engages in an "artful dance" with Trombonut, singing and dancing in several styles (ballerina, "robot", etc...). |
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| 6 (3:39) |
STIERKAMPF
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LUCICAMEL and Trombonut engage in a playful "bullfight", with the delegates (as their audience) providing light hand-clapping accompaniment. After the bullfight, LUCICAMEL sits on top of Trombonut as everyone freezes and then laughs (sounds of amazement and humor). Afterwards, LUCICAMEL is "unzipped", and the Bass from PRÄSIDIUM emerges ("Luca", wearing a cape like a Zen monk). Trombonut has also changed into a costume of red, blue and green triangles. Luca is brought to a podium where he is adorned with a yellow costume (robe, eye mask and pointed hat with the Wednesday sign on it). The delegates greet Luca as the new President and OPERATOR. The OPERATOR signals Trombonut to play a melodic signal. |
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| 7 (11:15) |
OPERATOR (& THINKI): 11 vocal soloists with toys (rattles, sirens, whistles, horns, etc…) petition the OPERATOR. At the end of each of the 10 solos, the already-heard petitioners briefly join in as a chorus:
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As the Operator interprets and transforms signals from the SWR, the vocalists form around the Operator. As he hears petitions from a procession of 11 delegates (each of whom have a special toy-assisted dialect), he finds a new SW event to transform for each, and responds to both the SW and the delegates (at first separately, but with increasingly blurred distinctions). During this, the Trombonut plays various notes and phrases, teasing and mingling among all of the delegates (and also sometimes rising and flying into the air). During the Tenor/CASIO delegate's petition, the OPERATOR becomes annoyed, and the Tenor is driven away by the other delegates, who are in turn dismissed by the OPERATOR. |
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| 8 (10:11) |
BASSETSU TRIO (KARUSSEL)
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The Bassetsu Trio (Bhn, Tpt, and Tbn) rotate around the OPERATOR w. stylized movements, changing direction for each new musical Cycle. The OPERATOR integrates melodies of the Bassetsu Trio into his SW transformations. At the 2nd Cycle, the Bass delegates begin moving onto a Carousel which has risen from the ground. During the 4th Cycle, Altos (humming) begin moving onto the Carousel as well (Tbn counts to 13). Much later, Tenors and Sopranos (holding pretzels) also in turn mount the Carousel. Also at the 4th Cycle, a secondary sequence begins where 6 vocal soloists ("Space Sextet") take a dialect from the OPERATOR and then take a position in the hall holding a globe: Bass: Japanese NohAt the end, the Soprano soloist sings a song about ORCHESTER-FINALISTEN while spinning on a stool in front of the OPERATOR. |
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| 9 (13:16) |
"MENSCHEN, HÖRT" (RAUM
SEXTETT): The LICHT super-formula (MICHAEL, EVE and LUCIFER formulas) is traversed by a vocal sextet 4 times, starting from a simplified "Nuclear formula" version, and expanding to its "fully elaborated" version in the 4th cycle. Each cycle ends in a held fermata, with the 4th cycle ending in "HU!" In the 1st Cycle, one Sopr sings a solo (marked as "s" below), but she joins the other Sopr starting from the 2nd Cycle. The remaining choir members sing monotone textures, and the instrumental soloists play aleatoric pitches. Tenors continue intoning LITANEI (with slow glissandi and pitch transpositions) until Cycle 4, at which point they sing a slow melody.
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As the Space Sextet sings along the walls of the hall, the OPERATOR conducts the movements of the delegates in circular shapes. Eventually the Flute goes into flight, circling above and then away, playing freely from 5 notes. At the same time the Bhn plays 7 notes free, Tpt 9 notes free, and Tbn 6 notes free. The Bassetsu Trio continues to move in rotations around the OPERATOR. At the same time, the Space Sextet out in the hall rotates during the fermatas between each Cycle . After the 3rd Cycle, the Carousel gradually stops and then changes direction. Eventually the stage becomes dark and light beams in from 6 doorways, through which everyone slowly exits. The Space Sextet exits the hall out into the corridors/foyer, singing the 4 Cycles again, but independently. The OPERATOR stands up, continues transforming the SWR and vanishes. |
The EVE, MICHAEL and LUCIFER formulas found in "MENSCHEN, HÖRT" (most clearly in the 4th Cycle) can be seen in the LICHT super-formula below (click to enlarge).
+SM.jpg) |
| The LICHT Super-formula (English translation) (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
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| slide whistle (or "Lotus Flute") |
A concert version of MICHAELION was premiered in 1998 in Munich, and a video of this is available as a DVD from the Stockhausen website. This version features all of the stage movements (I think), but has a fairly conservative design aesthetic as far as costumes go (though LUCICAMEL looks quite good). The 2012 Birmingham production of MITTWOCH AUS LICHT included the MICHAELION scene of course, but the design aesthetic there was a bit more like communal “punk rock” than what I would imagine an intergalactic conference to look like (I'm thinking "Babylon 5"...). In this production there were no real partitions, so the feeling of delegates moving in and out of a conference space is unfortunately lost. The musical portion however is well-recorded and the Stockhausen Edition CD of MICHAELION (CD54) was recorded during the dress rehearsals.
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| (from score cover of THINKI) (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
Extract 1: THINKI for flute (~4:30)
THINKI is a slightly modified version of the flute solo from the later stages of the sub-scene OPERATOR. It features flutter-tongue, “rushing noises”, kissing noises, key slapping, tandem vocalizing and microtonal bending. Besides using alternating motifs from the LICHT super-formula as the basis for elaboration, some of the phrases from THINKI act as “remembrances” or “time-windows” of passages from previous flute works featured in the LICHT opera cycle. Also, some formula melodies are interpreted (“intermodulated”) with the rhythm of a different formula.
Extract 2: BASSETSU for basset-horn (~5:30)
Essentially, this piece is the basset horn part of BASSETSU-TRIO (starting with the final basset horn solo from OPERATOR). It features flutter-tongue, single-note tremolos on alternate fingering, microtonal scales, rushing noises, etc… The score color-codes fragments of the LICHT formula layers in 3 colors, and these are used to indicate what direction to play in, corresponding to the formula layers (M, E, L: left, rotating, right).
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| rubber "fart" whistle (similar to "Munyo rubber whistle") |
This concert version of the instrumental trio from OPERATOR includes the final basset horn solo from OPERATOR, the trio from BASSETSU-TRIO, and an instrumental trio arrangement of vocal sextet "MENSCHEN, HÖRT". In BASSETSU-TRIO, elaborated fragments of all 3 LICHT formulas (MICHAEL, EVE, LUCIFER) are rotated among the 3 soloists. For example, the basset horn part starts with m. 17 from the EVE formula, followed by m. 18 from the LUCIFER formula, m. 18 of the MICHAEL formula, m. 18 of EVE, etc… At the same time the trumpet plays from MICHAEL m. 18, EVE m. 18, etc.. (the switching from fragment to fragment is not in unison so many layers of similarity and dissimilarity occur). The soloists move in an orbit around a central point, as well as spinning slowly (planetary spin!). When the soloists are playing different formula layers, they spin in place, but when 2 soloists are playing a fragment from the same formula (though often somewhat counter-pointed) they face each other while moving backwards/forwards in the circle. When all 3 are playing from the same formula fragment, they all face the center. Finally, when a player changes from one formula layer to another, his/her own spin changes direction. These visual aids might help a listener follow the permutations of the LICHT super-formula.
During the "MENSCHEN, HÖRT" section, the 3 soloists move out into the hall and rotate 4 times through 4 hall positions, just as the 6 vocalists do (for 6 positions) in the original arrangement from MICHAELION. The 4 Cycles in this section are arranged as follows:
| Cycle | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 |
| Trumpet | M | L | E | M |
| Basset-Horn | E | M | L | E |
| Trombone | L | E | M | L |
Extract 5: KAMEL-TANZ (CAMEL-DANCE) for bass, trombone, synthesizer/tape, 2 dancers (~5:00)
This independent version for bass and trombone (with synth/tape) covers the sub-scenes KAMEL-TANZ and STIERKAMPF (Bullfight). The recording on Stockhausen Edition CD 105 starts with electronic music, then some aleatoric pitches from the trombone and Bass, and then KAMEL-TANZ from about 1:34. At around 5:38, STIERKAMPF begins. After LUCIKAMEL and the trombone finish, the background electronics eventually fade out. The recording on CD 105 features a chamber version of the bass and trombone part without any clapping, etc...
Nr. 70 1/2: ROTARY Woodwind Quintet (~8:00)
This quintet for flute, oboe, clarinet, horn and bassoon is also an arrangement of the 4 Cycles of "MENSCHEN, HÖRT", with the 5 soloists arranged in 6 positions around the hall in 4 formations. The LICHT super-formula (MICHAEL, EVE and LUCIFER formulas) is traversed 4 times, starting from a simplified "Nuclear formula" version, and expanding to its "fully elaborated" version in the 4th cycle. Each cycle ends in a held fermata. The table below shows the cycles, formulas, timings and instrument orientations from Stockhausen Edition CD 105.
| Cycle 1 (Nuclear formula) (0:08-1:19) |
Cycle 2 (1:19-2:50) |
Cycle 3 (2:50-4:26) |
Cycle 4 (Super-formula) (4:26-9:45) |
| Oboe (M) | Flute (L) | Flute/Oboe (E) | Flute Oboe (M) |
| Horn (E) | Clarinet (M) | Clarinet (L) | Clarinet Bassoon (E) |
| Bassoon (L) | Horn (E) | Horn/Bassoon (M) | Horn (L) |
Sound Impressions
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| wood noise-maker ("ratchet") |
Aside from the amazing musical craftsmanship and organization of the numerous vocal, instrumental and electronic forces, MICHAELION also has a very fascinating movement scheme which is unlike anything Stockhausen had done before. The way the performers thread their way among the stage partitions is kind of funny, and almost brings to mind one of those Marx Brothers routines where characters are chasing each other through doors in a corridor.
The final section, "MENSCHEN, HÖRT", provides a magical ending to a wonderfully bizarre science fiction opera, as the Space Sextet messengers disperse out into the universe, sharing a message in praise of God, love, light, music, and the cosmos.
Links
Related Works:
Sound samples, tracks listings and CD ordering:
Scores for MICHAELION, MITTWOCH AUS LICHT
MICHAELION Premiere 1998 (Stockhausen DVD 10)
MITTWOCH AUS LICHT Wiki
MITTWOCH AUS LICHT 2012 Birmingham Production (Jerome Kohl photos)
MICHAELION YouTube clip
