In 1975, Stockhausen wrote twelve little pieces, one about each of the
signs of the Zodiac. Those twelve little melodies, written initially
for twelve music boxes, were among the instrumental building stones of
another work, Musik im Bauch (Music in the Belly), which also
involved six percussionists and a sound projectionist. It was only
later that Stockhausen decided to reuse these twelve pieces and to turn
them into an autonomous work. On that occasion, he also edited a score
of the work under the title Tierkreis. This is what Stockhausen
said about the work, which according to statistics is one of the most
frequently performed pieces by the German composer:
“It is evident that Tierkreis is a cycle of musical
formulae for the 12 months of the year and the 12 human types, and that
these formulae lend themselves to innumerable versions. The largest
‘version’ of Tierkreis to date is my composition
Sirius, electronic music and trumpet, soprano, bass clarinet, bass
(1975-77). Its duration is 96 minutes. May everyone recognise himself
in his sign of the zodiac!”
Among the recordings of the piece already available, this new version
by Het Collectief and Capilla Flamenca, going under the name
“12x12”, strikes us by its originality. In their approach,
Stockhausen's little music pieces are extended and further elaborated,
they even quote in a daring but most successful way some 14th century
compositions, more specifically from the Ars Nova period, as
point of reference. The confrontation, but in a certain sense also the
symbiosis between these radically opposed worlds, plunges the listener
from the first musical notes into a very special poetic universe.
The poetry, however, is not only due to the connection of two music
worlds that are six centuries apart. Contributing to the poetic mood,
even considerably so, are other aspects such as the rich, clever and
intelligent evocation of the twelve signs of the zodiac by both groups,
and also the very beautiful interpretation of the works of G. de
Machaut, de Cluny, Ciconia and a few other 14th century masters.
To get a good understanding of this “12x12”, we first have
to say something about the overall project for this recording and also
about Stockhausen's own composition project. First of all, the choice
of the zodiac theme as such creates a great unity, in part at least.
This unity and cohesion is reinforced by the choice of the ars nova
pieces, by the alternation of these pieces - at certain moments even
their well-thought-out intertwining - with the melodies of Stockhausen
and by the distribution of these pieces over the whole performance.
What we have in mind here are the moments when the ensemble Capilla
Flamenca is making cracks into the time flow of Stockhausen's pieces
with bits of ancient music, so as to create a discontinuity directly
associated with the zodiac sign at issue; or the moments when the
ensemble for ancient music associates itself with the
‘modern’ music, and even overpowers it. That intertwining
and its effects are fairly striking. We eventually discover that unity
also in the project of the composer as well. As we said, he wants
performers to create their own version of the Tierkreis. It
turns out indeed that by direct incursions into the text, the ensemble
Het Collectief manages to make Stockhausen's composition incline to
musical gestures that refer to ancient music.
Another characteristic of Stockhausen's composition is that the musical
idea is really affected by the properties of the different zodiac
signs. Here too, as a way of understanding the musical text, the
musicians can find ideas, which they can then freely manipulate so as
to transform the text as they choose. Thus the musical idea is
sometimes evoked by the pictogram representing the zodiac sign. At
other times, it is engendered by the properties associated with the
sign. The sign of the Virgin, which is usually associated with
rationality and sometimes with mathematics, offers a case in point, in
that Stockhausen uses the Fibonacci suite to illustrate it.
Incidentally, Het Collectief explicitly relies on this parameter for
the arrangement of the latter sign, as can be gathered, amongst other
examples, from the energetic accents laid by the bass clarinet. But
sometimes the composition is triggered off by the two dimensions, the
pictogram and the character traits associated with the signs. In this
respect, the sign of the Scales is particularly remarkable, just like
that of the Fish, a double sign, composed for two voices - referring to
the aspect of the double personality often associated with this sign.
In short, the protagonists of this “12x12” have searched
for their music by a careful study of the text, following the method of
Stockhausen himself, who did a minute examination of all aspects
related to astrology before importing them into his text, sometimes in
an explicit way, sometimes more covertly. No doubt it is here, in the
light of what the original text teaches us, that this new version of
the Tierkreis is really impressive. Neither of the two
ensembles would put up with an intuitive arrangement, they really have
searched for the essence of the work before transcending it, throughout
the “re-composition”.
In the space allowed here, we cannot go into all the subtleties of this
recording, but a few passages have particularly struck us. To begin
with, the very first notes of the work, when only the music box of the
sign of the Aquarius is heard. We then hear a few chords sung by
Capilla Flamenca, as the ensemble Het Collectief enters on tiptoe with
little scraps of melody, first from the piano and then from the flute
... a very beautiful and modest melody, in which Stockhausen's text, in
all its virginity, seems to invite the musicians to join him.
When at some point halfway through the recording, the sign of the Lion
can be heard and all protagonists sing his “martial” melody
in unison, this passage can be understood, at a first hearing, as a big
and particularly convincing rhetorical gesture, in line with the
general form of the work, but equally as an homage to the composer of Tierkreis,
himself born under the sign of the Lion.
Listening to the sign of the Scales, one is first struck by the great
poetic charm emanating from the melody played by the recorder,
accompanied by a simple bourdon. The music of this sign, played
entirely by Capilla Flamenca, seems to hesitate - not by
coincidence one the character traits of this sign - between the
modernity of Stockhausen's text and the world of ancient music. In the
melody of this sign, the harmony component receives special emphasis by
the arrangement that we are offered here. After all, why would we not
take this parameter - harmony - into account, when in most treatises on
astrology this term reappears for those born under the sign of the
Scales.
The beginning of the sign of the Scorpion feels like a new articulation
in the form. The violence of these first moments contrasts sharply with
the anonymous music of ‘J'ay grant désespoir de ma
vie’. Here too, the character traits associated with the sign
create the general climate. To illustrate the purpose, two sentences
from a work on astrology may clarify the intention of the music:
“They (the scorpions) defend themselves against attacks with
great aggressiveness ...” “They are their own greatest
enemy and their emotionality can overpower them without them being able
to lead it in a good direction ...” It seems to us that the
piccolo distributing musical pricks with its dart is more than eloquent.
We could multiply the examples that show how relevant the
interpretation by both collaborating ensembles is and how well they
have realized their original intention. The musical ideas are not just
original and beautifully executed, they are also directly linked with
and derived from the proposed initial text. So this is not a simple
instrumentation of the kind one frequently comes across, it is a
rewriting of the text based on a genuine analytic reflection.
With this new recording, the two ensembles have undoubtedly created an
outstanding version of Stockhausen's famous work. It will certainly not
go unnoticed among the many who will no doubt embark upon it in the
years to come.
Jean-Marie Rens
Translation: Louis Dieltjens
Elise Simoens on the premiere of the concert in the Bruges
Concertgebouw
Twelve musicians, in two ensembles that at first glance look
incompatible, are daring to put together fourteenth-century polyphony
and late-twentieth-century chamber music.
In his treatise Ars Nova (ca. 1322), the composer and theoretician
Philippe de Vitry tells us precisely what this ‘new art’
entails. In this context ‘ars’ is better translated as
‘skill’ or ‘technique’ than ‘art’.
Using an ingenious new system of rhythmic notation, several French
composers succeeded in escaping from what they felt to be the overly
restrictive Ars Antigua of the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. The
new system allowed them to combine multiple rhythmic lines of extreme
complexity. Delighted, they immediately and enthusiastically composed
pieces in which several different texts were sung simultaneously. The
first to do this were the Frenchmen Philippe de Vitry (1291- 1361) and
Guillaume de Machaut (ca. 1300- 1377), but soon the Ars Nova style was
all the rage in other parts of Europe as well.
Six centuries further in time, we come to Karlheinz Stockhausen (22
August 1928 - December 2007). The composer had his breakthrough in the
1950s as a member of a generation of avant-gardists who have become
known as the serialists. Along with Pierre Boulez, Luigi Nono and the
Belgians Karel Goeyvaerts and Henri Pousseur, Stockhausen began
composing in a style grounded very much in the rational, in which as
many musical elements as possible (duration, volume, playing technique,
etc. in addition to pitches) were arranged in strictly formalised
series. Soon, however, it became apparent that this form of serialism
was troubling not just for composers; performers and audiences were
also finding it difficult. The post-serial works of these composers
seem to be a constant cry of confirmation that besides reason, they
also had healthy levels of emotion, flexibility and humanity.
Stockhausen's personal website (www.stockhausen.org) has a list of very diverse
admirers, such as The Beatles, Frank Zappa, Björk and Miles Davis.
Tierkreis (1975) fits in the context of this more
‘tolerant’ music, with an abnormally lenient Stockhausen
allowing his performers exceptional freedom. The original work consists
of twelve miniature scores affixed to twelve music boxes. In order not
to limit the performing forces to music boxes, however, Stockhausen
ultimately rewrote the Tierkreis for various chamber ensembles, leaving
the choice of instruments to the performers. This Tierkreis is actually
one giant improvisational playground. Stockhausen has only one strict
guideline: that the original music-box version must be played through
at least once. Although this music sounds almost childishly simple, it
is ingeniously constructed.
Stockhausen was able to achieve a virtually perfect balance again and
again, using a minimum of material. This performance, eighty minutes of
continually flowing music, is the result of an intensive rehearsal
process by twelve diligent and enthusiastic musicians. Stockhausen's
Tierkreis provided the necessary structure. The fact that Stockhausen
chose to compose a zodiac (`Tierkreis’ is German for
‘zodiac’) is not surprising, since his entire oeuvre
emanates a great predilection for big, transcendent and
difficult-to-grasp ideas.
Although Stockhausen can sometimes be - justly - criticised for a
certain hubris and pretentiousness (his magnum opus Licht, for
example, lasts 29 hours), this was certainly not the case for the
Collectief and Capilla Flamenca. The musicians of the two ensembles
explored each other's territories with no fanfare or fuss. In a very
natural way, they were able to reconcile Stockhausen with the
fourteenth-century Ars Nova - which by the end of the fourteenth
century had evolved into an almost mannerist Ars Subtilior, with
definite avantgarde traits of its own here and there.
The musicians actually approached their task very intuitively and
pragmatically. A thorough Internet search of astrological sites
provided the main characteristics of each of the zodiac signs. After
these were put alongside Stockhausen's music, the ensemble tried them
out to find the most desirable instrumentation. They then decided what
improvisational direction to take, and sought out appropriate music
from the Ars Nova repertoire. Connoisseurs may recognise Goeyvaerts
(Litanie I in section 3. Aries, with the repetitive music emphasising
the stubbornness of the ram) or Messiaen (his Quatuor pour la fin
du temps in section 12. Capricorn) in the improvisatory passages.
To illustrate the capriciousness of Gemini, the twins (section 5), the
cellist is made a channel-surfer at whose whim Capilla Flamenca or Het
Collectief are commanded to play or sing. The search for the lighter
side of life by the playful Sagittarius (section 11) in turn is
expressed by the clarinet's foxtrotlike improvisation.
The projected images, titles and texts, as well as the fixed
alternation of Stockhausen - Ars Nova will certainly give you some
necessary landmarks as you listen. There are also many humorous
over-the-top moments to enjoy, as well as wonderful places where old
and new overlap or seamlessly flow into one another. People born under
Leo should recognise their trademark inconstancy in the alternation of
a flashy virtuoso violin solo and an insignificant ditty played in the
piano's high octaves and on the very tiniest recorder.
Elise Simoens
Translation: Anne Hodgkinson
