Karlheinz Stockhausen - Himmelfahrt - 1st Stunde aus Klang (2006) {Stockhausen-Verlag No. 83}

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.


Works on This Recording



83

HIMMELFAHRT



HIMMELFAHRT (ASCENSION, 1st Hour from KLANG, for synthesizer, soprano and tenor (and some percussion) (2004/05): This work (originally for church organ) primarily features the polyphonic/polytimbral synthesizer of Antonio Pérez Abellán, with added sung text by Hubert Mayer (tenor) and Barbara Zanichelli (soprano). Abellán did the synthesizer programming and also provides the intermittently-occurring percussion parts (bamboo chimes, metal bowl, gong percussion). As a bonus, the 48 timbres employed (blended synthesizer patches) are each demonstrated in isolation as well. This is enjoyable because each of Abellán's synth patches have at least 3 pitched elements (some of them dynamic) and these layers really can't be appreciated in the composition itself (Stockhausen introduces each sound personally). Rec. 2006.