Zyklus/Refrain/Transición II

Karlheinz Stockhausen/Mauricio Kagel - split release [S/8001]

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Zyklus (1959) for one percussionist

Performed by Christoph Caskel - marimbaphone, guiro, two wood drums, African tree drums, suspended Indian bells, side drum, four tom-toms, two cymbals, high hat, two triangles, vibraphone, four cowbells, gong, tam-tam, soft and hard sticks of different materials

In ZYKLUS the primarily static, open form of my KLAVIERSTUCK XI - which literally depends on the "Augenblick," the instantaneous glance of the eye - has been combined with the idea of a dynamic, closed form, resulting in a circular, curved form. Sixteen pages of notation have been spiral-bound to one another, side by side; there is no beginning and no end; the player may start on whichever page he pleases, but he then must play a cycle in the given succession. During the performance the player stands in the center of a circle of percussion instruments and turns, from one playing position to another, once around his own axis, clockwise or counterclockwise, depending on the direction in which he has chosen to read.

Areas containing dots and groups of notes and symbols vary from one another through differences in the number of possible combinations; they mediate continuously, in their composed succession, between the entirely unequivocal and the extremely ambiguous. The structure with the greatest indeterminateness - the most ambiguous form - is shaped in such a way that it comes to be almost indistinguishable from the immediately following most firmly fixed structure.

Thus one experiences a temporal circle in which one has the impression of moving constantly in the direction toward ever-increasing ambiguousness (clockwise) or certainty (counterclockwise), although at the critical point at which the extremes touch, one of them imperceptibly turns into the other. The purpose is to close the open form through the circle, to realize the static state within the dynamic, the aimless with the aimed, not to exclude or destroy one aspect or another, not to seek a synthesis in a third state, but rather to attempt again to eliminate the dualism and to mediate between the seemingly incompatible, the utterly different. (Karlheinz Stockhausen)

Karlheinz Stockhausen - Refrain (1959) for three performers

Performed by Aloys Kontarsky - piano wood blocks; Bernhard Kontarsky - celeste, antique cymbals; Christoph Caskel - vibraphone, cowbells, glockenspiel

Those who wish to understand what I have written for the three players in REFRAIN must read the score.

Those who wish to understand how the players interpret my score must know the score and compare performances.

Those who simply wish to hear (not understand) a piece of music need only listen.

What is left to be explained?

(Karlheinz Stockhausen)

Mauricio Kagel - Transición II (1959) for piano, percussion and two magnetic tapes

Performed by David Tudor - piano; Christoph Caskel - percussion

"Transición II" already has been posted not too long ago by H.C. Earwicker on his Kagel tribute compilation. However, as this is also performed by the same musicians, this is a different performance as this version is about three minutes longer than the one H.C. included in his post. I hope that he doesn't mind if I post this version here.

side 1

1. Karlheinz Stockhausen - Zyklus {11:41}

2. Karlheinz Stockhausen - Refrain {8:04}

side 2

1. Mauricio Kagel - Transición II {17:25}

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Electronic Music/Musique Concrete

various artists compilation - Electronic Music/Musique Concrete: A Panorama of Experimental Music, Volume 1

Recorded under the supervision of Pierre Henry, in collaboration with the sound laboratories of the West German Radio, Italian Radio, French Radio and Television, and Studio Apsome in Paris.

The liner notes say:

Electronic music and musique concrete offer incredible possibilities to composers of imagination and vision. The works of eleven such composers are represented on these two discs and the rich diversity in approach and achievement testifies to the full blown presence of a new and vital art form.

In our century, one of a composer's principal functions has been to explore his environment and translate his discoveries into meaningful sonic symbols. Viewed from this angle, the development of electronic music and musique concrete over the past twenty years has followed a course of inevitability; creative artists are interpreting our contemporary life with sounds uniquely expressive of man's flight into technology and space.

In this album the listener will encounter some fascinating music that gives exciting artistic expression to the moods and tenors of today.

Note: There is a fragment of the first LP that has been broken. That means only the first tracks on each side of this LP are unplayable. All other tracks play okay. Apologies in advance for those missing tracks, but the music on this compilation is essential electronic music which makes this still worthy of posting.

UPDATE: Check the comments for the missing tracks. Thanks hamor.
ANOTHER UPDATE: The missing tracks provided by hamor are provided in the files.

Tracklisting:

Side 1

1. Luciano Berio - Momenti {7:06}

2. Luciano Berio - Omaggio a Joyce {6:16}

3. Bruno Maderna - Continuo {8:03}

Side 2

1. Luc Ferrari - Visage V {10:37}

2. Iannis Xenakis - Orient-Occident {10:38}

3. Francois Dufrene and Jean Baronnet - U 47 {3:28}

Side 3

1. Mauricio Kagel - Transition I {12:55}

2. Herbert Eimert - Selection I {9:45}

Side 4

1. Pierre Henry - Entité {5:40}

2. György Ligeti - Artikulation {3:45}

3. André Boucourechliev - Texte I {6:12}

4. Henri Pousseur - Scambi {6:16}

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Kagel, again

After the great Heterophonie post by Grey Calx, it's time for another tribute to Maurizio Kagel, who passed away last Thursday at the age of 77. One more of the last few great composers born in the first half of the 20th century is gone. His innovative energy was paired with a unique sense of humor, and thanks to his almost unbelievable productivity he left us a vast body of hundreds of works, many of them unknown gems, often unrecorded, to be (re)discovered in the future.

My collection of pieces is drawn from unreleased radio recordings and several "various artists" compilations, giving a pretty good impression of how varied and wide-ranging Kagel's Oeuvre is.

Kagel directing his "Kantrimiusik", ca. 1975

***

Transicion II (1958/59)

for piano, percussion and two tapes was Kagel's first European piece, very innovative in many ways. The pianist produces singular sounds, juxtaposed or complemented by multifarious clusters, meticulously described in the performance instructions.

The percussionist plays the piano, too - inside, outside, with mallets - producing a wide variety of sounds comparable to Cage's prepared piano. The score makes use of indeterminacy and ambiguity to create structures, connections and different layers of time. A good part of the structures is notated on wheels, which have to be rotated by the players during the performance. Some of the structures have to be pre-recorded and played back during the performance with two tape recorders, sometimes with a heavily processed sound.

David Tudor - piano, Christoph Caskel - percussion

***

Sonant (1960/..)

for guitar, harp, double bass and skin instruments is an early example of "intrumental theater". It makes equal use of carefully elaborated sound production and accidental sounds. Different ways of ensemble playing and interaction are utilized; the performers even have to deal with psychological aspects of interpretation and scenic presentation.

Ensemble Musique Vivante, Paris

Percussion detail from "Sonant"

***

Mimetics (Metapièce) (1961)

for piano and simultaneous performance of a work by a living composer,
simultaneous with General Bass (1971)
for continuous instrumental soundsMimetics (Metapièce) is a piece that's not really a piece at all, more like a non-piece-ultra, notated on single sheets that are glued together in a way that one could read on forever, never reaching an end. Resemblances and similarities between events are created by references to other, past or future events.

General Bass (1971)

is one part of the work cycle "Programm", subtitled "Conversations with Chamber Music". It's a single bassline of octaves, fifths and fourths on various pitches, to be played in a "calm, unpathetic" manner. The performer is asked to constantly vary the colour of sound. A kind of peaceful polemic against the fetish of melody.

Kristine Scholz & Mats Persson - piano, etc.

***

Nah und Fern (1994), radio piece for bells and trumpets with background

This "Radio-Piece" won the prestigious Karl-Sczuka Award in 1996. It combines environmental sounds near and far (nah und fern) around the Domkerk (cathedral) of Utrecht with composed material for carillon and trumpets. Kagel: "Bells are archetypal carriers of acoustic messages and meant to be heard clearly over a wide range; while the distance between listener and soundsource plays a vital role. During the sound recordings and the editing of my radiophonic ringings I tried to interpret the definitions of 'near' and 'far', as if it were actually possible to stretch or shrink space and time through sound events."

Markus Stockhausen, Marco Blaauw, Andreas Gorsch - trumpets
Arie Abbenes - carillon
realization: Mauricio Kagel

***

Ein Aufnahmezustand (1969), radioplay (excerpt)

It's not easy to describe Kagel's definition of "Radio Art". He probably refers to a radiogenic procedure encompassing everything that has to do with sound production, placed in a radiophonic Space of Art. This often extends into narrative structures transporting humorous stories, illustrated by sound.

The recording situation of "Ein Aufnahmezustand" (Kagel's first original radioplay) is a form of game or play: "Only a posteriori each of the seven participants will find out that secondary questions and answers, spontaneous utterances, casual remarks and environmental noises are the main interest of this production. Their artfully articulated sounds and words are accepted as indispensable garbage, edited into the piece later on, as second-grade material." This is very effectively demonstrated in the final section, which uses a rehearsal of wind players as sound material.

Template for instrumentalist, from "Ein Aufnahmezustand"

***

remember M.K. (1)

Heterophonie Improvisation Ajoutee

Mauricio Kagel - Heterophonie/Improvisation Ajoutee

Mauricio Kagel passed away on September 18, 2008. We are saddened by this news.

Obituary

Tribute

Performers:

Heterophonie
for orchestra (1959/61)

Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt

Improvisation ajoutee

Gerd Zacher - organ
Juan Allende-Blin and Yngve Jan Trede - registration [they manipulate the sound and color of the music]


Tracklisting:

1. Heterophonie: I {8:05}

2. Heterophonie: II {7:41}

3. Heterophonie: III {5:21}

4. Heterophonie: IV {4:52}

5. Heterophonie: V {8:07}

6. Improvisation Ajoutee {15:19}

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Plus, more Kagel in the archives.

Match für 3 Spieler/Musik für Renaissance - Instrumente

Mauricio Kagel - Match für 3 Spieler/Musik für Renaissance - Instrumente

*the photo is not the actual cover of the release

Match für 3 Spieler (1964)

performers:

Christoph Caskel - percussion

Siegfried Palm - cello

Klaus Storck - cello

Musik für Renaissance - Instrumente (1965/66)

performed by Collegium instrumentalis

Production: West German Radio, cologne, at the world premiere on the 26th April 1967 (The work was commissioned by the WDR)

Tracklisting:

Side A

1. Match für 3 Spieler (Match for 3 Players) {16:07}

Side B

1. Musik für Renaissance - Instrumente (Music for Renaissance Instruments) {24:51}

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