''Atmen gibt das Leben'' (''Breathing Gives Life''), is a choral opera with orchestra by

Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...

, written in 1974 and expanded in 1976–77. It is Number 39 in the catalogue of the composer's works, and lasts about 50 minutes in performance.

History

The first part of ''Atmen gibt das Leben'' was composed for a cappella choir during a composition seminar on 1 February 1974. This was in response to a request from the German Choral Association for a piece that could be sung by amateur choirs, and Stockhausen's original idea was that his students should each write a simple choral piece using a text from ''The Bowl of Saki'', by

Inayat Khan Inayat Khan Rehmat Khan ( ur, ) (5 July 1882 – 5 February 1927) was an Indian professor of musicology, singer, exponent of the saraswati vina, poet, philosopher, and pioneer of the transmission of Sufism to the West. At the urging of his ...

, and then all the pieces would be published together in a single volume. Not all of his students reacted favourably, and so the piece he composed himself for the project became the first part of Stockhausen's choral opera. This part was premiered by the

NDR Chor The NDR Chor (North German Radio Choir) is the choir of the German broadcaster Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR), based in Hamburg. It was founded in 1946, with Max Thurn as the first director of then 55 singers. The group has participated in premiere ...

, the choir of the

Norddeutscher Rundfunk Norddeutscher Rundfunk (NDR; ''Northern German Broadcasting'') is a public broadcasting, public radio and television broadcaster, based in Hamburg. In addition to the city-state of Hamburg, NDR broadcasts for the German states of Lower Saxony, M ...

, in a public concert in Hamburg as part of the series ''Das Neue Werk'' on 16 May 1975. The choir soloists in this performance were Susanne Denman (soprano) and Ulf Kenklies (tenor). This first version of the score is dedicated to Stockhausen's first wife, Doris on her birthday, 28 February 1974. Stockhausen interrupted work on ''

Sirius Sirius is the list of brightest stars, brightest star in the night sky. Its name is derived from the Ancient Greek language, Greek word , or , meaning 'glowing' or 'scorching'. The star is designated α Canis Majoris, Latinisation ...

'' in order to compose two further sections in December 1976 and January 1977, this time with an orchestra (which may be played back on tape) to support and colour the choir. The first of these additions, "Sing ich für Dich, singst Du für mich" (If I sing for thee, you will sing for me) was premiered by the NDR Chor on 9 May 1977 at the Biennale Zagreb. The same choir gave the premiere of the third part, "Eine Welt von Sorge und Schmerz" (A world full of sorrow and pain), as part of the first integral performance of the work on 22 May 1977 at the Marc Chagall Museum in Nice, as a pre-celebration of Chagall's 90th birthday, made possible by a commission from the French Minister for Religious Affairs. The two new sections (printed as a single part II in the score) were dedicated to the composer's daughter Christel Stockhausen on the occasion of her 21st birthday, 22 January 1977.

Structure and technique

The

libretto A libretto (Italian for "booklet") is the text used in, or intended for, an extended musical work such as an opera, operetta, masque, oratorio, cantata or Musical theatre, musical. The term ''libretto'' is also sometimes used to refer to the t ...

is by the composer, with the German text of part one being based on an aphorism by Inayat Khan. The German, English, and French text for the remainder incorporates six quotations: three haiku (by Shiki,

Buson was a Japanese poet and Painting, painter of the Edo period. Along with Matsuo Bashō and Kobayashi Issa, Buson is considered among the greatest poets of the Edo Period. He is also known for completing haiga as a style of art, working with ha ...

, and Issa), and one passage each from

Socrates Socrates (; ; –399 BC) was a Greek philosopher from Athens who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy and among the first moral philosophers of the ethical tradition of thought. An enigmatic figure, Socrates authored no te ...

, the Gospel according to St. Thomas, and

Meister Eckhart Eckhart von Hochheim ( – ), commonly known as Meister Eckhart, Master Eckhart

. This theme is relatively

diatonic Diatonic and chromatic are terms in music theory that are most often used to characterize Scale (music), scales, and are also applied to musical instruments, Interval (music), intervals, Chord (music), chords, Musical note, notes, musical sty ...

, and more than one commentator has noticed a similarity to Stockhausen's chromatically tonal student choral compositions, written under the tutelage of

Hermann Schroeder Hermann Schroeder (26 March 1904 – 7 October 1984) was a German composer and a Catholic church musician. Life Schroeder was born in Bernkastel and spent the greatest part of his life’s work in the Rheinland. His mother's family had common ...

, some of which Stockhausen released on the same recording as the 1974 version of the choral opera. The similarity is especially close to the ''

Chöre für Doris (Choruses for Doris), after poems by Paul Verlaine, is a three- movement a cappella choral composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1950 and later given the number 1/11 in the composer's catalogue of works. The score is dedicated to the c ...

'' (1950) which, like the first part of ''Atmen gibt das Leben'', is dedicated to Stockhausen's first wife. By comically juxtaposing a variety of texts and references to different world cultures, Stockhausen creates a "phantasmagoria about the universe" and, in so doing, ensures that the "humble posture of admiration for God in the process of listening does not turn into bigoted false piety".

Orchestra

The orchestra is scored for: *3 flutes *3 oboes *3 clarinets *3 bassoons *3 trumpets *3 high horns *3 low horns *3 trombones *tuba *triangle, large cymbal, bass drum *glockenspiel *piano *first violins *second violins *violas *cellos *double basses The number of string players per part is ''

ad libitum In music and other performing arts, the phrase (; from Latin for 'at one's pleasure' or 'as you desire'), often shortened to "ad lib" (as an adjective or adverb) or "ad-lib" (as a verb or noun), refers to various forms of improvisation. The ...

''; the score suggests 9–9–6–6–4 as an example.

Discography

* Stockhausen, Karlheinz. ''Chöre für Doris''; ''Choral''; ''"Atmen gibt das Leben ..."'' ; ''

Punkte ''Punkte'' (Points) is an orchestral composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, given the work number ½ in his catalogue of works. History ''Punkte'' originated as a punctual orchestral work which was begun in September in Hamburg and had reached a ...

für Orchester''. irst version of ''Atmen gibt das Leben''

North German Radio Symphony Orchestra The NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchestra (german: NDR Elbphilharmonie Orchester) is a German radio orchestra. Affiliated with the '' Norddeutscher Rundfunk'' (NDR; North German Broadcasting), the orchestra is based at the Elbphilharmonie in Hamburg ...

Hamburg n ''Punkte'' only

, Karlheinz Stockhausen, cond. Deutsche Grammophon LP 2530 641. Hamburg: Polydor International, 1976. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. ''"Atmen gibt das Leben ..."''. Choir and Orchestra of the North German Radio Hamburg, Karlheinz Stockhausen, cond. (Orchestra recorded in Hamburg, April 1977; choir recorded 9 February 1979 at WDR in Cologne, with the pre-recorded orchestra played over loudspeakers.) Deutsche Grammophon LP 410 857–1. Hamburg: Polydor International, 1984. Reissued on CD, Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 23. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 1993.

References

Sources * * * * * *

External links