Instrumentation Works for Orchestra
Stockhausen Complete Edition on CD
Since 1991, a complete edition of all recordings in which Karlheinz Stockhausen has personally participated is being released on compact discs. Each CD in this series is identified by Stockhausen's signature followed by an encircled number. The numbers indicate the general historical order of the works.
Stockhausen realised the electronic music and participated in these recordings as conductor, performer, sound projectionist, and musical director. He personally mixed down the recordings, mastered them for CDs, wrote the texts and drew the covers.
- The compact discs may be obtained from the Stockhausen-Verlag: Kettenberg 15, 51515 Kuerten, Germany (www.stockhausenCDs.com).
Karlheinz Stockhausen
Instrumentation Works for Orchestra
CHILDREN'S ORCHESTRA
(for example 16 instruments)
and
soprano, flute, basset-horn,
a synthesizer player;
electronic music, sound projectionist
(Duration with fade-in: circa 6 minutes plus pause or fade-out; duration of a separate performance with fade-in and fade-out: circa 7 minutes.)
In the opera FRIDAY from LIGHT, there are 12 sound scenes and 10 real
scenes which are all derived from a two-part nuclear formula (see page VI).
In CHILDREN'S ORCHESTRA (fade-in of the electronic music plus circa
5 minutes plus pause), CHILDREN'S CHOIR (circa 7½ minutes plus
pause), CHILDREN'S TUTTI (circa 5 minutes plus fade-out of the electronic music), the original LIGHT formulas are used with several changes, insertions and distinctive endings.
These three real scenes (total duration circa 21 minutes) were world
premiered in the context of the entire opera on September 12th 1996 at the
Leipzig Opera, performed by the children's orchestra of the "Johann Sebastian
Bach" music school in Leipzig (rehearsed by Andreas Korn), the children's
choir of the Leipzig Opera (choir director: Anne-Kristin Mai) and the
children's choir of the Middle German Radio (choir director: Gunter Berger),
Angela Tunstall (soprano), Nicholas Isherwood (bass), Kathinka Pasveer
(flute), Suzanne Stephens (basset-horn), Massimiliano Viel (synthesizer),
K. Stockhausen (electronic music and sound projection).
Staging - Text
CHILDREN'S ORCHESTRA
After the auditorium has become dark, the electronic music is faded in.
From the left, EVE (soprano) comes with a group of children. They are carrying European music instruments with them: flutes, clarinets, bassoons (?),
saxophones (?), trumpets (?), French horns (?), trombones (?), violins,
small celli, accordions (?), guitars (?) or others. All children are wearing
light-coloured concert apparel (for example white and green suits for the
boys, and dresses with white and blue sailors' collars for the girls).
Behind the children follow the two companions ELU (basset-horn
player) and LUFA (flutist).
As they walk, the children play individual notes and intervals of the
music which follows, and happily call individual syllables from the text to
each other. When they arrive, they position themselves at the half-left.
During this, a choir of children with LUDON (bass singer) has entered
from the right — slightly later and faster. They are carrying all kinds of African
rhythm instruments and are beating, rattling, rubbing and shaking them individually in disarray, laughing a lot. They are dressed in black and red.
The two groups position themselves facing each other. The cello
players, who wear shooting-sticks fastened to their bottoms, sit down in front
of the others. LUDON and EVE greet each other.
A slight distance away, Synthibird is seated (a synthesizer player with synthesizer).
Then, the orchestra of white children plays for the black children, who
enjoy themselves throughout. EVE sings along and lightly conducts the orchestra. ELU and LUFA remain in the background and inconspicuously play
along with the orchestra. Synthibird accompanies.
As EVE conducts the children's orchestra, she sings the following words:
| EVE: | Salve Ludon — Eve-children greet your children child — new era Christmas feast — gleam of light — bright — dark — bright white black Eve-children fair — Ludon-children dark children day — night — birth — day Cainon — Hu no — Hu yes |