''Aus den sieben Tagen'' (From the Seven Days) is a collection of 15 text compositions 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 groundb ...

, composed in May 1968, in reaction to a personal crisis, and characterized as "

Intuitive music Intuitive music is a form of musical improvisation based on instant creation in which fixed principles or rules may or may not have been given. It is a type of process music where instead of a traditional music score, verbal or graphic instructions ...

"—music produced primarily from the

intuition Intuition is the ability to acquire knowledge without recourse to conscious reasoning. Different fields use the word "intuition" in very different ways, including but not limited to: direct access to unconscious knowledge; unconscious cognition; ...

rather than the

intellect In the study of the human mind, intellect refers to, describes, and identifies the ability of the human mind to reach correct conclusions about what is true and what is false in reality; and how to solve problems. Derived from the Ancient Gre ...

of the performer(s). It is Work Number 26 in the composer's catalog of works.

History

The seven days of the title were 7–13 May 1968. Although this coincided with the beginning of the

May 1968 The following events occurred in May 1968: May 1, 1968 (Wednesday) * CARIFTA, the Caribbean Free Trade Association, was formally created as an agreement between Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Guyana, and Trinidad and Tobago. * RAF Strike ...

protests and general strike in

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. Si ...

, Stockhausen does not appear to have been aware of them at the time. These texts were written at Stockhausen's home in Kürten during the first five of those days, at night or late in the evening. During daylight hours, including the remaining two days, Stockhausen wrote "many poems," as well as reading

Satprem Satprem (30 October 1923 – 9 April 2007) was a French author and a disciple of Mirra Alfassa. Early life Satprem was born Bernard Enginger in Paris and had a seafaring childhood and youth in Brittany. During World War II he was a member of th ...

's book on

Sri Aurobindo Sri Aurobindo (born Aurobindo Ghose; 15 August 1872 – 5 December 1950) was an Indian philosopher, yogi, maharishi, poet, and Indian nationalist. He was also a journalist, editing newspapers such as ''Vande Mataram''. He joined the ...

, and experienced "many extraordinary things". Some of the poems appear in Stockhausen's third volume of ''Texte zur Musik''. The first of the pieces to be officially premiered was ''Es'', performed in Brussels on 15 December 1968 on a concert of the Rencontre de Musique Contemporaine, by the Stockhausen Group, joined by

Michel Portal Michel Portal (born 27 November 1935) is a French composer, saxophonist, and clarinetist. He plays both jazz and classical music and is considered to be "one of the architects of modern European jazz". Early life Portal was born in Bayonne on 2 ...

Jean-Pierre Drouet Jean-Pierre Drouet (born 30 October 1935) is a French multi-instrumentist percussionist and composer. Born in Bordeaux, Drouet studied with René Leibowitz, Jean Barraqué and André Hodeir. In India, he deepened his knowledge of non-European inst ...

, and

Jean-François Jenny-Clark Jean-François "J.F." Jenny-Clark (12 July 1944 in Toulouse, France – 6 October 1998 in Paris) was a French double bass player. He was estimated as one of the most important bass players of European jazz. Allmusic credits/ref> Together with drum ...

. ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'' followed, as part of a concert at the

Théâtre National Populaire The Théâtre national populaire (French for ''People's National Theater'') is a theatre now at Villeurbanne, France. It was founded in 1920 by Firmin Gémier in Paris. Today, the TNP has a company of ten resident actors and the building is cur ...

Palais de Chaillot The Palais de Chaillot () is a building at the top of the in the Trocadéro area in the 16th ''arrondissement'' of Paris, France. For the Exposition Internationale of 1937, the old 1878 Palais du Trocadéro was partly demolished and partly ...

in Paris, on 30 May 1969. However, an earlier, unofficial performance of both ''Es'' and ''Treffpunkt'', by the Arts Laboratory Ensemble with Hugh Davies and trombonist

Vinko Globokar Vinko Globokar (born 7 July 1934) is a French-Slovenian avant-garde composer and trombonist. Globokar's music uses unconventional and extended techniques, places great emphasis on spontaneity and creativity, and often relies on improvisation. Hi ...

with Stockhausen at the potentiometers, took place on 25 November 1968 in London, as part of the Macnaghten Concerts.) ''Unbegrenzt'' was first given 26 July 1969 during the Nuits de la Fondation Maeght in St Paul de Vence, by Guy Arnaud, , Jean-François Jenny-Clark, Jean-Pierre Drouet, Johannes G. Fritsch, Roy Hart, Diego Masson, Michel Portal,

Michael Vetter Michael Vetter (18 September 1943 – 7 December 2013) was a German composer, novelist, poet, performer, calligrapher, artist, and teacher. Biography Vetter was born in Oberstdorf in the Allgäu region of Germany, and received a conventional scho ...

, and the composer. An "ill-fated" performance of the theatre piece ''Oben und Unten'' was attempted in Amsterdam at the Holland Festival on 22 June 1969. The three actors were Sigrid Koetse (woman), Jan Retèl (man), and Keesjan van Deelen (child), with the instrumentalists of the Stockhausen Group and the composer doing the sound projection. ''Goldstaub'' was only performed for the first time (though without an audience) for the DG recording made at Stockhausen's house in Kürten on 20 August 1972, by

Péter Eötvös Péter Eötvös ( hu, Eötvös Péter, ; born 2 January 1944) is a Hungarian composer, conductor and teacher. Eötvös was born in Székelyudvarhely, Transylvania, then part of Hungary, now Romania. He studied composition in Budapest and C ...

(electrochord, keisu, and rin), Herbert Henck (voice, sitar, cooking pot with some water, two small bells, ship bell), Michael Vetter (voice, hands, recorder), and the composer (voice, conch horn, large cowbell, keisu, 14 rin, jug and key with water, kandy drum, pellet-bells on a strap). Stockhausen described as "crucial" an orchestral performance in London of ''Set sail for the Sun'' on 14 January 1970, in which the

BBC Symphony Orchestra The BBC Symphony Orchestra (BBC SO) is a British orchestra based in London. Founded in 1930, it was the first permanent salaried orchestra in London, and is the only one of the city's five major symphony orchestras not to be self-governing. T ...

, rehearsed by the composer, was distributed around the audience in four groups, each with a "core player" from the Stockhausen Group. Other notable performances include the 1969 Darmstädter Ferienkurse, when the groups that had just finished the recordings for DG performed eleven of the texts in four public seminars, on 1–4 September in the Städtische Sporthalle am Böllenfalltor, many of the texts in multiple daily performances from 14 March to 14 September 1970 in the spherical auditorium of the German pavilion at

Expo '70 The or Expo 70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan between March 15 and September 13, 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fai ...

in Osaka, and at the 1972

Shiraz Arts Festival The Shiraz Festival of Arts (Persian: جشنواره هنر شیراز) was an annual international summer arts festival, held in Iran bringing about the encounter between the East and the West. It was held from 1967 to 1977 in the city of Shiraz ...

, where a day of "Music in the City" on 7 September featured several component pieces of ''Aus den sieben Tagen'' performed at various places in the inner city from dawn to dusk.

Content

The fifteen constituent pieces are: # ''Richtige Dauern'' (Right Durations), for ca. 4 players # ''Unbegrenzt'' (Unlimited), for ensemble # ''Verbindung'' (Connection), for ensemble # ''Treffpunkt'' (Meeting Point), for ensemble # ''Nachtmusik'' (Night Music), for ensemble # ''Abwärts'' (Downward), for ensemble # ''Aufwärts'' (Upward), for ensemble # ''Oben und Unten'' (Above and Below), theater piece, for a man, a woman, a child, and 4 instrumentalists # ''Intensität'' (Intensity), for ensemble # ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'' (Set Sail for the Sun), for ensemble # ''Kommunion'' (Communion), for ensemble # ''Litanei'' (Litany), for speaker or choir # ''Es'' (It), for ensemble # ''Goldstaub'' (Gold Dust), for ensemble # ''Ankunft'' (Arrival), for speaker or speaking choir Often regarded as

meditation Meditation is a practice in which an individual uses a technique – such as mindfulness, or focusing the mind on a particular object, thought, or activity – to train attention and awareness, and achieve a mentally clear and emotionally calm ...

exercises or prayers, all but two of these texts nonetheless describe in words specific musical events: "I don't want some spiritistic sitting—I want

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

! I don't mean something

mystical Mysticism is popularly known as becoming one with God or the Absolute, but may refer to any kind of ecstasy or altered state of consciousness which is given a religious or spiritual meaning. It may also refer to the attainment of insight in u ...

, but rather everything completely direct, from concrete experience".Stockhausen, quoted in Despite the manner of notation, Stockhausen's approach remains essentially serial:

In his cycle FROM THE SEVEN DAYS Stockhausen attempts to find ''musical'' answers to such fundamental questions regarding the conditions of a harmonious interplay of spirit and matter, which correspond to his serial process thinking and to the maxims of the experimental production of the sound material by composing temporally ordered pulses. . . . As a composer he wants to mediate between the extremes rather than to just follow the preconception of a linear development from the fragmentary and dissonant to the whole and harmonious.

Each text focuses on one or several of Stockhausen's main artistic concerns, such as extending the listener's perceptions of time and pitch, reconciling opposing tendencies, or shifting awareness from one perceptual area to another. Specific earlier works may be reflected in certain of the texts. ''Intensität'', for example, suggests a passage from '' Kontakte'', and ''Unbegrenzt'' recalls large parts of '' Carré''. The influence of performing ''

Prozession ''Prozession'' (Procession), for tamtam, viola, electronium, piano, microphones, filters, and potentiometers (six performers), is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1967. It is Number 23 in the catalogue of the composer's works. Co ...

'' and ''

Kurzwellen ''Kurzwellen'' (Short Waves), for six players with shortwave radio receivers and live electronics, is a composition by Karlheinz Stockhausen, written in 1968. It is Number 25 in the catalog of the composer's works. Conception ''Kurzwellen'' is ...

'' can be heard in the recordings made by Stockhausen's own ensemble. In addition, pianist Aloys Kontarsky frequently alludes to Stockhausen's '' Klavierstücke'' (especially '' Klavierstück IX'' in ''Abwärts'') and Harald Bojé sometimes evokes ''Kontakte'' with his

electronium The Electronium, created by Raymond Scott, is an early combined electronic synthesizer and algorithmic composition / generative music machine. Its place in history is unusual, because while in intention it is analogous to the digital algorithmic ...

. The most detailed text is the central one, ''Oben und Unten'', which gives instructions for three actors and a group of instrumentalists. Twelve of the other pieces describe musical processes or states, in three different general types, and the remaining two, ''Litanei'' and ''Ankunft'' are more in the nature of manifestos, to be read aloud either by a single speaker or a speaking choir. In 1997, Stockhausen made a performing version of the former text, considerably reworked under the title '' Litanei 97'', for a speaking choir with occasional sung interjections. This was given the separate work number 74 in Stockhausen's catalogue of works.

Related works

Between 1968 and 1971, Stockhausen composed a companion set of 17 text pieces, titled ''

Für kommende Zeiten ''Für kommende Zeiten'' (For Times to Come) is a collection of seventeen text compositions by Karlheinz Stockhausen, composed between August 1968 and July 1970. It is a successor to the similar collection titled ''Aus den sieben Tagen'', written ...

'' (For Times to Come). There are two further text compositions, ''

Ylem Ylem ( or ) is a hypothetical original substance or condensed state of matter, which became subatomic particles and elements as we understand them today. The term was used by George Gamow, his student Ralph Alpher, and their associates in the la ...

'' (1972) and ''

Herbstmusik ''Herbstmusik'' (Autumn Music) is a music-theatre work for four performers composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen in 1974. It is Nr. 40 in his catalogue of works, and lasts a little over an hour in performance. History ''Herbstmusik'' was written in M ...

'' (1974), though they are not actually described as "intuitive music", and are considerably more detailed "scripts" for what amount to a large "statistical" structure (''Ylem'') and a theatre piece (''Herbstmusik'') with certain features of

moment form In music, moment form is defined as "a mosaic of moments", and, in turn, a moment is defined as a "self-contained (quasi-)independent section, set off from other sections by discontinuities". History and definition The concept of moment form, and t ...

Discography

In chronological order of recording: * Stockhausen: ''Aus den sieben Tagen'' (''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'' and ''Verbindung''). Ensemble Musique Vivante ( Aloys Kontarsky,

Johannes Fritsch Johannes Georg Fritsch (27 July 1941 – 29 April 2010) was a German composer. At the age of seven, Fritsch found a violin in the attic of his uncle's house in Bensheim-Auerbach, Germany, and began lessons with a village music teacher named Kna ...

, Alfred Alings,

Rolf Gehlhaar Rolf Rainer Gehlhaar (30 December 1943 – 7 July 2019), was an American composer, Professor in Experimental Music at Coventry University and researcher in assistive technology for music. Life Born in Breslau, Gehlhaar was the son of a German roc ...

, ,

, Karlheinz Stockhausen) directed by Diego Masson. LP recording, stereo, 12-inch, 33⅓ rpm. Recorded June 1969. Harmonia Mundi Musique Vivante 30 889 M. Arles: Harmonia Mundi, 1970. Reissued as Harmonia Mundi Musique D'Abord HMA 55795(LP); Harmonia Mundi HMA 190795 (CD), 1998; Harmonia Mundi HMX 290862.64 (3-CD set). Also released on LP as ''Stockhausen: Flight Towards The Sun: Liaison''. Record Society Edition NO. S/6425 (Australia). ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'' also reissued on Stockhausen: ''Brief an Heinrich 1969; 2 Interviews 1970''. Stockhausen Text-CD 20. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2008. * Stockhausen: ''Illimité''. (''Unbegrenzt''). Vinko Globokar, Carlos Roqué Alsina, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, Jean-Pierre Drouet, Michel Portal, Karlheinz Stockhausen. Recorded August 1969. LP recording, stereo, 12 in., 33⅓ rpm. Shandar SR10 002. Paris: Shandar, 1970. Later reissued as part of DGG 7-LP set 2720 073. * Stockhausen: ''Aus den sieben Tagen/From the Seven Days/Venu des sept jours''. (''Richtige Dauern'', ''Unbegrenzt'', ''Verbindung'', ''Treffpunkt'' (two versions), ''Nachtmusik'', ''Abwärts'', ''Aufwärts'', ''Intensität'', ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'', ''Kommunion'', ''Es'', ''Goldstaub'') Cologne Group (Alfred Alings, Harald Bojé,

, Aloys Kontarsky, Karlheinz Stockhausen); Paris Group (Carlos Roque Alsina, Jean-Pierre Drouet,

, Jean-François Jenny-Clark, Michel Portal). All except ''Goldstaub'' recorded August 1969. In ''Goldstaub'' only: Péter Eötvös, Herbert Henck, Michael Vetter, Karlheinz Stockhausen. Recorded in Kürten, 20 August 1972. LP recording, stereo, 12-inch, 33⅓ rpm, seven-disc set. DG 2720 073. amburg Polydor International GmbH, 1974. **''Es'' and ''Aufwärts'' single-disc issue DG 2530 255. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon, 1973. **''Kommunion'' and ''Intensität'' single-disc issue DG 2530 256. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon, 1973. **''Goldstaub'' single-disc issue, DG Collector's Series. DG 410935-1. Hamburg: Deutsche Grammophon, 1985. * Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Aus den sieben Tagen/From the Seven Days''. (''Richtige Dauern'', ''Unbegrenzt'', ''Verbindung'', ''Treffpunkt'' (two versions), ''Nachtmusik'', ''Abwärts'' (two versions), ''Aufwärts'', ''Intensität'', ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'', ''Kommunion'', ''Es'' (two versions), ''Goldstaub''.) 7-CD set: stereo, 12 cm. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 14. Reissue of all of the material from the DGG 7-LP set plus second performances of ''Abwärts'' and ''Es''. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 1993. * Stockhausen: ''Short Wave; Set Sail for the Sun''. Negative Band (Michael Fink, percussion; Earl Howard, alto saxophone; Denman Maroney, piano; David Simons, percussion; Joseph Paul Taylor, synthesizer; Jonathan Weisberger, sound projection). recording of ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne''. Recorded 29 May 1974 in the Theatre Vanguard, Los Angeles. LP recording, stereo, 12-inch, 33-1/3 rpm. Finnadar SR 9009. ew York Finnadar Records, 1975. *''Zeitgeist: Bowers/DeMars/Stockhausen''. Stockhausen: ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne''. Zeitgeist (James DeMars, piano; Joseph Holmquist, marimba, cymbals, gongs, tam-tam; Jay Johnson, vibraphone, piano etc.; Thomas Hubbard, electric bass; Homer Lambrecht, trombone; Patrick Moriarty, alto saxophone). Recorded 1976. LP recording. The Sound Environment Recording Series 37662. Lincoln, Nebraska: Sound Environment Recording Corporation,

977 Year 977 ( CMLXXVII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. Events By place Europe * May – Boris II, dethroned emperor (''tsar'') of Bulgaria, and his brother Roman m ...

* ''Not Much Noise''. Stockhausen: ''Treffpunkt''. Mike Zwerin Jazz Trio (Mike Zwerin, trombone; Christian Escoude, guitar; Gus Nemeth, bass). Recorded 31 October – 1 November 1978, Gafinel Studios, Paris. American Artist Series. LP recording. Spotlite SPJLP 19. * Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Piano Music''. ''Litanei'' (collage version composed of fragments from piano compositions by Stockhausen put together by Elisabeth Klein). With ''A One-Page Version of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Plus-Minus (1963)'' for solo piano by Nils Holger Petersen, ''Klavierstücke V'', ''IX'', and ''XI'' (two versions), and ''Tierkreis''. Elisabeth Klein (piano). Recorded 14–15 August 1998 in the Levin Salen at the Norwegian State Academy of Music, Norges Musikkhøgskole. CD recording, stereo, 12 cm. Classico CLASSCD 269. rederiksberg Olufsen Records, 1999. Reissued 2003 on Membran/Scandinavian Classics 220555. *''Spielformen der Improvisation''. Musik in Deutschland 1950–2000, vol. 124: Konzertmusik: Instrumentale Kammermusik: Moderne Ensembles: Porträt. Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'' (Ensemble für Intuitive Musik Weimar: Matthias von Hintzenstern, cello; Michael von Hintzenstern, piano; Hans Tutschku, synthesizer/live electronics); Hans Zender: ''Modelle'' II, III, VI, X, and XI (Radio-Sinfonie-Orchester Frankfurt; Hans Zender, Burkhard Rempe);

Hans-Joachim Hespos Hans-Joachim Hespos (13 March 1938 – 18 July 2022) was a German composer of avant-garde music. He was trained as a teacher and worked until 1984. Self-taught as a composer, he then worked freelance and created more than 200 works in many genre ...

: ''Bigu'' (Ensemble Zeitkratzer);

Hermann Keller Hermann Keller (20 November 1885 – 17 August 1967) was a German Protestant church musician and musicologist. Life Born in Stuttgart the son of an architect, he followed his father's profession by also studying architecture in Stuttgart and Mun ...

: ''Ex tempore no. 6'' (Keller-Schulze-Werkstattorchester: Helmut Saxe, flute; Manfred Hering, alto saxophone; Helmut Forsthoff, tenor saxophone; Manfred Schulze, clarinet, baritone saxophone; Nicolaus Richter de Vroe, violin; Wilfried Staufenbiel, cello; Hermann Keller, piano; Klaus Christian Kaufmann, percussion);

Manfred Stahnke Manfred Stahnke (born 30 October 1951) is a German composer and musicologist from Hamburg. He writes chamber music, orchestral music and stage music. His music makes extensive use of microtonality. He plays piano and viola. Life Manfred Stahnke w ...

: ''Lumpengalerie'' (Manfred Stahnke Ensemble Est! Est!! Est!!!); Phosphor (Burkhard Beins, percussion; Alessandro Bosetti, saxophone; Axel Dörner, trumpet/electronics; Robin Hayward, tuba; Annette Krebs, electro-acoustic guitar; Andrea Neumann, inside piano/mixing-desk; Michael Renkel, acoustic guitar; Ignaz Schick, electronics): ''P I''. CD recording: stereo, 12 cm. RCA Read icSeal LC 00316; RCA Red Seal BMG Classics 74321 73664 2. unich BMG Ariola, 2005. * Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Litanei 97; Kurzwellen''. SWR-Vokalensemble, Rupert Huber (cond.). Recorded 28–30 June 2000at SWR Stuttgart. Harald Bojé, electronium; Alfred Alings and Rolf Gehlhaar, tamtam; Johannes Fritsch, viola; Aloys Kontarsky, piano; Karlheinz Stockhausen, sound projection and filters. CD recording: stereo, 12 cm. Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 61. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 2000. * ''Old School: Zeitkratzer: Karlheinz Stockhausen''. (''Unbegrenzt'', ''Verbindung'', ''Nachtmusik'', ''Intensität'', and ''Setz die Segel zur Sonne'') Ensemble Zeitkratzer, Reinhold Friedl (dir.), Martin Wurmnest (sound projection). Recorded live 12 April 2011 at Kino Šiška, Ljubljana, Slovenia, and 14 April 2011 at Vatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall, Zagreb, Croatia. CD recording, stereo. Zeitkratzer Records ZKR 0012.

erlin Erlin may refer to: Places *Erlin, Changhua, a township in Taiwan *Erlin, Ohio, an unincorporated community in the United States People *Robbie Erlin Robert Joseph Erlin (born October 8, 1990) is an American professional baseball pitcher wh ...

Zeitkratzer Productions, 2011. * Stockhausen: ''Aus den sieben Tagen'' (''Unbegrenzt'', ''Verbindung'', ''Nachtmusik'', ''Intensität'', and ''Setz dieSegel zur Sonne''). Ensemble Zeitkratzer, Reinhold Friedl (dir.), with Keiji Haino, voice; recorded and mixed by Martin Wurmnest. Recorded live at the Jahrhunderthalle Bochum during theRuhrtriennale. Zeitkratzer Records ZKR 0019 / LC 18747.

Zeitkratzer Productions, 2016. * Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Set Sail for the Sun''. Salt Lake Electric Ensemble. ate and venue of recording unknown.CD Baby 1 90394 14793 8. ortland, OR CD Baby, n.d.

References

Sources * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

History

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