 |
| Score Cover (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
1975-77 [96']
Additional Works Generated (1977-1980):
No. 43 1/2 - ARIES for trumpet and electronic music [15']
No. 43 2/3 - LIBRA for bass clarinet and electronic music [33']
No. 43 3/4 - CAPRICORN for bass and electronic music [28'30"]
Development
The name "Sirius" probably first came to Stockhausen's attention while working on the "park music" work STERNKLANG (Star-Sounds). Later he gave the name to his daughter Julika's dog, after which he found it recurring in dreams (including one which showed himself receiving a musical education on Sirius). Around this time he was also commissioned to write a work to be premiered at Washington DC's Albert Einstein Spacearium (Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum) on July of 1976 (celebrating the American Bicentennial). The Spacearium itself was a planetarium with a projector gifted by the West German government.
This request presented Stockhausen with an opportunity to use 8-channel electronic music in the circular audience space, and present a work with the cosmic themes he had been having visions of. To this end he took the 12 zodiac melodies of TIERKREIS and used them as formulas with which to conduct expansions and contractions of melodic pitch range and rhythm. The structure of the work is based on the 12 months and 4 seasons of the year (later he would work with the 7 days of the week in LICHT, and the 24 hours of the day in KLANG). Additionally, each of the directions of the compass was assigned an instrument as well as spiritual associations (explained in the "PRESENTATION" text). The TIERKREIS "heads" for each soloist are as follows:
- Bass - CAPRICORN (Winter)
- Soprano - CANCER (Summer)
- Trumpet - ARIES (Spring)
- Bass Clarinet - LIBRA (Autumn)
One of the most fascinating elements of SIRIUS is the way Stockhausen used the then-state-of-the-art EMS Synthi 100 synthesizer sequencer to manipulate the TIERKRIES melodies (EMS was a synthesizer company co-founded by Tristram Cary, one of the early composers working on the British science fiction program Doctor Who). The Synthi 100 was only able to store 3 melodic sequences at one time, but it was also possible to manipulate the melodies much more easily than the tape-splice methods used in his earlier electronic works (the last of which was HYMNEN). The Synthi 100 however, did reveal itself to be a bit more time-consuming in other ways...
One unique aspect of the Synthi 100 was it's ability to superimpose a melody's pitch sequence onto another melody's rhythm. In other words, a CAPRICORN melody could be played with an ARIES rhythm (this process of "intermodulation" was first explored in TELEMUSIK). It could also use melodic or rhythmic data sequences to control timbre or blend multiple melodies together (this blending is actually more like a creating a hybrid melody, rather than layering 2 melodies on top of each other). In SIRIUS, Stockhausen was able to create "formant melodies", which are built from stacked layers of harmonics (and subtracting the fundamental note). In other words, the upper and lower harmonics of a stable root note are varied in strength and proportions to produce different "timbre melodies". A formant melody could be layered on top of a long drone, or it could be created on top of a totally different melody. The concept of formants actually goes as far back as GRUPPEN where Stockhausen expressed "formant-spectra" through rhythmic and orchestral means.
 |
| Synthi 100 right-most control panel. At top left is the tempo joystick. (Click to enlarge) |
Stockhausen programmed the sequences and "blends" into the Synthi 100 and then recorded them while controlling the tempo through the keyboard/joysticks in realtime. In order to create an 8-track work, Stockhausen used a "rotation table", which was able to spin at speeds up to 12 times a second and was surrounded by 8 microphone inputs (some of the rotation motor noises were used as raw sound material in the Announcement background tape). After the electronic music portion was completed, Stockhausen then wrote a realization score based on the created tape, and then added the final vocal and instrumental parts below the electronic music parts (see score sample several pages below).
In contrast to the tape portion, the soloists' parts do not feature as much in the way of drastic tempo extremes or pitch range compressions (these aspects were well-handled by the Synthi 100). Instead, their parts are designed much more thematically and the TIERKREIS melodies are possibly a little easier to pick out. Duos, trio, quartets and solos are featured in different combinations, and in these arrangements superimposed layers do occur. The themes do undergo somewhat more "traditional" forms of transformation, such as melody fragmentation, inversion, ornamentation, etc...
Form Structure and Formulas
SIRIUS has 7 distinct sections: PRESENTATION, the WHEEL (4 parts), the Bridge after the WHEEL, and the ANNUNCIATION. Altogether a performance takes about an hour and a half, with the WHEEL being about an hour long. For the DC premiere, the WHEEL section only included the Summer section. The entirety of SIRIUS was only first premiered August 1977 at Aix-en-Provence in France. The CD was recorded in May 1979.
PRESENTATION (VORSTELLUNG)
The low hum of a space mother-ship ends with the release of 4 "landings" by the 4 representatives of SIRIUS, with each arrival beginning on 1 of 4 high pitches and ending with low rumbles.
Bass:
I am North - Earth - the Man.
I am the night, the seed, winter ...Son of SIRIUS...
(sounds of breaking ice and snow)
Trumpet sounds, Bass continues:
Trumpet is East - Fire - the Youth.
Trumpet is the morning, the bud...spring.
(sounds of fire crackling)
Soprano:
I am South - Water - the Woman.
I am Midday, Summer, the blossom ...Daughter of SIRIUS.
(running water sounds)
Bass clarinet sounds, Soprano continues:
Bass clarinet is West - Air - the Friend, the Beloved.
Bass clarinet is the Evening, the Fruit, Autumn.
(wind sounds)
(wind sounds)
Bass/Soprano alternating phrases:
North - East - South - West: We greet you Earthlings, children of this planet.
Earth - Fire - Water - Air: We renew your life.
Man - Youth - Woman - Friend (& Beloved): We ignite in you the joy of the senses.
Night - Morning - Midday - Evening: We remind you of the diversity of the soul.
Winter - Spring - Summer - Autumn: We preserve your undying hope.
Seed - Bud - Blossom - Fruit: We kindle your longing for the light of your home in the stars.
We are messengers from SIRIUS, our mother Sun.
Perceive in our music the sound of the Directions of Space - the Sexes - Seasons - Phases - Suns.
Perceive in our music the sound of the Directions of Space - the Sexes - Seasons - Phases - Suns.
May the music of SIRIUS be the felicitation to the pioneers on Earth and in Space.
May a more divine mankind come out of your works...
As Spring, ARIES (w melody fragment)...comes out of Winter, CAPRICORN (w melody), Seagoat with Saturn...
As Winter comes out of Autumn, LIBRA (w melody), balance - air, winds - Venus...
As Autumn comes out of Summer, CANCER (w melody), Crab, Water, Moon...
And as Summer comes out of Spring...
The WHEEL
A performance always begins with the PRESENTATION and ends with the ANNUNCIATION, but the WHEEL (the 4-part middle section based on CANCER, LIBRA, CAPRICORN and ARIES) begins on the the matching season the performance is being held in. So, if a performance takes place in the summer, the WHEEL sequence begins with CANCER (this is the version on the recorded version). During the 4 sections of the WHEEL, the 4 main TIERKREIS melodies overlap, just as in real life the seasons do. CANCER, LIBRA, CAPRICORN and ARIES are the primary melodies, though the remaining 8 zodiac melodies from TIERKREIS do appear briefly. After the 4th season, a "bridge" occurs, which repeats the first few minutes of the 1st season and then quickly leads into the ANNUNCIATION. The vocal texts are all based on the 12 zodiac signs and follow this general sequence in the recorded Summer version:
- CANCER - LEO - VIRGO -
- LIBRA - SCORPIO - SAGITTARIUS -
- CAPRICORN - AQUARIUS - PISCES -
- ARIES - TAURUS - GEMINI
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| (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
 |
| Top voice melodies for the 4 main Tierkreis melodies in SIRIUS. (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
The below "listening guide" is likely not perfectly accurate, but even if I missed a TIERKREIS melody, it should give an idea of the changing melodic fabric. The electronic music descriptions are from the SIRIUS score, which Stockhausen annotated to some degree, and which I summarized (from 3 tracks). I didn't identify any unnamed melodies since they are a bit hard to hear sometimes - maybe at a later date. The left column sequence numbers are not from the score, they are just for ease of reading, and the time indications are relatively accurate, but some transitions are obviously "fluid". If listening to the electronic music version, the timings may be off by up to 9 seconds. If no voice is indicated for the zodiac melody then assume upper voice. The TIERKREIS melodies in WHITE SHADOW are the 8 guest melodies not directly related to the 4 seasons. Images of the 12 TIERKREIS melodies (upper voice) can be found at the TIERKRIES fansite (from which the above excerpts were copied).
| CANCER (Summer) | |||
| Soloists' Parts | Electronic Music (subtract ~8" from timing) | ||
| 1 | Ending of PRESENTATION | 0:00 | |
| 2 | Sopr/Tpt & Bass/BsClr loosely play ARIES fragments (both upper and lower voices) | 0:08 | ARIES in 2 layers: one normal, and one which immediately becomes slow, percussive, high tones. (For the next 6 minutes, the normal ARIES layer becomes more and more compressed (through interval shrinkage) over 13 cycles into the range of a semi-tone, and then eventually into a G note. The slow ARIES will slowly transform into CANCER in a couple minutes.) CANCER (a 3rd layer) is high/very fast (0.4 secs/cycle), with a slow ritard |
| 3 | Bass changes to narration, remaining trio plays ARIES fragments and variations | 0:33 | CANCER slows down, becomes recognizable as a melody, gradually becomes ARIES. CANCER as "colored noise" added to ARIES and then faded out. |
| 4 | Qrtt plays CANCER and ARIES fragments | 2:12 | Very slow ARIES to CANCER transformation in slow percussive high tones track |
| 5 | Bass returns to narration alternating with CAPRICORN, rem. trio slows on ARIES improvisations | 3:05 | CANCER becomes recognizable in slow percussive high tones track. ARIES/CANCER rhythm (slow to fast) but in small pitch range (3:46). ARIES with CANCER formants (timbre formula) (4:59). CAPRICORN expands melody, becomes dominant (5:20). |
| 6 | Sopr/Tpt & Bass/BsClr CANCER (both voices)(loosely) | 6:04 | ARIES/CANCER rhythm with CANCER
formant and CAPRICORN melody. CANCER midrange melody follows soloists. The initial ARIES is now fully interval-compressed to a single G (a bass hum comes and goes (~7:00)). |
| 7 | Bass/BsClr play CAPRICORN, Tpt plays ARIES, Sopr plays CANCER | 7:44 | CAPRICORN melody range shrinks into a G note, becomes an ARIES pulse drone formant (8:23). |
| 8 | (rest) | 8:33 | ARIES formant drone fades out to low volume |
| 9 | Bass returns with announcement of LEO, Tpt fades in w long tones | 9:00 | Fast ARIES/CANCER rhythm returns, high ARIES melody, dynamic swells |
| 10 | Sopr/Tpt & Bass/BsClr play LEO (both voices) | 9:55 | ARIES melody range shrinks Formant drone swells |
| 11 | Sopr begins adding narration,
Bass/BsClr play sparse figures in dialogue w Sopr, Tpt adds "morse code" rhythmic pulses |
10:27 | CAPRICORN unfolds from compressed register rhythm |
| 12 | BsClr & EM join in LIBRA, Bass sings low long tones | 11:36 | Low LIBRA melody enters. ARIES/CANCER rhythm and compressed CAPRICORN melody |
| 13 | Bass joins BsClr/EM in LIBRA | 12:17 | Slow, low percussive tones begin. |
| 14 | 13 PAUSES (POSES) with freely repeating fragments of LIBRA, CANCER, CAPRICORN (and ARIES?) | 12:39 | Slow, low percussive tones during pauses, CAPRICORN melody w CANCER formants during non-pauses |
| 15 | Sopr/Tpt & Bass/BsClr play VIRGO (both voices) | 15:24 | Slow, low percussive tones only |
| 16 | silent pause | 16:18 | pause |
| 17 | Bass narrates, rem. trio loop melody fragments (CANCER) with rests | 16:30 | CAPRICORN/CANCER changing
"with high formant melody". CANCER melody with ARIES/CANCER rhythm (later becomes octaves). Low CAPRICORN melody swells. Fast CAPRICORN becomes fast ARIES. |
| 18 | BsClr plays LIBRA variations, Bass comments w CAPRICORN, Tpt comments w ARIES, Sopr comments w CANCER | 18:12 | Slow changes from ARIES to CAPRICORN to ARIES (CANCER continues w irregular rhythm) |
| 19 | BsClr LIBRA solo cadenza w large register leaps | 20:20 | Rotating single tones (like church bells) going from 16 to 32 layers of cycles, then fading out. |
| 20 | END | 24:30 | |
| LIBRA (Autumn) | |||
| Soloists' Parts | Electronic Music | ||
| 1 | Sopr/Bass play CANCER (both voices), Tpt & BsClr play LIBRA | 0:00 | CANCER w ARIES-CAPRICORNrhythm w slow
changes in high register CANCER-LIBRA melody in low register |
| 2 | Sopr/Tpt play CANCER (both voices), Bass/BsClr play LIBRA | 0:28 | CANCER and LIBRA melodies sync w soloists |
| 3 | Tpt changes to LIBRA (high voice), Bass/BsClr play LIBRA (both voices), Sopr stays w CANCER | 0:52 | |
| 4 | Bass/BsClr play LIBRA (high), Tpt/Sopr play LIBRA (low) | 2:04 | |
| 5 | 2:42 | LIBRA in low octaves enter, high drone tones appear |
|
| 6 | Bass/BsClr and Sopr/Tpt duos alternate LIBRA figures, increasing in speed | 3:10 | EM gradually becomes louder |
| 7 | Qrtt plays mutated LIBRA with pauses | 4:14 | Long tones layer increases in density |
| 8 | Qrtt plays SCORPIO | 5:08 | LIBRA continues below high drones |
| 9 | Bass becomes narration, Tpt & BsClr fight, Sopr begins to fade out | 6:26 | Drones continue LIBRA briefly high/fast, then very low/slow again |
| 10 | Bass & BsClr play SAGITTARIUS (w Tpt commentary), Sopr rejoins | 7:07 | LIBRA (w pitch bending), High drones continue |
| 11 | Qrtt joins rhythmically in SAGITTARIUS, with rests and held notes | 7:59 | LIBRA - fast
transformations, figure mixtures, and tempo changes of CANCER & CAPRICORN rhythm |
| 12 | Rest, then BsClr (LIBRA) dialogues w Bass (CAPRICORN), then Sopr (F long tones), Tpt (short figures), loosely joined rhythmically in CAPRICORN | 9:33 | LIBRA becomes CAPRICORN in complex low timbre w mixed rhythms (~10:00) |
| 13 | Bass narrates, Sopr intones, BsClr plays LIBRA, sparse Tpt interjections | 11:28 | CAPRICORN/LIBRA accelerating ("growling"), long tones layers continue |
| 14 | Sopr narrates alt. w. long tones ("LIBRA - Watch out!"), then Bass and BsClr join EM melody in fast CAPRICORN fragment | 12:50 | LIBRA (parallel minor 2nds), then CAPRICORN, changing registers |
| 15 | Sopr - long tones, Tpt joins in slow tempo | 13:31 | Fast register dialogue, w high drones cont'd |
| 16 | Sopr: "Oh my God! LIBRA are you alright?" | 14:00 | LIBRA drops in register |
| 17 | Qrtt joins in slow LIBRA, Tpt holds pitch and joins rhythmically | 14:11 | LIBRA sync w soloists |
| 18 | Qrtt joined loosely in LIBRA | 14:50 | Synced w BsClr |
| 19 | Qrtt drones with dynamic volume envelopes | 15:37 | Changing drone timbres |
| 20 | Qrtt ends, Soprano slowly whispers "CAPRICORN" | 16:30 | wind noises |
| 21 | END | 18:15 | |
| CAPRICORN (Winter) | |||
| Soloists' Parts | Electronic Music (subtract ~9" from timing) | ||
| 1 | Tpt, Bass, BsClr drone combinations with rests | 0:09 | CAPRICORN in 3 layer chord |
| 2 | Bass sings CAPRICORN w EM, others drone w. some trills or tremoli | 0:40 | Drone layers added Low CANCER melody w CAPRICORN rhythm enters, glittering overtones |
| 3 | Bass slow, rem. trio intermittently joins | 1:45 | Low CANCER melody slows down Growling drone enters with high formant |
| 4 | Qrtt long tones/trills in combinations | 3:20 | Drones, slow low tones, high formant melody (CAPRICORN) |
| 5 | Soprano (CANCER) suggests "We all come together in the middle and there we play the tune of AQUARIUS. Come LIBRA, ARIES come, CAPRICORN - faster" | 4:50 | Low drone w CAPRICORN formant melody, Slow, high, chirping CAPRICORN melody enters |
| 6 | (soloists move to center of auditorium, EM only) | 5:47 | Low drone begins reducing in volume |
| 7 | Each plays fragment of AQUARIUS | 6:21 | |
| 8 | Tpt/BsClr and Sopr/Bass play AQUARIUS voices | 6:50 | |
| 9 | Soprano and Bass dialogue in AQUARIUS | 7:18 | Drones "change speeds" |
| 10 | Tpt/BsClr and Sopr/Bass play AQUARIUS voices (repr.) | 7:57 | CAPRICORN formant melody fades in and out, chirping CAPRICORN melody continues |
| 11 | Qrtt plays individual fragments | 8:25 | |
| 12 | Tpt, Sopr, BsClr play PISCES | 8:49 | |
| 13 | Tpt, BsClr (GEMINI inverted?) play dialogue ("amorously") | 9:25 | Rapid volume changes in drone layers |
| 14 | Bass adds drone | 9:59 | |
| 15 | Sopr joins drone | 10:25 | Low CAPRICORN chordal melody enters |
| 16 | Qrtt drones in combinations | 10:34 | Low CAPRICORN chordal melody accelerates Low and high percussive long tones |
| 17 | Qrtt together: "Striving for Light, Son of mother sun SIRIUS…" | 13:34 | |
| 18 | END | 13:40 | |
| ARIES (Spring) | |||
| Soloists' Parts | Electronic Music | ||
| 1 | Bass & BsClr drones, but Soprano intones text, Tpt fades and comments intermittently | 0:00 | A 3-part ARIES harmony melody with CAPRICORN rhythm begins, with brief, sudden accelerated moments. This soon becomes a fast, dense, multi-layered "noise-band" timbre. As CAPRICORN and CANCER rhythms are added (soon followed with their melodies), the loop gains speed and density, becoming "noisier". At the same time, low drone chords fade in and out in the lower register. |
| 2 | Tpt solo based on ARIES | 2:21 | High ARIES fragments intermittently slow down (and surface) out of the top voice of the 3-part harmony, as the below noise band (melodies CANCER/ARIES/CAPRICORN) contract and ascend in a slow gliss. The lowest layer drone chords fade out. The high ARIES melody eventually stops speeding up and stays at the slower (audible) speed (2:47) |
| 3 | Tpt & Sopr join in ARIES (top voice), Bass & BsClr join in ARIES (bottom voice) | 3:08 | Continue as above. |
| 4 | Qrtt long tones | 3:38 | (High ARIES continues.) Noise drone reaches A, with a "glittering" timbre, still increasing in speed |
| 5 | Trumpet drone solo w slow ad lib dynamics | 3:59 | High ARIES fragments begin to have intermittent accelerated moments, eventually going back to high speed as before. Drone in A begins accented pulses on hybridized CANCER, ARIES and CAPRICORN rhythms, then become stable |
| 6 | Trumpet ends, EM drone only | 6:05 | High ARIES loop fades out. Drone layer on A fades out, then returns with 2 new layers: a LIBRA formant melody layer in the middle, and below that, a lower drone layer (6:45). |
| 7 | Tpt returns | 7:34 | The high A drone begins to develop accent pulses. The lower drone layer has microtonal "jumps", and then follows the LIBRA formant melody layer above it At the end a subtle high formant melody is added (LIBRA). |
| 8 | Qrtt plays TAURUS (loosely) | 8:54 | High LIBRA formant melody, pulses in A and LIBRA below it continue. |
| 9 | Tpt solo (short) | 9:24 | Pulses in A become more distinct. |
| 10 | Qrtt plays TAURUS lower voice (loosely) | 9:31 | Pulses in A begin to have gaps. |
| 11 | Tpt solo | 10:01 | High LIBRA formant syncs with ARIES melody (which is slowly expanding from the pulses in A) and fades out |
| 12 | Sopr/Tpt & Bass/BsClr plays GEMINI (both voices)(loosely) | 11:08 | ARIES (from the pulses before) continues to expand with glissandi, but sometimes with intermittent very
fast figures The lower LIBRA formant melody sometimes jumps into the middle register |
| 13 | Tpt solo on GEMINI | 11:38 | ARIES calms down a little LIBRA eventually fades out |
| 14 | Qrtt plays ARIES | 12:40 | ARIES - syncs w soloists |
| 15 | Bass/BsClr long tones, Sopr solos on ARIES | 13:06 | ARIES w Soprano |
| 16 | Qrtt plays ARIES | 13:30 | ARIES - sync w soloists, synchronous formants |
| 17 | Bass/BsClr quarter notes ("march"), Sopr plays whole notes, Tpt solos on ARIES | 13:55 | follows Tpt |
| 18 | Sopr/Tpt & Bass/BsClr plays ARIES (both voices) | 14:17 | follows Tpt & Sopr, doppler effect from rotation |
| 19 | END | 14:41 | |
| Bridge after ARIES (0:00-4:00 same as CANCER) | |||
| Soloists' Parts | Electronic Music | ||
| 1 | Sopr/Tpt & Bass/BsClr plays ARIES fragments (both voices, loosely) | 0:00 | ARIES (2 tracks, 1 normal, 1 immediately becomes percussive long tones). CANCER track high/very fast, slow ritard |
| 2 | Bass changes to narration, trio plays ARIES fragments and variations | 0:25 | CANCER becomes recognizable as a melody, gradually becomes ARIES. CANCER as "colored noise" added to ARIES and then faded out. |
| 3 | Qrtt plays CANCER fragments polyphonically | 2:04 | Very slow ARIES to CANCER transformation in slow percussive high tones track |
| 4 | Bass returns to narration alternating with CAPRICORN, trio slows on ARIES improvisations | 2:58 | CANCER rhythm added to primary ARIES track, pitch range shrinks |
| 5 | Qrtt intones together | 4:03 | Additional long tones layers added with dynamic changes. |
| 6 | "Thanks giving" | 4:25 | ARIES/CANCER rhythm (slow to fast) but small pitch range (down to major 2nd). ARIES with CANCER formants (timbre formula). |
| 7 | END | 5:15 | |
ANNUNCIATION (VERKÜNDIGUNG)
This section has a text which was written by Jakob Lorber, a 19th Century Christian "mystic" (and former musician) who heard "voices" and wrote them down thinking they were from God. The text is apparently the voice of Jesus Christ explaining that he is God incarnated on Earth, and of all the planets of the local universe (of which SIRIUS is the center), he chose Earth to become human on. He declares that he will raise children on Earth similar to himself who will "rule the entire infinite" alongside him.
The 4 messengers from SIRIUS then return to their planetary landers, which then returns to a Mothership, which flies away into space.
| ANNUNCIATION | |||
| Soloists' Parts | Electronic Music | ||
| 1 | Bass narrates Lorber text | 0:00 | Long tones continue from Bridge |
| 2 | 0:10 | Piano enters w PISCES fragment | |
| 3 | Quintet (w piano tape) polyphonic, loosely PISCES, Bass speaks in PISCES rhythm | 0:18 | Piano plays PISCES fragments Background drones rise |
| 4 | Quintet plays AQUARIUS (both voices) loosely), Bass speaks in AQUARIUS rhythm | 1:35 | Piano plays AQUARIUS |
| 5 | Qrtt final syllable long tones | 2:00 | Piano ends, rumbling begins |
| 6 | 2:18 | Each player returns to their surface ship (glassy tones) | |
| 7 | 3:11 | EM hum only | |
| 8 | 3:29 | Each surface ship flies back into space to the mothership (reverse of Presentation) | |
| 9 | END | 6:55 | |
Score
 |
| Beginning of the "pauses" in Cancer (section 14 in the above guide). The top 3 staffs are the electronic music tracks, and below them are Trumpet, Soprano, Bass Clarinet and Bass vocal. (each page usually has 2 lines - 2x7 staffs). (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
SIRIUS is designed to be mounted in a circular or square auditorium with the audience facing towards the center. The 4 soloists are on high podiums located in 4 opposite sides of the space. At one point during the CAPRICORN section they converge in the center of the room. The soloists are also costumed with colorful space-themed fabrics and perform various gestures (sometimes INORI-based). The space above the audience has a projection of a night sky (or is a night sky if the space is outdoors - obviously a mid-afternoon performance could be a bit awkward!).
Additional Works Generated:
ARIES for solo trumpet and electronic music (1977-80) [15']
 |
| Rough representation of the ARIES, CANCER, CAPRICORN and LIBRA ELECTRONIC MUSIC elements as described below. |
| ------------------------------ Electronic Music ------------------------------ | Time | Trumpet | ||||
| Low drone chords fade in and out in the lower register. | A 3-part ARIES harmony
melody with CAPRICORN rhythm
begins looping, with brief, sudden "fast" moments. The rhythm gradually becomes ARIES. This soon speeds up to become a fast, dense, multi-layered "noise-band" timbre (with intermittent "slow" moments). CAPRICORN and CANCER are then (re-)added to the mixture. The loop gains speed and density, becoming "noisier" and begins to ascend in a slow gliss (from around 1:30) |
0:00 | After a phrase from the end of ARIES (last page of CAPRICORN), Tpt plays a monody (Soprano part) with interjections from the original Tpt layer |
|||
| The lowest layer drone chords fade out. | Rising noise
band levels off at 2:28, and begins shrinking in bandwidth (with CANCER/ARIES/CAPRICORN melodies surfacing at times). |
High ARIES fragments intermittently slow down (and surface) out of the top voice of the 3-part harmony | 2:21 | ARIES | ||
| ARIES melody slows down to audible speed | 2:47 | |||||
| Noise band reaches and holds on an A drone, with a "glittering" timbre and fast rhythm oscillations, slowing down | 3:34 | ARIES long tones | ||||
| Fragments begin to have intermittent accelerated moments | 3:59 | Drone w slow, ad lib dynamics | ||||
| Drone on A begins accented pulses on hybridized CANCER, CAPRICORN and ARIES rhythms, then becomes a held pitch |
4:46 | |||||
| ARIES fragments going back to high speed as before. Eventually it fades out. | 5:07 | |||||
| 6:00 | ||||||
| Drone on A begins a slow decrescendo | 6:14 | pause | ||||
| Lower drone layer enters | LIBRA formant melody ("like wind - filter with pure overtone
intervals") |
Drone on A fades back in | 6:47 | |||
| The lower drone layer has microtonal "jumps", and then becomes a LIBRA layer with the layer above it (at right) | The high A drone begins to develop accent
pulses. |
7:32 | ||||
| LIBRA formant melody (combined from the
previous 2 layers) |
7:40 | ARIES gradually returns |
||||
| A very quiet (pppp), high LIBRA formant melody is added. | 8:54 | TAURUS | ||||
| The high A pulses SLOWLY expand in pitch range (to eventually becomes the ARIES melody) | LIBRA formant syncs with ARIES melody and fades out |
9:52 | pause, and then ornamentation ("development intermezzo") | |||
| Expansion into recognizable minor 2nd intervals (with glissandi), sometimes with intermittent fast moments, and continuing on to the full ARIES melody intervals | 11:08 | GEMINI | ||||
| ARIES calms down a little, begins syncing with Tpt | 12:00 | |||||
| 12:43 | ARIES with variations |
|||||
includes CAPRICORN, Bridge after CAPRICORN (using ARIES opening, taking the Soprano part) and Annunciation
 |
| Rough representation of the CANCER, CAPRICORN and ARIES ELECTRONIC MUSIC elements as described below. |
The narrative below is somewhat simplified from the above tables, but with an expanded explanation of the electronic layers.
| ------------------------------ Electronic Music ------------------------------ | Time | Bass | |||
| CAPRICORN (1st time) |
0:00 | Held, single pitch tones: "Cancer...Aries...Libra, I am coming." | |||
| Low drone chords | CAPRICORN (2nd time) with "glittering" formant melody |
0:30 | CAPRICORN | ||
| Drone
chord |
CANCER melody in CAPRICORN rhythm |
CANCER formant in CAPRICORN rhythm |
1:00 | ||
| Low drone layers expanded, growling, becoming rougher |
High CANCER formant melody continues, eventually becomes... | 1:29 | Slow | ||
| Rhythm begins to slow down, until becoming long held tones, then with volume fluctuations | 2:58 | ||||
| 3:20 | Long tones/trills | ||||
| Low drones, sometimes with irregular accents, fluctuating volume continues |
CAPRICORN formant
melody (overtones, like a frog) |
4:38 | "Capricornus..."(proposal, pause) | ||
| Very slow, isolated high metallic CAPRICORN tones |
4:59 | ||||
| Soft formant melodies (overtones), sometimes like CAPRICORN | 5:27 | ||||
| 6:21 | AQUARIUS (slowly begins as fragments) |
||||
| formant melody (like wind) | 6:44 | ||||
| drones begin slow rising gliss | 7:07 | ||||
| Drones
with Accents |
8:10 | ||||
| 8:49 | PISCES | ||||
| CAPRICORN chordal melody, with chord intervals shrinking from 4ths to 3rds, increasing tempo | 10:24 | "Capricorn…sea
goat..." (very slow syllables) |
|||
| CAPRICORN chordal melody, with chord interval a 6th | 12:02 | ||||
| Partials surface |
12:15 | ||||
| 1 layer of CAPRICORN becomes ARIES melody layer (in unison with CAPRICORN layer) | 12:33 | ||||
| 13:34 | "Striving for Light, Son of mother sun SIRIUS…" | ||||
| Bridge Begins (beginning of ARIES repeated) | |||||
| Low drone chords fade in and out in the lower register. | A 3-part ARIES harmony melody with CAPRICORN rhythm begins looping, with brief, sudden "fast" moments. This soon speeds up to become a fast, dense, multi-layered "noise-band" timbre (with intermittent "slow" moments). As CAPRICORN and CANCER rhythms are added (soon followed with their melodies), the loop gains speed and density, becoming "noisier". The noise band begins to ascend in a slow gliss (from around 1:30) | 0:00 | Bass intones text: "Phoenix man, winter-night, night of Christ shows the heaven's firmament..." | ||
| Rising noise band levels off at 2:28, and begins shrinking in bandwidth (with CANCER/ARIES/CAPRICORN melodies surfacing at times). | High ARIES fragments intermittently slow down (and surface) out of the top voice of the 3-part harmony | 2:21 | "Come, Aries!" | ||
| ARIES melody slows down to audible speed | 2:47 | ||||
| 3:08 | ARIES (top voice) | ||||
| Noise band reaches and holds on an A drone, with a "glittering" timbre and fast rhythm slowing down | 3:34 | Long tones, with overtone vowels matching EM | |||
| ARIES fragments begin to have intermittent accelerated moments. | 3:59 | ||||
| 4:25 | Overtones end, "Friends, we stop the Wheel.." |
||||
| Drone in
A begins accented pulses on hybridized CANCER , ARIES and CAPRICORN rhythms, then become a stable pitch. Annunciation drone chords fade in. |
4:46 | ||||
LIBRA for solo bass clarinet and electronic music (1977) [33']:
2nd half of CANCER (10'14" to 24'29"), then entire LIBRA (18'10")
Narrative condensed from the main table:
| Bass Clarinet | Electronic Music (subtract ~8" from timing) | |
| Sparse figures | 10:14 | Drone swells |
| 10:27 | CAPRICORN unfolds from compressed register rhythm | |
| LIBRA | 11:36 | Low LIBRA melody enters. ARIES/CANCER rhythm and compressed CAPRICORN melody |
| 12:17 | Slow, low percussive tones begin. | |
| 13 PAUSES (POSES) with freely repeating fragments of LIBRA | 12:39 | Slow, low percussive tones during pauses, CAPRICORN melody w CANCER formants during non-pauses |
| VIRGO | 15:24 | Slow, low percussive tones only |
| Silent pause | 16:18 | pause |
| CANCER fragments with rests | 16:30 | CAPRICORN/CANCER changing "with high formant melody". CANCER melody with ARIES/CANCER rhythm (later becomes octaves). Low CAPRICORN melody swells. Fast CAPRICORN becomes fast ARIES. |
| LIBRA variations | 18:12 | Slow changes from ARIES to CAPRICORN to ARIES (CANCER continues w irregular rhythm) |
| LIBRA solo cadenza w large register leaps | 20:20 | Rotating single tones (like church bells) going from 16 to 32 layers of cycles, then fading out. |
| END | 24:30 | |
| CANCER ENDS / LIBRA BEGINS | ||
| LIBRA | 0:00 | CANCER w ARIES-CAPRICORN rhythm w slow
changes in high register CANCER-LIBRA melody in low register |
| 0:28 | CANCER and LIBRA melodies sync w Bass Clarinet | |
| 2:42 | LIBRA in low
octaves enter, high drone tones appear |
|
| LIBRA figures, variations with pauses | 3:10 | EM gradually becomes louder |
| 4:14 | Long tones layer increases in density | |
| SCORPIO | 5:08 | LIBRA continues below high drones |
| 6:26 | Drones continue LIBRA briefly high/fast, then very low/slow again |
|
| SAGITTARIUS (adding some LIBRA) | 7:07 | LIBRA (w
pitch bending), High drones continue |
| 7:59 | LIBRA - fast transformations, figure mixtures, and tempo changes of CANCER & CAPRICORN rhythm | |
| LIBRA becoming dominant | 9:33 | LIBRA becomes CAPRICORN in complex low timbre w mixed rhythms (~10:00) |
| 11:28 | CAPRICORN/LIBRA accelerating ("growling"), long tones layers continue | |
| 12:50 | LIBRA (parallel
minor 2nds), then CAPRICORN, changing registers |
|
| 13:31 | Fast register dialogue, w high drones cont'd | |
| 14:00 | LIBRA drops in register | |
| LIBRA - slow | 14:11 | LIBRA sync w Bass Clarinet |
| 14:50 | Synced w Bass Clarinet | |
| Drones with dynamic volume envelopes | 15:37 | Changing drone timbres |
| 16:30 | wind noises | |
| END | 18:15 | |
Sound Impressions
 |
| Markus Stockhausen in SIRIUS (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
Stockhausen packed alot of concepts and techniques into this work, many stemming from his experiments in melodic pitch compression/expansion (MANTRA), extreme melody to pitch tempo manipulations (KONTAKTE) and timbre sequence melodies (INORI). All of this material is embedded in a science fiction cantata sung/spoken in oddly-mannered English (with brief passages in German and a brief bit of Italian). Some people have compared SIRIUS to the work of Sun Ra, another composer with a "cosmic backstory", but SIRIUS has a very rigorously structured musical fabric, and is not connected to jazz improvisation at all.
After analyzing the work, SIRIUS has personally become much more enjoyable (though there were definitely moments during my research where I was a bit frustrated and wondering where this was going). In order to learn to differentiate all the moving parts of SIRIUS, it's very helpful to listen to the soloist's versions of ARIES, LIBRA and CAPRICORN ("additional works generated"), since there are only up to 4 layers in those works and it's much easier to follow the melodic manipulations. It is also possible to obtain the electronic music of SIRIUS by itself - though the CD is a bit expensive. In any case, SIRIUS may seem cacophonous on first listen (and maybe even the first 5 listens..10 listens?), but once one learns the "language" of SIRIUS, the work truly shines as one of Stockhausen's most ambitious and well-structured works.
 |
| EMS Vocoder in foreground, Synthi 100, with keyboard controller, at the WDR Electronic Music Studio repository space. |
I can't help but add one more Doctor Who reference here, but another interesting connection between Stockhausen and the science fiction program was that one of the early music performers on the show, Tristan Fry, would later go on to record and release his performance of ZYKLUS.
Links
Sound samples, tracks listings and CD ordering:
- SIRIUS
- ARIES for trumpet and electronic music
- LIBRA for bass clarinet and electronic music
- CAPRICORN for bass and electronic music
- Electronic Music of SIRIUS
- Purchase the Scores
SIRIUS Wiki
Albrecht Moritz Rundown
Sonoloco Review
Interview with Synthi designer Peter Zinovieff (2015)
EMS Synthi 100 Brochure (PDF)
EMS Synthi 100 Restored 2006
EMS Synthi 100 Restored (Melbourne)
SIRIUS Youtube clip
Discovering Electronic Music (1983)
What the Future Sounded Like (The Story of EMS, 2006)
