''Formel'' (Formula) is a composition for chamber 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 while he was still a student in 1951. It is given the number in his catalog of works, indicating that it is amongst the pieces preceding the composition he recognised as his first mature work, Nr. 1 ''

Kontra-Punkte ''Kontra-Punkte'' (Counter-Points, or Against-Points) is a composition for ten instruments by Karlheinz Stockhausen which resolves contrasts among six instrumental timbres, as well as extremes of note values and dynamic levels, into a homogeneou ...

''.

History

''Formel'', originally titled ''Studie für Orchester'' (Study for Orchestra), was written in November and December 1951 immediately after ''

Kreuzspiel (Crossplay) is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen written for oboe, bass clarinet, piano and four percussionists in 1951 (it was later revised for just three percussionists, along with other changes). It is assigned the number 1/7 in the comp ...

'' and was intended to have been the first movement of a three-movement composition. When he completed the other two movements the following year, however, he decided their more punctual style did not fit well with the more thematic character of the intended opening, and the two 1952 movements became the separate composition ''

Spiel Internationale Spieltage SPIEL, often called the Essen Game Fair after the city where it is held, is an annual four-day boardgame trade fair which is also open to the public held in October (Thursday to the following Sunday) at the Messe Essen e ...

''. Only twenty years later did Stockhausen retrospectively discover in the early piece similarities to the formula technique he had devised for his then-latest composition, ''

Mantra A mantra (Pali: ''manta'') or mantram (मन्त्रम्) is a sacred utterance, a numinous sound, a syllable, word or phonemes, or group of words in Sanskrit, Pali and other languages believed by practitioners to have religious, ma ...

'' (1970). When asked by

Maurice Fleuret Maurice Fleuret (22 June 1932 – 22 March 1990) was a French composer, music journalist, radio producer, arts administrator, and festival organizer. Biography Born in La Talaudière in the département of Loire, Maurice Fleuret received his s ...

for a new work for the 1971 Journées de Musique Contemporaine, Stockhausen offered this score, which he now gave the name ''Formel''. The premiere was conducted by the composer at the Théâtre de Ville in Paris on 22 October 1971, on a concert that also featured several other compositions from his days as a student: the '' Drei Lieder'' for contralto and chamber orchestra, 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 ...

'', the '' Choral'' ("Wer uns trug mit Schmerzen"), all composed in 1950, and the Sonatine for violin and piano from 1951.

Analysis

As with several other of Stockhausen's compositions of this period (''Kreuzspiel'', ''Spiel'', the '' Schlagtrio'', the original version of ''

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 ...

'', and ''Kontra-Punkte''), ''Formel'' gradually transmutes an initial basic pattern of notes into something else. Its form is chevron-like, first broadening the pitch space out from the centre, then systematically withdrawing notes from the middle until only the outer extremes remain—a sort of inside-out version of the procedure used in ''Kreuzspiel''. Unlike its companion works, however, the

tone row In music, a tone row or note row (german: Reihe or '), also series or set, is a non-repetitive ordering of a set of pitch-classes, typically of the twelve notes in musical set theory of the chromatic scale, though both larger and smaller sets ...

on which it is based is not treated punctually, with notes isolated from one another, but instead they are grouped into melodic cells.

Instrumentation

''Formel'' is scored for a small orchestra of 28 musicians: * 3

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. A ...

s * 3

clarinet The clarinet is a musical instrument in the woodwind family. The instrument has a nearly cylindrical bore and a flared bell, and uses a single reed to produce sound. Clarinets comprise a family of instruments of differing sizes and pitches ...

s in A * 3

bassoon The bassoon is a woodwind instrument in the double reed family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuo ...

s * 3

horn Horn most often refers to: *Horn (acoustic), a conical or bell shaped aperture used to guide sound ** Horn (instrument), collective name for tube-shaped wind musical instruments *Horn (anatomy), a pointed, bony projection on the head of various ...

s *

vibraphone The vibraphone is a percussion instrument in the metallophone family. It consists of tuned metal bars and is typically played by using mallets to strike the bars. A person who plays the vibraphone is called a ''vibraphonist,'' ''vibraharpist,' ...

(with

glockenspiel The glockenspiel ( or , : bells and : set) or bells is a percussion instrument consisting of pitched aluminum or steel bars arranged in a keyboard layout. This makes the glockenspiel a type of metallophone, similar to the vibraphone. The glo ...

) *

celesta The celesta or celeste , also called a bell-piano, is a struck idiophone operated by a keyboard. It looks similar to an upright piano (four- or five-octave), albeit with smaller keys and a much smaller cabinet, or a large wooden music box ( ...

piano The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keyboa ...

harp The harp is a stringed musical instrument that has a number of individual strings running at an angle to its soundboard; the strings are plucked with the fingers. Harps can be made and played in various ways, standing or sitting, and in orche ...

* 6

violin The violin, sometimes known as a ''fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone (string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in the family in regular ...

s * 3

cello The cello ( ; plural ''celli'' or ''cellos'') or violoncello ( ; ) is a Bow (music), bowed (sometimes pizzicato, plucked and occasionally col legno, hit) string instrument of the violin family. Its four strings are usually intonation (music), t ...

s * 3

double bass The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or #Terminology, by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched Bow (music), bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern orchestra, symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox addit ...

Discography

* Stockhausen, Karlheinz. '' Inori, Formel''. SWF Sinfonie-Orchester, Karlheinz Stockhausen, cond. ''Formel'' recorded 1 February 1978 at the Hans Rosbaud Studio, Baden-Baden. LP recording, 1 disc: stereo, 33 rpm, 12 in. DG 2707 111. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon, 1979. ''Formel'' reissued (together with '' Schlagtrio'', ''

'', and ''

'') on CD recording, 1 disc: stereo, 4 in. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 2. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2005.

References

Cited sources

* * * *

External links

"''Formel'' / ''Formula''"
karlheinzstockhausen.org
''Formel''
includes score sample,

Universal Edition Universal Edition (UE) is a classical music publishing firm. Founded in 1901 in Vienna, they originally intended to provide the core classical works and educational works to the Austrian market (which had until then been dominated by Leipzig-bas ...

"Early Wks: ''Sonatine'', ''Formel'', ''Spiel''"
analysis, Ed Chang * ,

Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra The Southwest German Radio Symphony Orchestra (also known in English as the SWR Baden-Baden Freiburg Symphony Orchestra and in German as the Sinfonieorchester des Südwestrundfunks) was a German radio orchestra located in the German cities of B ...

{{Authority control 1951 compositions Compositions by Karlheinz Stockhausen 20th-century classical music Compositions for chamber orchestra Serial compositions