On November 14th 1994 the Stockhausen Foundation for Music was ratified as a non-profit foundation having as its purpose 'the advancement of musicology including the stimulation of music culture based on the creative oeuvre of Professor Karlheinz Stockhausen' (paragraph 2.2 of the foundation statutes).
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Stockhausen Verlag Edition Scores Please note that surface mail ( which is included in our prices ) can take longer to some countries. In case you prefer additional AIR MAIL, please send us an e-mail and we can tell you the extra costs for your parcel. Karlheinz Stockhausen's Tierkreis is a cycle of 12 melodies inspired by the star signs of the Zodiac and the planets and deities traditionally associated with that ancient system, as well as what the composer referred to as the 'Twelve Human Characters'. Conceived and scored for any combination of improvisers and/or a set of specially constructed music boxes, it has been interpreted by a more.
The Stockhausen Foundation for Music is in a position to fulfil this mandate due to the fact that the biographical and musical stations of the composer are documented in its archives by way of composition sketches, scores, recordings, instruments, costumes and requisites, photographs and films, and comprehensive written sources, and accessible to scientific research.
In addition, one of the responsibilities of the foundation is to continue the Stockhausen Concerts and Courses Kürten, which have taken place every summer since they were initiated by Stockhausen in 1998. The uniqueness of this event lies in its combination of concerts, master classes, composition seminars and scientific symposia aimed at a large, international audience. In order to be able to mediate Stockhausen's music and art of interpretation, ideas, thoughts and observations in this way, the support of friends and patrons is needed.
Therefore, the Stockhausen Foundation for Music would like to ask you to make a contribution to help fulfil its mission, so that the Stockhausen Concerts and Courses Kürten, its most ambitious project to date, can be continued.
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The number of different timbres increases and decreases twice. Tom-tom and marimba cycles occur in both iterations. (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
(Cycle) for solo percussionist (snare drum, hi-hat, triangle, vibraphone, gongs, güiro, marimba, bells, tom-tom drums, etc...)
1959 (9-15')
Development
Stockhausen wrote ZYKLUS for solo percussionists to use as a music competition piece, specifically for the Kranichstein Music Competition in 1959. This kind of opportunity to write for would-be virtuosos to prove themselves would pop up from time to time, even up to 1997's KLAVIERSTUCKE XVII, written for the Micheli Competition (and derived from part of FREITAG AUS LICHT). In fact MITTWOCH AUS LICHT's 2nd Act is titled ORCHESTRE FINALISTEN (Orchestra Finalists). Sadly, it seems the competition performance of ZYKLUS didn't actually win the contest, but it was still the first major composition for a soloist on multiple percussion instruments (13 in all).
Sound Impressions
Like MANTRA, ZYKLUS has lots of underlying theory which is not easy to hear when just listening to it (especially without the score). Actually for most people it may be more fun to just listen without knowing the theoretical structures underneath it. In that spirit, I'll detail some broad strokes before going over the structural stuff.
In a way, this piece can be enjoyed purely as 'cartoon music' - that is, it is constantly changing, dynamics are all over the place, and there is a feeling of youthful vitality in all the rim shots and glissandi. On another level, ZYKLUS is a kind of showpiece for different percussive timbres. In a 'straight-forward' performance (starting from page 1) it cycles through 'featured' sounds in this order: snare drum, hi-hat, triangle, vibraphone (glissandi/trills), gong (& tam-tam), güiro, marimba (glissandi), bells and tom-tom rim shots. As described in more detail below, these sounds come to a climax and then recede (also matching the rotation of the soloist inside his circular percussion set-up).
Stockhausen here is also interested in demonstrating the difference between 'determinate' (scored) figures and 'statistical' (indeterminate) melodic figures. In his first 1972 British Lecture, 'Musical Forming', he expects that a listener could detect the movement from one kind of gesture to another. In order to identify the determinate parts, he suggests listening for repeating patterns or directional processes (such as accelerando/ritardando). Personally I've found this pretty difficult, but it's worth mentioning.
Finally, the recurring tom-tom rim shot is a nice motivic event which occurs frequently enough to stand as a kind of 'speed bump'. There are 41 of them - count them all! This idea of a periodic 'rifle crack' would return in TELEMUSIK.
Form Structure
ZYKLUS is very true to its name in that it is composed of 'cycles'. In fact there are actually 5 separate layers of cycles built into ZYKLUS's mere 12 minutes.
1. Timbre Sequence:
Skeletal Structure of scored parts. (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
2. Aleatory Sequence
Aleatory structures. (© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
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- Which notes/phrases to play (out of 2-5 multiple choices)
- What order to play them
- When to play them within a specified duration
All of these factors are designed so that at one end of the scale every attack is scored (Period 1, Structure-type 1 only, determined), and at the other end pure graphic notation exists as different-sized dots (Period 17, Structure-type 9 only, highest free choice, or 'indeterminate').
From a listener standpoint this layer is not particularly audible, unless of course the listener knows the work so intimately that he is familiar with every choice available. But from a performer standpoint, this basically allows a level of collaboration with the composer. Stockhausen identifies 2 cycles here based on the number of kinds of notation techniques used, but again (sorry) from an aural standpoint it's fairly irrelevant. He however does prefer that as many simultaneous hits as possible occur, so a 'good' performance could be one where the performer has figured out how to play many aleatory parts simultaneously with the fixed parts. Someone with 3 arms would easily win this competition.
And creating my own sounds means mixing, and mixing with the traditional
instruments means, superimposition of different instruments, which results in complex
sounds that cannot be analyzed anymore. So what I really want is that, when a
percussion player makes his own version of Zyklus, he creates sound complexes that
are his own, the result of the superimposition of several instruments, and you cannot
analyze how he made them. . . . and by this create fantastically mysterious sound
complexes. . . .
Edition 23, no. 6 (1985), (found in Stuart Gerber's superb performance thesis, link at bottom)
3. Instrument Density in the Aleatory Parts Sequence
In the aleatory parts (but not hits that are part of the Skeletal Structure), each percussion timbre comes in and then departs after 4 cycles (tom-tom and marimba actually get 2 cycles). The picture at the top of this article shows the timbre distribution over the 17 periods. The sequence of timbres matches the circular placement of the drum surfaces around the performer, so the soloist ends up slowly rotating 1 time (360 degrees) during a single performance.
Stockhausen Tierkreis Score Pdf Online
4. Tom-tom Rim-shot Intensity Levels SequenceThe rim shots divide ZYKLUS into 41 segments, each with its own dynamic range and 'intensity-form'. The intensity-form basically comes from 5 types of dynamic distribution (all loud, all soft, mixture, crescendo, etc...).
5. Vibraphone/Marimba Glissandi Range Sequence
Each vibraphone and marimba glissandi determines a range of pitches to be used until the next glissandi (with a few exceptions). The pitch range basically shrinks and expands 1 time over the entire piece (see below).
(© www.karlheinzstockhausen.org) |
Score
ZYKLUS is probably Stockhausen's most graphically interesting score. Each of the 17 periods gets its own page (actually 1 and 17 are split on 1 page). On each page there is 1 central timescale divided into 30 beats. Above and below this central timescale are the aleatoric elements, usually in boxes, triangles or brackets. The percussion instruments are indicated by graphic symbols both before and after the staff it is on.
Set up of the percussion and the notation guide. |
(© Universal Edition) |
Period 3 (© Universal Edition) |
Period 12 (© Universal Edition) |
Stockhausen Tierkreis Score Pdf 2016
The score can also be played backwards or upside down. That's why each staff has symbols and clefs on both sides. It can also be started from any page, but must continue until all pages are completed.
Links
Sound samples, tracks listings and CD ordering
Buy the Score
ZYKLUS Wiki
Stockhausen's Solo Percussion Music: A Comprehensive Study (Gerber, Thesis)
A Performers Approach to ZYKLUS (Kearney)
ZYKLUS' 9 Aleatory Structure-types (B. Michael Williams, PDF)
Sonoloco Review of ZYKLUS
Stockhausen Tierkreis Score Pdf Converter
ZYKLUS (Aleksander Wnuk, Live YouTube)Stockhausen Tierkreis Score Pdf File
Interview with Max Neuhaus discussing preparations for ZYKLUS