Thirteenth Hour: Cosmic Pulses Klang (Stockhausen)

cosmic pulses, electronic music (8-track-tape, loudspeaker pairs, mixing desk / sound director) 2006–2007 (32 mins., 05 secs.). work number 93. specified colour hks 4 (yellow) (stockhausen 2008b, cover).

cosmic pulses commissioned massimo simonini, artistic director of angelica festival in bologna, in conjunction dissonanze electronic music festival in rome, premiered on 7 may 2007 @ auditorium parco della musica, sala sinopoli (anon. [2007] ; stockhausen 2007a). german premiere took place later in same year, on friday, 13 july 2007, @ stockhausen courses in kürten (collins 2008, 89). title of work may related composition written kind of homage stockhausen, titled pulsares, brazilian composer flo menezes, had sent dvd recording of stockhausen in late 2005. written 1998–2000 solo piano, orchestra, quadraphonic electronic sounds , live electronics, pulsares, cosmic pulses, particularly concerned rotating spatial sounds (menezes 2014, 74)

when stockhausen began composing work on 16 august 2006, have been sixth hour of klang , titled in singular: cosmic pulse. @ point, fifth hour given title akkorde , intended include not 3 solos later renamed harmonien, trio become schönheit. @ later point in time before premiere, stockhausen reassigned work hour thirteen, in order open hours 6–12 additional trios balance erwachen (frisius 2013, 623, 627; kohl 2012b, 477–78, 489).

the electronic realisation carried out joachim haas , gregorio karman @ experimentalstudio des swr (de) in freiburg between december 2006 , april 2007, spatialisation accomplished @ stockhausen s studio in kürten between 25 , 31 april [sic] 2007 (garcía karman 2007, 1). (a second-hand source, nordin [2007] , quotes garcía karman saying between 25 , 31 march, rather april.)

the music made 24 melodic loops, each different number of pitches (from 1 24) , in different tempo, calculated in sequences of 8 pulses lasting between 1.17 , 240 per minute. means slowest tempo 1.17 x 8 = 9.36 pulses per minute, , fastest 240 x 8 = 1920 pulses per minute. these loops, total pitch span of 7 octaves, created , synchronized antonio pérez abellán. loops enter successively low high , slow fast, , make exits in same order. kathinka pasveer enlivened rhythms , pitches hand, according composer s instructions, causing accelerandos , ritardandos around each basic tempo, , glissandos upwards , downwards around melodic pitch successions (stockhausen 2007b, 22 & 40). music therefore begins , ends relatively clear polyphony of loops, in central part dissolves statistical mass of sound in general shifts of texture , colour can perceived (grant 2008, 19).

in addition this, collaboration of joachim haas , gregorio karman of experimental studio acoustic art in freiburg, stockhausen spatialized each of 24 layers in eight-channel sound, total of 241 different trajectories in space if had compose orbits of 24 moons or 24 planets. … if possible hear not yet know—it depends on how 1 can experience 8-channel performance. in case, experiment extremely fascinating (stockhausen 2007b, 22 & 40). accomplished system based on device called okteg (octophonic effect generator), using max/msp patch implementing 8 variable-law amplitude-panning modules driven separate sequencers, each own tempo control. specially developed @ experimental studio manage real-time panning of 8 simultaneous layers, , coupled digital audio workstation controlling layer playback, trajectory recording , mixing tasks (garcía karman 2007, 1).

cosmic pulses exploration of frontiers between perceptual realms of pitch , rhythm—visited stockhausen in kontakte (1958–60)—in pitches descend below threshold of pitch perception become periodic rhythms, , periodic transformed audible pitches. probes borders between spatial movement , timbre (kohl 2012a, 309–10).

after completion of cosmic pulses, stockhausen requested further step technicians @ experimental studio. wanted automation levels of individual layers neutralized while @ same time retaining original spatialization, use in production of further electronic materials following 8 pieces in cycle (garcía karman 2007, 8 , 12). each of subsequent pieces in cycle use 3 of twenty-four melodic layers cosmic pulses accompaniment slower-moving solo part. 4 of these solos vocal (hours 14, 15, 18, , 19), , 4 wind instruments (hours 16, 17, 20, , 21).