for 4-channel tape
No.12 1/2 (ie 12.2) - KONTAKTE for tape, piano and percussion
No.12 2/3 (ie 12.3) - ORIGINALE (Originals), Musical Theatre with KONTAKTE (1961) [90 min]
The first 2 parts of this analysis of KONTAKTE can be found in
Pulses and Sine Waves
The basic sounds of KONTAKTE were mostly generated by a pulse generator which could create bursts of noise ("white noise clicks") at the rate of 16 clicks/second to 1 every 16 seconds, and with durations between 1/10000 of a second and 1-second. These "full-spectrum" noise impulses were then fed through a frequency bandwidth filter in order to produce pitches, noises and mixtures of both. Other devices employed include reverb units and ring modulators.
- Pulse wave generator
- Level-control amplifier
- 12 different filters
- Reverberation unitEMT.140No 108
- Ring modulator
- Sine-Square-wave generators
- Low-tone generator
- Difference-tone ‘hummer’
- Four-channel variablespeed tape recorder
- 3 other three-speed tape-recorders connected to a patch board
- 3 Terz-filters (band pass)
- Hand-operated rotation table to be used with four microphones (up to 6 rotations per second)
The first phase of creating KONTAKTE was to create bits of tape loops with "source material" with which to work from. These tape loops were then manipulated and processed in various ways.
One of the ideas Stockhausen explored is that when periodic impulses are looped at high speed, they create stable tones (pitched drones). However, by varying the placement of an impulse on a tape loop, a noise can be created, with the bandwidth related to the length of variation between the impulse placements and the proportion of irregular to regular rhythms. A transition from a pure tone to a noise can be done by gradually varying the amount of regular periodicity in the tape loop.
Creating Structure X
- Record 60 secs of pulses with pitch zigzagging upwards.
- Speed up 10x to 6 secs (zigzag melody becomes rising tone color) .
- Record 30 seconds with pulses in decreasing speed (zigzag down) with pitch falling and then rising in a smooth curve.
- Record 45 seconds with pulses continuing to evenly slow down with pitch falling in a zig zag and then holding steady.
- Record 45 seconds with pulses continuing to evenly slow down. 7 pulses play a melody in the middle and then hold again, slightly lower.
- Final pulses have gradually altered "filter feedback time" so that the timbre becomes metallic.
- Combine result of 1-2 with slightly sped up result of 3-6.
- Afterwards, the sound is filtered higher and higher.
|Score notations (from Jonathan Harvey's book)|
The Realization score of KONTAKTE (cover at top of page) is basically in 4 parts:
- Pictures and descriptions of the studio equipment.
- Descriptions of the creation of 16 categories of tape loops.
- Descriptions of the mixing/manipulation phase for each of the 16 Structures.
- Visual transcription ("score") of the resulting electronic music.
|Structure XIIIB/C, from KONTAKTE w Perc & Piano|
( © Universal Edition/© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org)
"The instruments point at certain events in the electronic music, underline... It’s like having a painting with special coloring, and certain forms and figures are underlined with (this) color...they play along with what’s happening, sometimes even "multiply" - like at the beginning, the first two minutes, they really multiply what’s already happening in the electronic music."
- Stockholm Q & A transcript
To get an idea of what Stockhausen is going for here, see the directives for the musicians in HYMNEN mit SOLISTEN.
This piece is essentially a performance art theatrical work, involving many surrealistic characters and plot elements, many of them pretty funny. Part of the proceedings is a live performance of KONTAKTE with piano and percussion. This staging of KONTAKTE functions as a "performance within a performance". For video and more, check out the page on Ubuweb.
(see INTRODUCTION, or "I Remember KONTAKTE...")
Sound samples, tracks listings and CD ordering
Four Criteria of Electronic Music (Stockhausen on Music)
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