Licht

Licht (Light), subtitled "Die sieben Tage der Woche" (The Seven Days of the Week), is a cycle of seven operas composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen between 1977 and 2003. The composer described the work as an "eternal spiral" because "there is neither end nor beginning to the week." Licht consists of 29 hours of music.

Licht
Die sieben Tage der Woche
Opera cycle by Karlheinz Stockhausen
The librettist and composer in March 2004
TranslationLight – The Seven Days of the Week
LibrettistStockhausen
LanguageGerman
Premiere
1981 (1981) to 2012

Origin

The Licht opera project, originally titled Hikari (光 , Japanese for "light"), originated with a piece for dancers and Gagaku orchestra commissioned by the National Theatre in Tokyo. Titled Der Jahreslauf (The Course of the Years), this piece became the first act of Dienstag. Another important Japanese influence is from Noh theater, which the composer cites in connection with his conception of stage action (Stockhausen, Conen, and Hennlich 1989, 282). The cycle also draws on elements from the Judeo-Christian and Vedic traditions (Bruno 1999, 134). The title of Licht owes something to Sri Aurobindo's theory of "Agni" (the Hindu and Vedic fire deity), developed from two basic premises of nuclear physics, and Stockhausen's conception of the Licht superformula also owes a great deal to Sri Aurobindo's category of the "supramental" (Peters 2003, 227). It is centered on three main characters, Michael, Eve, and Lucifer.

Many of the events in the opera refer to The Urantia Book, which was sold to Stockhausen by a remarkable figure during his New York Philharmonic concert in 1971 (Kurtz 1992, 188). In his analysis of the cycle, Gregg Wager states that "There can be little doubt … that Stockhausen's first and foremost inspiration for Lucifer's rebellion … originated from the Urantia Book … specific terms such as "Local System", "Planetary Princes" or "Paradise Sons" can only be from the Urantia Book" (Wager 1998, 193). Wager also points to the fact that Michael is clearly identified in Donnerstag as originating from "Nebadon", which is another location name peculiar to the Urantia Book (Wager 1998, 194). The emblems of Michael and Lucifer in Licht are also derived from the Urantia Book (Bandur 2004, 142).

According to Stockhausen biographer Michael Kurtz, "Michael, Lucifer and Eve are, for Stockhausen, more than theatrical figures. They are the expression of a world beyond, to which terrestrial eyes are blind, but which is given concrete form by The Urantia Book and other sources" (Kurtz 1992, 228). Wager also takes care to assert that Lucifer, Eve, and Michael are "personal inventions of Stockhausen's that were made more meaningful through the Urantia Book. … The listener can also assume that Stockhausen has used these symbols freely and enjoys the style of absurdist theater manifested in Originale where no clear meaning is apparent" (Wager 1998, 208). Furthermore, according to Markus Bandur, the Urantia Book references are concealed by means of associative strategies to other fields of meaning and, as work progressed on Licht after the first-composed opera, Donnerstag, their significance progressively diminishes (Bandur 2004, 144). The importance of the Urantia Book for Stockhausen's work should not be overestimated (Ulrich 2001, 28).

Structure

The musical structure of the cycle is based on three counterpointed main melodies (or "formulas"), each associated with a central character. It follows the method of super-formula composition: these melodies define both the tonal centers and durations of scenes as a whole, as well as the melodic phrasing in detail. Each of the three central characters is also associated with an instrument: Michael with the trumpet, Eve with the basset horn, and Lucifer with the trombone.

[See (Stockhausen 1978): the Licht superformula]

Stockhausen's conception of opera is more akin to the tableaux of the Renaissance masque and its hermetic cosmology than to traditional dramatic and climactic structures typical of the past two centuries (Godwin 1998, 354). Because of its circular structure, in which the seven days of the week must be passed through again and again, a moral critique is rendered impossible, since the themes of the days perpetually return as permanent features of reality. This in turn reflects Stockhausen's theological outlook, which offers a perspective beyond the superficial differences and opposites that place limitations on thought and hope (Ulrich 2012b, 99–100). Licht is not therefore primarily about the conflict between good and evil, but rather is a drama of latent tensions concerning a dispute about different conceptions of reality (Maconie 2016, 383).

The cycle is constructed modularly. Not only is each of the seven operas a self-sufficient work, but so are the individual acts, scenes, and—in some cases—portions of scenes. These modules may be segments (e.g., the eleven instrumental solo sections from Orchester-Finalisten from Mittwoch), or layers (e.g., the electronic Oktophonie layer from the second act of Dienstag or the Klavierstück XIII version of the first scene of Samstag (Luzifers Traum), with the bass voice omitted), or a combination of the two (e.g., the vocal sextet Menschen, hört and the Bassetsu-Trio, which are two layers of the "Karusel" subscene from Michaelion, the fourth scene of Mittwoch).

The seven days

There are seven operas, each named for a day of the week, whose subject matter reflects attributes associated in traditional mythologies with each day. These attributes in turn rest on the seven planets of Antiquity (and their associated deities) from which the day-names are derived (Stockhausen 1989b, 152–53):

Stockhausen sought to fashion the subjects for each opera through absorption in the traditions of this planet and immersion into the intuitive meaning of each day of the week—meanings of which most people are not aware (Stockhausen 1989b, 176). The cycle has neither a "beginning" nor an "ending"; like the days of the week, each opera leads to the next one, so that the conflict of Tuesday is followed by the reconciliation of Wednesday, and the mystical union of Sunday prepares the way for the new life of Monday. "In this way there is neither end nor beginning to the week. It is an eternal spiral" (Stockhausen 1989b, 156). Each opera is composed from an elaborated form of the corresponding day-segment of the superformula, made by superimposing one or more complete lines from the superformula, compressed to the length of the day-segment. These are named for the day in question (e.g., Mittwoch-Formel.) The separate acts and scenes often involve further superimpositions of formula material. For example, "Luzifers Traum", the first scene of Samstag, has a total of five layers (Kohl 1990 and Kohl 1993).

Each day is also assigned a principal (or "exoteric") colour, as well as one or more secondary (or "esoteric") colours (Stockhausen 1989b, 199–200).

Monday (1984–1988)

Montag, composed between 1984 and 1988, is dedicated to Eve. It features an orchestra with synthesizers (called a "modern orchestra" by Stockhausen), backing 21 performers (14 voices, 6 instruments and an actor), as well as adult and children's choirs. The opera is in three acts, framed by a "greeting" and a "farewell." (This framing applies, with variation, to each opera in the cycle: a "greeting" either in the foyer of the opera house or in the auditorium, and a "farewell" after the performance, played either in the auditorium or outside the theater.) Monday's exoteric colour is bright green; its esoteric colours are opal and silver (Stockhausen 1989b, 200). The scenes and subscenes are as follows:

  • Montags-Gruß (Monday's Greeting)
  • Act 1: Evas Erstgeburt (Eve's First Birth-giving)
    • scene 1: In Hoffnung (Expecting)
    • scene 2: Heinzelmännchen
    • scene 3: Geburts-Arien (Birth Arias)
    • scene 4: Knaben-Geschrei (Boys' Hullaballoo)
    • scene 5: Luzifers Zorn (Lucifer's Fury)
    • scene 6: Das große Geweine (The Great Weeping)
  • Act 2: Evas Zweitgeburt (Eve's Second Birth-giving)
    • scene 1: Mädchenprozession (Girls' Prozession)
    • scene 2: Befruchtung mit KlavierstückWiedergeburt (Conception with Piano Piece—Rebirth)
    • scene 3: Evas Lied (Eve's Song)
  • Act 3: Evas Zauber (Eve's Magic)
    • scene 1: Botschaft (Message)
    • scene 2: Der Kinderfänger (The Pied Piper) [literally, "The Child-Catcher"]
    • scene 3: Entführung (Abduction)
  • Montags-Abschied (Monday's Farewell)

445 photos of Montag aus Licht at La Scala, Milan, Google Arts & Culture

Tuesday (1977–1991)

After having composed the three "solo" operas (Thursday, Saturday and Monday), Stockhausen proceeded to explore all combinations of the characters. Dienstag is the day of conflict between Michael and Lucifer. After the opening greeting, two acts follow: Jahreslauf (Course of the Years) and Invasion-Explosion mit Abschied (Invasion-Explosion with Farewell). Dienstag is an opera for 17 performers (three solo voices, ten solo instrumentalists, and four dancer-mimes), actors, mimes, choir, a "modern orchestra" (29 to 32 instruments including synthesizers) and, in the second act, electronic music (titled "Oktophonie") projected in eight channels, with loudspeakers arranged at the corners of a cube shape around the audience. Since it is a "layer," this taped octophonic electronic music may be heard by itself. Tuesday's colour is red (Stockhausen 1989b, 200). The opera falls into the following sections and subsections:

  • Dienstags-Gruß, Nr. 60 (1987–88)
    • Willkommen
    • Friedens-Gruß
  • Act 1: Jahreslauf (Course of the Years), Nr. 47 (1977/1991)
  • Act 2: Invasion-Explosion mit Abschied (Invasion-Explosion with Farewell), Nr. 61 (1990–91)
    • Erste Luftabwehr (First Air-defense)
    • Erste Invasion (First Invasion)
    • Zweite Luftabwehr (Second Air-defense)
    • Zweite Invasion (Second Invasion)
    • Pietà
    • Dritte Invasion (Third Invasion)
    • Jenseits (Beyond)
    • Synthi-Fou
    • Abschied (Farewell)

Wednesday (1992–1998)

Mittwoch is characterized by the cooperation of Eve, Michael and Lucifer. Composed between 1992 and 1998, the opera consists of four scenes: Welt-Parlament (World Parliament), Orchester-Finalisten (Orchestra Finalists), Helikopter-Streichquartett (Helicopter String Quartet), and Michaelion. The third scene, which has acquired a certain celebrity, is scored, as its name implies, for four stringed instruments and four helicopters, the latter used both as a performatic device and a sound source. The greeting for Mittwoch is the electronic part of scene 4; the farewell is the electronic music from scene 2. The latter, like the electronic music for act 2 of Dienstag, is projected octophonically through speakers arranged at the corners of a cube surrounding the audience. Wednesday's colour is bright yellow (Stockhausen 1989b, 200). The main divisions and their subdivisions are:

  • Mittwochs-Gruß
  • Scene 1: Welt-Parlament
  • Scene 2: Orchester-Finalisten
    • Oboe
    • Violoncello
    • Klarinette
    • Fagott
    • Violine
    • Tuba
    • Flöte
    • Posaune
    • Viola
    • Trompete
    • Kontrabaß
    • Horn
    • Orchester-Tutti
  • Scene 3: Helikopter-Streichquartett (1993)
  • Scene 4: Michaelion
    • Präsidium
    • Luzikamel
      • Kakabel
      • Shoe-Shine Serenade
      • Taschen-Trick (Pocket Trick)
      • Kamel-Tanz (Camel Dance)
      • Stierkampf (Bullfight)
    • Operator
      • Thinki
      • Bassetsu Trio (Karussell) (Carousel)
      • "Menschen, hört" (Raum-Sextette) ("Listen, People"—Space-Sextet)
  • Mittwochs-Abschied

Thursday (1978–1980)

Donnerstag is an opera for 14 performers (three voices, eight instrumentalists, three dancers) plus a choir, an orchestra, and tapes. Though not the first part of Licht to be started, it was the first opera in the cycle to be completed, having been written between 1978 and 1980. Thursday is the day of the archangel Michael, and the story is centered on this character. It opens in the foyer with a "greeting" for an ensemble of brass and percussion, followed in the theater by three acts, and ends outside the theater with a "farewell", played from the surrounding rooftops by five trumpeters. The 16-channel tape composition Unsichtbare Chöre (Invisible Choirs, 1979) is incorporated into act 1, and again into act 3, scene 1 (Stockhausen 1989a, 204). Stockhausen's Klavierstück XII is an arrangement of act 1, scene 3 (Stockhausen 1989a, 321), and a number of other segments were arranged by the composer for separate performance. Thursday's exoteric colour is bright blue. It is made up of the following parts:

  • Donnerstags-Gruß (Thursday's Greeting)
  • Act 1: Michaels Jugend (Michael's Youth; employs Unsichtbare Chöre)
    • scene 1: Kindheit (Childhood)
    • scene 2: Mondeva (Moon-Eve)
    • scene 3: Examen (Examination)
      • Erstes Examen (First Examination)
      • Zweites Examen (Second Examination)
      • Drittes Examen (Third Examination)
  • Act 2: Michaels Reise um die Erde
    • Eingang und Formel (Entrance and Formula)
    • Erste Station (First Station): Germany
    • Zweite Station (Second Station): New York
    • Dritte Station (Third Station): Japan
    • Vierte Station (Fourth Station): Bali
    • Fünfte Station (Fifth Station): India
    • Sechste Station (Sixth Station): Central Africa
    • Siebte Station (Seventh Station): Jerusalem
    • Mission
      • Verspottung (Derision)
      • Kreuzigung (Crucifixion)
      • Himmelfahrt (Ascension)
  • Act 3: Michaels Heimkehr (Michael's Homecoming)
    • scene 1: Festival (employs Unsichtbare Chöre)
    • scene 2: Vision
  • Donnerstags-Abschied (Thursday's Farewell)

286 photos of Donnerstag aus Licht, Google Arts & Culture

Friday (1991–1994)

Freitag, written between 1991 and 1994, portrays Eve's temptation by Lucifer. The whole is divided into two acts, and has a novel structure: apart from the greeting and farewell, it is composed of two layers of scenes: ten "real scenes" with live performers on stage and twelve "sound scenes" with electronic transformations of familiar sounds, both performed simultaneously over a third layer of abstract electronic music. It is a complex production headed by five acting musicians (soprano, baritone, bass, flute, basset horn) as well as 12 couples of dancer-mimes, children's orchestra, children's choir, 12 choir singers, synthesizer player, electronic music with sound scenes. Friday's colour is orange (Stockhausen 1989b, 200). The ten "real scenes" are:

  1. Antrag (Proposal)
  2. Kinder-Orchester (Children's Orchestra)
  3. Kinder-Chor (Children's Choir)
  4. Kinder-Tutti (Children's Tutti)
  5. Zustimmung (Consent)
  6. Fall
  7. Kinder-Krieg (Children's War)
  8. Reue (Repentance)
  9. Elufa
  10. Chor-Spirale (Choir Spiral)

Saturday (1981–1983)

Samstag is an opera for 13 solo performers (one voice, ten instrumentalists, and two dancers) plus a symphonic band (or symphony orchestra), ballet or mimes, and male choir with organ. It was composed between 1981 and 1983. Saturday is Lucifer's day; its exoteric colour is black (Stockhausen 1989a, 200). The opera opens with the Samstags Gruß for four spatially separated brass ensembles with percussion (Bandur 1999), which is followed by four scenes:

  • Samstags-Gruß (Saturday's Greeting)
  • Scene 1: Luzifers Traum (Lucifer's Dream) (Klavierstück XIII), for bass voice and piano
  • Scene 2: Kathinkas Gesang als Luzifers Requiem (Kathinka's Chant as Lucifer's Requiem), for flute and six percussionists
  • Scene 3: Luzifers Tanz (Lucifer's Dance), for symphony band (or orchestra), bass voice, solo piccolo, solo piccolo trumpet, solo dancer, stilt-dancer, and dancer-mimes
    • Linker Augenbrauentanz (Left-Eyebrow Dance)
    • Rechter Augenbrauentanz (Right-Eyebrow Dance)
    • Linker Augentanz (Left-Eye Dance)
    • Rechter Augentanz (Right-Eye Dance)
    • Linker Backentanz (Left-Cheek Dance)
    • Rechter Backentanz (Right-Cheek Dance)
    • Nasenflügeltanz (Wing-of-the-Nose Dance)
    • Oberlippentanz (Upper-Lip Dance)
      • Protest
    • Zungenspitzentanz (Tip-of-the-Tongue Dance)
    • Kinntanz (Chin Dance)
  • Scene 4: Luzifers Abschied (Lucifer's Farewell), for male choir, seven trombones, and organ

256 photos from Samstag aus Licht, Google Arts & Culture

Sunday (1998–2003)

Sonntag, written between 1998 and 2003, is centered on the mystical union of Eve and Michael, from which the new life of Monday is produced (Stockhausen 1989b, 156, 175). It is an opera with five scenes and a farewell. The absence of Lucifer from scene 1 is explained by Stockhausen's description of an accessory scene, called Luziferium, intended to be performed simultaneously with Sonntag, but in a different place, symbolizing the imprisonment of Lucifer, away from Eve and Michael; Luziferium was sketched but never written (Stockhausen 2001, 22–23; Stockhausen 2003a, 8; Solare and Stockhausen 2003). Scene 4 expands on the multimedia nature of opera—with its music, dance, action and scenery—by involving another human sense: fragrances are released toward the audience. Scene 5 is actually two scenes in one, and consists of two parts: Hoch-Zeiten for five choirs and Hoch-Zeiten for five orchestral groups. (These components are performed simultaneously in two separate auditoriums. At various points acoustical "windows" are opened, through which the music from the other auditorium is "piped in" through loudspeakers. The scene is performed twice. After the interval, either the choir and orchestra change halls, or the divided audience does, in order that each group of listeners may experience the scene from both perspectives.) The Farewell is an adaptation for five synthesizers of the choral part of Hoch-Zeiten, and it also exists in two further versions: one for solo percussionist with tape, Strahlen; the other as Klavierstück XIX for synthesizer and tape. The opera falls into the following parts:

  • Scene 1: Lichter-Wasser (Sonntags-Gruß) (Lights-Waters—Sunday's Greeting), for soprano, tenor, and orchestra with synthesizer
  • Scene 2: Engel-Prozessionen (Angel-Processions), for seven choral groups
  • Scene 3: Licht-Bilder (Light-Pictures), for tenor, ring-modulated flute, basset horn, and ring-modulated trumpet
  • Scene 4: Düfte-Zeichen (Scents-Signs), for 7 solo voices, boy soprano, and synthesizer
  • Scene 5: Hoch-Zeiten (Weddings, but literally: High-Times), for choir and orchestra
  • Sonntags-Abschied (Sunday's Farewell), for five synthesizers

Auxiliary works

Apart from the versions of various scenes that can be performed separately, and arrangements of such scenes, there are some pieces that lie outside of the Licht cycle proper, and yet are closely related to it. For example, the Licht superformula itself is adapted as a brief "signalling" piece:

  • Licht-Ruf, Nr. 67, for variable ensemble (1995)

Other pieces are "source" compositions, intermediate between the superformula and final compositional elaboration into parts of one of the operas.

  • Michaels-Ruf, 1. ex Nr. 48½, for variable ensemble (1978), the unscored basic material for the Donnerstags-Gruß
  • Xi, 1. ex Nr. 55, for a melody instrument with microtones (1986), the "seed" material for the Montags-Gruß

Some others are themselves elaborated from such source compositions, but follow a separate line of development:

  • Traum-Formel, Nr. 51⅔, for basset horn (1981), a recomposition of the formula of the first scene of Samstag
  • Flautina, ex 56½, for flute with piccolo and alto flute (1989), related to the scene "In Hoffnung" from the first act of Montag
  • Quitt, for alto flute, clarinet, and trumpet, Nr. 1 ex 59 (1989), composed out from the basic plan of the Montags-Abschied
  • Ypsilon, Nr. 2 ex 59, for a melody instrument with microtones (1989), also elaborated from the Montags-Abschied plan
  • Sukat, Nr. 2 ex 60, for alto flute and basset horn (1989), based on the portion of the Tuesday formula used for the Dienstags-Gruß
  • Vibra-Elufa, Nr. 9¾ ex 64, for vibraphone (2003), based on the ninth "real scene" of Freitag (itself used as a source composition for other parts of that opera)
  • Thinki, Nr. 1 ex 70, for flute (1997), recomposed from material in Michaelion, the final scene of Mittwoch

There are four pieces made of versions of the formula for Mittwoch:

  • Europa-Gruss, Nr. 72, for winds (1992/1995/2002), originally conceived as the "greeting" for Mittwoch but replaced
  • Trumpetent, Nr. 73, for four trumpets (1995)
  • Mittwoch-Formel, Nr. 73½, for percussion trio (2004)
  • Klavierstück XVIII (Mittwoch-Formel), Nr. 73⅔, for synthesizer (2004)

Also, there is

  • Strahlen, Nr. 80½, for a percussionist and ten-channel sound recording (2002), fashioned from Hoch-Zeiten for choir

Finally, there is:

  • Litanei 97, Nr. 74, for choir and singing conductor (1997)

which sets a text from Aus den sieben Tagen (1968), incorporating fragments of the Licht superformula.

Performances

Work on Licht began in 1977, and was finished in 2003, though the final scene was performed for the first time in 2004. All seven operas have been staged individually, at La Scala (Thursday, Saturday, and Monday), Covent Garden (Thursday), Leipzig Opera (Tuesday and Friday), Cologne Opera (Sunday), and Birmingham Opera Company (Wednesday, premiered on the composer's birthday, 22 August 2012). Plans had previously been made to stage Wednesday in Bonn in 2000 and in Bern in 2003, but both were canceled due to financial and technical problems. The entire cycle was broadcast in a series on SWR2 between 2001 and 2007, introduced by the composer in conversation with Reinhard Ermen.

Performing such a piece is a challenge not only due to its length, but also due to the logistics involved. Each part, and in many cases, each scene, is designed for a different configuration of musicians, ranging from scenes written for a cappella choir to orchestra with synthesizer to string quartet playing from helicopters above the concert hall.

In 2019 the Dutch National Opera initiated a three-day immersion into Licht that was called aus LICHT. It included portions of the Licht cycle from all seven days, totaling about 15 hours of performance time. The three days/parts were:

  • Michael
  • Lucifer and Eve
  • Cooperation and the Opening Up of Space

Performance dates were May 31 – June 2, June 4–6, and June 8–10. aus LICHT was a joint production of the Dutch National Opera, Holland Festival, Royal Conservatory of The Hague, and the Stockhausen Foundation for Music (Anon. 2019).

World premières

  • Donnerstag (Thursday) – 1981, at La Scala in Milan
  • Samstag (Saturday) – May 1984, at La Scala in Milan
  • Montag (Monday) – 1988, at La Scala in Milan
  • Dienstag (Tuesday) – 1993, at the Leipzig Opera
  • Freitag (Friday) – September 1996, at the Leipzig Opera
  • Mittwoch (Wednesday) – staged première of the entire opera by Birmingham Opera Company, 22 August 2012, The Argyle Works, Birmingham (Clements 2012); première broadcast as a whole by SWR in 2003; première stagings of the individual scenes were as follows:
    • Scene 1 Welt-Parlament ("World Parliament") – 1996, Stuttgart
    • Scene 2 Orchester-Finalisten ("Orchestra Finalists") – 1996, Holland Festival, Amsterdam
    • Scene 3 Helikopter-Streichquartett – 1995 Holland Festival, Amsterdam
    • Scene 4 Michaelion July 1998, in the Prinzregententheater, Munich
  • Sonntag (Sunday) – broadcast as a whole by SWR in 2007; première staging as a whole was on 9 April (Scenes 1, 2 and 3) and 10 April (Scenes 4 and 5 and the Farewell), 2011, in Cologne (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik 2010; Stockhausen 2011)

References

  • Anon. 2019. "aus LICHT". auslicht.com (Accessed 28 July 2020).
  • Bandur, Markus. 1999. "The Composition of Meaning: Construction and Semantics in Karlheinz Stockhausen's Luzifer-Gruss [sic] vom Samstag aus Licht." Perspectives of New Music 37, no. 1 (Winter): 157–178. German version, as "Luzifers Grüße: Konstruktion und Semantik in Karlheinz Stockhausens SAMSTAG aus LICHT". In Gedenkschrift für Stockhausen, edited by Suzanne Stephens and Kathinka Pasveer, 1–17. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik, 2008. ISBN 978-3-00-023528-3.
  • Bandur, Markus. 2004. "'...alles aus einem Kern entfaltet, thematisch und strukturell'. Karlheinz Stockhausen und die Rezeption des Urantia Book in LICHT". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT: Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht. Signale aus Köln: Musik der Zeit 10. Ed. Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 136–146. Münster, Berlin, London: Lit Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Bruno, Pascal. 1999. "Donnerstag aus Licht: A New Myth, or Simply an Updating of a Knowledge?" Perspectives of New Music 37, no. 1 (Winter): 133–56.
  • Clements, Andrew. 2012. "Mittwoch aus Licht—review". The Guardian (August 23).
  • Godwin, Joscelyn. 1998. "Stockhausen's Donnerstag aus Licht and Gnosticism". In Gnosis and Hermeticism from Antiquity to Modern Times, SUNY Series in Western Esoteric Traditions, edited by Roelof van den Broek and Wouter J. Hanegraaff, 347–58. Albany: State University of New York Press. ISBN 0-7914-3611-X (cloth) ISBN 0-7914-3612-8 (pbk).
  • Kohl, Jerome. 1990. "Into the Middleground: Formula Syntax in Stockhausen's Licht." Perspectives of New Music 28, no. 2 (Summer): 262–291.
  • Kohl, Jerome. 1993. "Time and Light." Contemporary Music Review 7, no. 2 (1993): 203–219.
  • Kurtz, Michael. 1992. Stockhausen: A Biography, translated by Richard Toop. London and Boston: Faber and Faber. ISBN 0-571-14323-7 (cloth) ISBN 0-571-17146-X (pbk).
  • Maconie, Robin. 2016. Other Planets: The Complete Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen, 1950–2007, updated edition. Lanham, Boulder, New York, London: Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-4422-7267-5.
  • Peters, Günter. 2003. Heiliger Ernst im Spiel—Texte zur Musik von Karlheinz Stockhausen / Holy Seriousness in the Play—Essays on the Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen (bilingual edition, German and English). Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. ISBN 978-3-00-009182-7.
  • Solare, Juan María, and Karlheinz Stockhausen. 2003. "Expansión, música cósmica y Stockhausen". Deutsche Welle website (26 August ) (Accessed 7 December 2012).
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1978. Superformel für LICHT. Stockhausen.org website (archive from 4 April 2014; accessed 26 October 2018).
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1989a. Texte zur Musik, vol. 5, edited by Christoph von Blumröder. DuMont Dokumente. Cologne: DuMont Buchverlag. ISBN 3-7701-2249-6.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1989b. Texte zur Musik, vol. 6, edited by Christoph von Blumröder. DuMont Dokumente. Cologne: DuMont Buchverlag. ISBN 3-7701-2249-6.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2001. Stockhausen Courses Kürten 2001: Composition Course on Lights-Waters (Sunday Greeting) for Soprano, Tenor, and orchestra with synthesizer (1999). Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2003a. Stockhausen Courses Kürten 2003: Composition Course on Hoch-Zeiten (of Sunday from Light) for Choir (2001/02). Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2011. Sonntag aus Licht: Uraufführung. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz, Hermann Conen, and Jochen Hennlich. 1989. "Before and After Samstag aus Licht: Conversation of 24 May 1984, in Milan." Contemporary Music Review 5, no. 1:267–97.
  • Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. 2010. Press release, "Staged World Première of SUNDAY from LIGHT in Cologne at the Staatenhaus (Fair Grounds)" (archive from 14 January 2018; accessed 3 April 2020).
  • Ulrich, Thomas. 2001. "Sternklang: Karlheinz Stockhausens astronische Musik". Positionen: Beiträge zur neuen Musik 46 (February): 25–28.
  • Ulrich, Thomas. 2012b. Stockhausen: A Theological Interpretation, translated by Jayne Obst. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. ISBN 978-3-9815317-0-1.
  • Wager, Gregg. 1998. Symbolism as a Compositional Method in the Works of Karlheinz Stockhausen. College Park, Md.: Gregg Wager. ISBN 0-9665850-0-3. Translation of the author's Ph.D. thesis, "Symbolik als kompositorische Methode in den Werken von Karlheinz Stockhausen". Berlin: Freie Universität Berlin, 1996.

Further reading

  • Anon. 2012. "Helicopters Get Part in Olympic Opera Event". The Telegraph (13 March).
  • Adamenko, Victoria. 2007. Neo-mythologism in Music: From Scriabin and Schoenberg to Schnittke and Crumb. Interplay Series 5. Hillsdale, NY: Pendragon Press. ISBN 1-57647-125-X.
  • Barrett, Richard. 1988. "'Montag aus Licht' at the Holland Festival". Tempo, new series, no. 166 (September): 43–45.
  • Bauer, Christian. 2008. Sacrificium intellectus: Das Opfer des Verstandes in der Kunst von Karlheinz Stockhausen, Botho Strauß und Anselm Kiefer. Munich: Wilhelm Fink Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7705-4596-4.
  • Bor, Mustafa. 2008. "Pitch and Duration Contours in Karlheinz Stockhausen's Super-formula for Licht". In Musical Currents from the Left Coast, edited by Jack Boss and Bruce Quaglia, 129–54. Newcastle upon Tyne: Cambridge Scholars. ISBN 978-1-84718-642-3.
  • Braun, Thomas Manfred. 2008. "Das magische Quadrat in Karlheinz Stockhausens LICHT-BILDER". In Gedenkschrift für Stockhausen, edited by Suzanne Stephens and Kathinka Pasveer, 19–30. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. ISBN 978-3-00-023528-3.
  • Breault, Marie-Hélène. 2008. "The Timbre of the Flute and the Character of the Cat in Karlheinz Stockhausen's SATURDAY from LIGHT". In Gedenkschrift für Stockhausen, edited by Suzanne Stephens and Kathinka Pasveer, 31–44. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. ISBN 978-3-00-023528-3.
  • Brotbeck, Roman. 2004. "Anmerkungen zur Pietà". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 51–60. Münster: Lit-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Brümmer, Ludger. 2008. "Stockhausen on Electronics, 2004". Computer Music Journal 32, no. 4:10–16.
  • Coenen, Alcedo. 1992. "Karlheinz Stockhausen's Licht: Facts and Some Remarks".
  • Draus, Agnieszka. 2008. "LICHT by Karlheinz Stockhausen: From Theory to Metaphysics". In Gedenkschrift für Stockhausen, edited by Suzanne Stephens and Kathinka Pasveer, 47–58. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. ISBN 978-3-00-023528-3.
  • Draus, Agnieszka. 2016. "Looking for Tradition in the Opera Cycle Licht by Karlheinz Stockhausen". In The Musical Legacy of Karlheinz Stockhausen: Looking Back and Forward, edited by M.J. Grant and Imke Misch, 116–22. Hofheim: Wolke Verlag. ISBN 978-3-95593-068-4.
  • Drew, Joseph. 2014. Michael From Light: A Character Study of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Hero. Ph.D. diss. New York: New York University.
  • Frisius, Rudolf. 2013. Karlheinz Stockhausen III: Die Werkzyklen 1977–2007. Mainz, London, Berlin, Madrid, New York, Paris, Prague, Tokyo, Toronto: Schott Music GmbH & Co. KG. ISBN 978-3-7957-0772-9.
  • Grohmann, Katerina. 2010. Karlheinz Stockhausen: Oper MITTWOCH aus LICHT. Kölner Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft 12, edited by Christoph von Blumröder, Wolfram Steinbeck. Kassel: Bosse Verlag. ISBN 978-3-7649-2712-7.
  • Grüß, Hans. 2004. "Einige vorläufige Anmerkungen zu textlichen und musikalischen Grundmomenten in Licht". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 147–59. Münster: Lit-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Hartwell, Robin, 2012. "Threats and Promises: Lucifer, Hell, and Stockhausen's Sunday from Light". Perspectives of New Music 50, nos. 1 & 2 (Winter–Summer): 393–424.
  • Henkel, Georg. 2012. Kosmisches Lachen: Synthi-Fou und der närrische Humor in Karlheinz Stockhausens Opernzyklus Licht. Hamburg: Tredition GmbH. ISBN 978-3-8491-1646-0.
  • Henkel, Georg. 2016. "Angel of Joy: Stockhausen's 'Mirrors in Sound' [Klangspiegel] and the Audibility of the Inaudible". In The Musical Legacy of Karlheinz Stockhausen: Looking Back and Forward, edited by M.J. Grant and Imke Misch, 138–47. Hofheim: Wolke Verlag. ISBN 978-3-95593-068-4.
  • Kohl, Jerome. 1983–84. "Stockhausen at La Scala: Semper Idem sed Non Eodem Modo." Perspectives of New Music 22:483–501.
  • Kohl, Jerome. 2004. "Der Aspekt der Harmonik in Licht." In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 116–32. Münster, Berlin, London: LIT-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Kohl, Jerome. 2010. "A Child of the Radio Age". In Cut & Splice: Transmission, edited by Daniela Cascella and Lucia Farinati, 135–39. London: Sound and Music. ISBN 978-1-907378-03-4.
  • Kohl, Jerome. 2012. "A Gedenkschrift for Karlheinz Stockhausen: Guest Editor's Introduction". Perspectives of New Music 50, nos. 1 & 2 (Winter–Summer): 306–12.
  • Kovács, Adorján F. 2008. "Dauer, Form und Leben: Zur Konzeption und Rezeption von Karlheinz Stockhausens Licht". In Gedenkschrift für Stockhausen, edited by Suzanne Stephens and Kathinka Pasveer, 87–112. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. ISBN 978-3-00-023528-3.
  • Maconie, Robin. 2010. "Facing the Music: Stockhausen's Wizard of Oz". Tempo 64, no. 251 (January): 2–7.
  • Miller, Paul. 2009. "Stockhausen and the Serial Shaping of Space". Ph.D. diss. Rochester: Eastman School of Music.
  • Miller, Paul. 2012. "An Adventure into Outer Space: Stockhausen's Lichter—Wasser and the Analysis of Spatialized Music". Perspectives of New Music 50, nos. 1 & 2 (Winter–Summer): 342–92.
  • Misch, Imke. 2004. "Serielles Denken in Licht". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 36–51. Münster: Lit-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Misch, Imke. 2016. "Karlheinz Stockhausen: The Challenge of Legacy: An Introduction". In The Musical Legacy of Karlheinz Stockhausen: Looking Back and Forward, edited by M.J. Grant and Imke Misch, 11–19. Hofheim: Wolke Verlag. ISBN 978-3-95593-068-4.
  • Parsons, Ian Lawrence. 2019. "The Phenomenology of Light: an Interpretation of Stockhausen's Opera Cycle Drawing on Heidegger's Fourfold and Lacanian Psychoanalysis". Ph.D. diss. Melbourne: Monash University.
  • Peters, Günter. 2004. "Grenzgänge in den Mittelpunkt der Musik. Karlheinz Stockhausen auf dem Weg zu Düfte-Zeichen vom Sonntag aus Licht." Musik und Ästhetik 8, no. 32 (October): 61–81.
  • Rautmann, Peter, and Nicolas Schalz. 1998. Passagen: Kreuz- und Quergänge durch die Moderne, 2 v. + supplement of illustrations and 2 CD audio recordings. Regensburg: ConBrio Verlagsgesellschaft. ISBN 3-930079-88-7.
  • Ruch, Christian. 1999. "Noten für Nebadon: Anmerkungen zur Polemik um das Werk des Komponisten Karlheinz Stockhausen". Materialdienst der Evangelische Zentralstelle für Weltanschauungsfragen 62, no. 7:209–211.
  • Schwerdtfeger, Dettloff. 2000. Karlheinz Stockhausens Oper Donnerstag aus Licht: Ziel und Anfang einer kompositorischen Entwicklung. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik.
  • Seifert, Uwe. 2004. "Musik? Theater? Musiktheater? Kunsttheoretische Perspektiven von Karlheinz Stockhausen, Nam June Paik und Tod Machover im Vergleich: Ein geschichtsphilosophischer Versuch". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 212–32. Münster: Lit-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Shimizu, Minoru. 1999. "Stockhausen und Japan, Licht und Schatten". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 1998: Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 11. bis 14. November 1998. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 87–94. Signale aus Köln: Beiträge zur Musik der Zeit 4. Saarbrücken: PFAU-Verlag. ISBN 3-89727-050-1.
  • Shimizu, Minoru. 2004. "Potentiale multimedialer Aufführung und 'szenische Musik'—einige Bemerkungen zum Helikopter-Streichquartett". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 61–73. Münster: Lit-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1998a. Texte zur Musik, vol. 7, edited by Christoph von Blumröder. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1998b. Texte zur Musik, vol. 8, edited by Christoph von Blumröder. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1998c. Texte zur Musik, vol. 9, edited by Christoph von Blumröder. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1998d. Texte zur Musik, vol. 10, edited by Christoph von Blumröder. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2003b. Composition Course on Light Pictures (3rd Scene of Sunday from Light) for Basset Horn, Flute with Ring Modulations, Tenor, Trumpet with Ring Modulation, Synthesizer (2002/03). Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz 2004a. Composition Course on Scents-Signs (of Sunday from Light) for 7 Vocalists, Boy's Voice, Sythesizer (2002). Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2004b. Stockhausen Courses Kürten 2004: Composition Course on Hoch-Zeiten (of Sunday from Light) for Orchestra (2001/02). Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Stockhausen, Karlheinz, and Jerome Kohl. 1985. "Stockhausen on Opera." Perspectives of New Music 23, no. 2 (Spring–Summer): 24–39.
  • Stockhausen-Verlag. 2008. Stockhausen August 22nd 1928 – December 5th 2007, English edition of brochure with official worklist and list of CDs. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag (archive from 8 March 2018, accessed 3 April 2020).
  • Stoïanova, Ivanka. 1990. "Der 'Coup de lune' von Stockhausen: MONTAG aus LICHT", translated by Désiree Buxel and Peter Petersen. In Musikkulturgeschichte: Festschrift für Constantin Floros zum 60. Geburtstag, edited by Peter Petersen, 185–212. Wiesbaden: Breitkopf & Härtel.
  • Stoïanova, Ivanka. 1993. "Mythen der Weiblichkeit in den achtziger und neunziger Jahren: Wiederaneignung und Neubestimmung—Stockhausen, Eloy". In Wiederaneignung und Neubestimmung: Der Fall 'Postmoderne' in der Musik, edited by Otto Kolleritsch. Vienna: Universal Edition.
  • Stoïanova, Ivanka. 1999a. "And Dasein Becomes Music: Some Glimpses of Light", translated from the German by Jerome Kohl. Perspectives of New Music 37, no. 1 (Winter):179–212.
  • Stoïanova, Ivanka. 1999b. "Und das Dasein wird Musik: Einige Blicke über Licht—Karlheinz Stockhausen zum 70. Geburtstag". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, Signale aus Köln 4, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder. Saarbrücken: Pfau-Verlag.
  • Stoïanova, Ivanka. 2003. "... aus dem Bauch: Figuren der Weiblichkeit in Stockhausens Licht". Neue Zeitschrift für Musik 164, no. 4 (July–August): 32–37.
  • Stoïanova, Ivanka. 2004. "Versuch einer komparatistischen Erhellung des Licht-Zyklus: Berio, Bussotti, Stockhausen". In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 15–34. Münster: Lit-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Stoïanova, Ivanka. 2012. "The Total Artwork in Karlheinz Stockhausen's Licht: 'In the Beyond—Always and Forever'". Anais do SIMPOM (Simpósio Brasileiro de Pós-Graduandos em Música) 2:71–88.
  • Toop, Richard. 2005a. Sonntags-Abschied (Sunday Farewell)—a Report. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.
  • Toop, Richard. 2005b. Six Lectures from the Stockhausen Courses Kürten 2002. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag. ISBN 3-00-016185-6.
  • Toop, Richard. 2008. "Licht ('Light')". Grove Music Online: The New Grove Dictionary of Opera (updated 22 October) (Subscription access) (Accessed 17 April 2013).
  • Ulrich, Thomas. 2004. "Moral und Übermoral in Stockhausens Licht".In Internationales Stockhausen-Symposion 2000: LICHT. Musikwissenschaftliches Institut der Universität zu Köln, 19. bis 22. Oktober 2000. Tagungsbericht, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 74–88. Münster: Lit-Verlag. ISBN 3-8258-7944-5.
  • Ulrich, Thomas. 2008. "Anmerkungen zu Luzifer". In Gedenkschrift für Stockhausen, edited by Suzanne Stephens and Kathinka Pasveer, 202–11. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. ISBN 978-3-00-023528-3.
  • Ulrich, Thomas. 2011. Sonntag aus Licht, Oper in fünf Szenen und einem Abschied: Karlheinz Stockhausen, Urauffürung. Spielzeit 2010–2011, no. 27. Cologne: Oper der Stadt Köln.
  • Ulrich, Thomas. 2012a. "Lucifer and Morality in Stockhausen’s Opera CycleLicht", translated by Jerome Kohl. Perspectives of New Music 50, nos. 1 & 2 (Winter–Summer): 313–41.
  • Ulrich, Thomas. 2017. Stockhausens Zyklus LICHT: Ein Opernführer. Cologne, Weimar, and Vienna: Böhlau Verlag GmbH & Cie. ISBN 978-3-412-50577-6.
  • Urantia Foundation. 1955. The Urantia Book. Chicago: Urantia Foundation. ISBN 0-911560-07-6.
  • Watkins, Glenn. 2003. "Music of the European Avant-Garde: Karlheinz Stockhausen's Samstag aus Licht: A Contemporary Report". In The Wind Band and Its Repertoire: Two Decades of Research as Published in the College Band Directors National Association Journal, edited by Michael Votta, 171–73. The Donald Hunsberger Wind Library. Miami: Warner Brothers/Alfred Music Publishing. ISBN 0-7579-1833-6.
  • Wirtz, Markus. 2000. Licht. Die szenische Musik von Karlheinz Stockhausen. Eine Einführung. Saarbrücken: Pfau-Verlag. ISBN 3-89727-088-9.
  • Zorn, Magdalena. 2016. "Wie hör' ich das Licht? Stockhausen and Wagner in the Echo Chamber of History". In The Musical Legacy of Karlheinz Stockhausen: Looking Back and Forward, edited by M.J. Grant and Imke Misch, 123–137. Hofheim: Wolke Verlag. ISBN 978-3-95593-068-4.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.