''Kontakte'' ("Contacts") is an

electronic music Electronic music is a genre of music that employs electronic musical instruments, digital instruments, or circuitry-based music technology in its creation. It includes both music made using electronic and electromechanical means ( electro ...

work 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 ...

, realized in 1958–60 at the ''

Westdeutscher Rundfunk Westdeutscher Rundfunk Köln (''West German Broadcasting Cologne''; WDR, ) is a German public-broadcasting institution based in the Federal State of North Rhine-Westphalia with its main office in Cologne. WDR is a constituent member of the conso ...

'' (WDR) electronic-music studio in

Cologne Cologne ( ; german: Köln ; ksh, Kölle ) is the largest city of the German western state of North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) and the fourth-most populous city of Germany with 1.1 million inhabitants in the city proper and 3.6 millio ...

with the assistance of Gottfried Michael Koenig. The score is Nr. 12 in the composer's catalogue of works, and is dedicated to .

David Stubbs David Stubbs (born 13 September 1962 in London) is a British music journalist. He grew up in Leeds and in the early Eighties was a student at the University of Oxford where he was a close friend of Simon Reynolds. The two were part of the Oxford ...

has referred to the 1960 recording as "a classic of early electronics" and a piece of ''

musique concrète Musique concrète (; ): " problem for any translator of an academic work in French is that the language is relatively abstract and theoretical compared to English; one might even say that the mode of thinking itself tends to be more schematic, wit ...

'' which aimed to disregard all received notions found in musical narrative, adding it was " attempt at a new musical lexicon that was never really followed through."

Work history

The title of the work "refers both to contacts between instrumental and electronic sound groups and to contacts between self-sufficient, strongly characterized moments. In the case of four-channel loudspeaker reproduction, it also refers to contacts between various forms of spatial movement". The composition exists in two forms: (1) for electronic sounds alone, designated "Nr. 12" in the composer's catalog of works, and (2) for electronic sounds,

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 ...

, and

percussion A percussion instrument is a musical instrument that is sounded by being struck or scraped by a beater including attached or enclosed beaters or rattles struck, scraped or rubbed by hand or struck against another similar instrument. Exc ...

, designated "Nr. 12½".. A further, theatrical work, '' Originale'' (Nr. 12⅔), composed in 1961, incorporates all of the second version of ''Kontakte''.

Section and subsection numbers

The score is divided into sixteen sections with many subsections, numbered I A–F, II, III, IV A–F, V A–F, VI, VII A–F,VIII A–F, IX A–F, X, XI A–F, XII A₁BA₂, XIII A, A_b, A_d, A_e, A_f B–F, XIV, XV A–F, and XVI A–E nd F

Technique and form

According to the composer, "In the preparatory work for my composition ''Kontakte'', I found, for the first time, ways to bring all properties .e.,_ .e.,_timbre,_Pitch_(music)">pitch,_ .e.,_timbre,_Pitch_(music)">pitch,_amplitude">intensity,_and_Duration_(music).html" ;"title="amplitude.html" ;"title="timbre,_Pitch_(music).html" ;"title="timbre.html" ;"title=".e., timbre">.e., timbre, Pitch (music)">pitch, amplitude">intensity, and Duration (music)">duration] under a single control", thereby realizing a longstanding goal of total serialism. On the other hand, "''Kontakte'' is arguably the last of Stockhausen's tape pieces in which serial proportions intervene decisively at anything but the broad formal level". The most famous moment, at the very center of the work, is a potent illustration of these connections: a high, bright, slowly wavering pitch descends in several waves, becoming louder as it gradually acquires a snarling timbre, and finally passes below the point where it can be heard any longer as a pitch. As it crosses this threshold, it becomes evident that the sound consists of a succession of

pulses In medicine, a pulse represents the tactile arterial palpation of the cardiac cycle (heartbeat) by trained fingertips. The pulse may be palpated in any place that allows an artery to be compressed near the surface of the body, such as at the nec ...

, which continue to slow until they become a steady beat. With increasing

reverberation Reverberation (also known as reverb), in acoustics, is a persistence of sound, after a sound is produced. Reverberation is created when a sound or signal is reflected causing numerous reflections to build up and then decay as the sound is abso ...

, the individual pulses become transformed into tones once again. Stockhausen also made advances over his previous electronic composition, ''

Gesang der Jünglinge ''Gesang der Jünglinge'' (literally "Song of the Youths") is an electronic music work by Karlheinz Stockhausen. It was realized in 1955–56 at the Westdeutscher Rundfunk studio in Cologne and is Work Number 8 in the composer's catalog. The v ...

'', in the realm of spatial composition, adding the parameters of spatial location, group type, register, and speed. ''Kontakte'' is composed in four channels, with

loudspeaker A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or ...

s placed at the corners of a square surrounding the audience. With the aid of a "rotation table", consisting of a rotatable loudspeaker surrounded by four

microphone A microphone, colloquially called a mic or mike (), is a transducer that converts sound into an electrical signal. Microphones are used in many applications such as telephones, hearing aids, public address systems for concert halls and publ ...

s, he was able to send sounds through and around the

auditorium An auditorium is a room built to enable an audience to hear and watch performances. For movie theatres, the number of auditoria (or auditoriums) is expressed as the number of screens. Auditoria can be found in entertainment venues, communit ...

with unprecedented variety.

Editions

There are several published editions of the score, in part because of the two versions of the piece, and in part because of the transfer of copyright from Universal Edition to the Stockhausen-Verlag in the mid 1990s. Universal Edition refers to both versions of the work as No. 12, whereas the Stockhausen-Verlag distinguishes the electroacoustic version as No. 12½. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1966. ''Kontakte Nr. 12: für elektronische Klänge, Klavier und Schlagzeug: Aufführungspartitur''. UE 14246 LW. London: Universal Edition. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1968. ''Kontakte: elektronische Musik, Nr. 12.'' (Realisation Score). UE 13678 LW; 14246 LW. London: Universal Edition * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1995. ''Kontakte: für elektronische Klänge, Klavier und Schlagzeug: 1958–60, Werk Nr. 12½'', new edition. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2008. ''Kontakte'' (Realisation Score), second edition, English version. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2008. ''Kontakte'' (Realisationspartitur), second edition, German version. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag.

Filmography

*Brandt, Brian, and Michael Hynes (prod.). 2014. ''Stockhausen: Complete Early Percussion Works''. Steven Schick, James Avery, Red Fish Blue Fish. DVD recording, region 0, NTSC, Dolby 5.1 surround/DTS 5.1 surround, aspect ratio 16:9, color. Mode 274. New York: Mode Records.

References

Cited sources

* * * * * * * * * *

'' (24 April): X12. * Assis, Gustavo Oliveira Alfaix. 2011. ''Em busca do som: A música de Karlheinz Stockhausen nos anos 1950''. São Paulo: Editora UNESP. . * Austin, Kevin. 2010.
Kontakte by Karlheinz Stockhausen in Four Channels
” ''eContact! 12.4 — Perspectives on the Electroacoustic Work / Perspectives sur l'œuvre électroacoustique'' (August). Montréal: CEC. * Beaucage, Réjean. 2005.
Contact avec

, English translation by

Jane Brierley Jane Brierley (born 1935) is a Canadian translator, translating from French to English. She received a B.A. from Bishop's University in 1956. During the early 1960s, while her husband was completing a degree at the University of Paris, Brierley ...

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'' 11, no. 3(November): 18–25. * Christoph von Blumröder">Blumröder, Christoph von. 1984. "Serielle Musik um 1960: Stockhausens ''Kontakte''". In ''Analysen: Beiträge zu einer Problemgeschichte des Komponierens. Festschrift für Hans Heinrich Eggebrecht zum 65. Geburtstag'', edited by Reinhold Brinkmann, Elmar Budde, and Werner Breig, 423–435. Supplements to the ''

Archiv für Musikwissenschaft The ''Archiv für Musikwissenschaft'' is a quarterly German-English-speaking trade magazine devoted to music history and historical musicology, which publishes articles by well-known academics and young scholars. It was founded in 1918 as the s ...

'' 23. Stuttgart: F. Steiner Verlag. . * Blumröder, Christoph von. 1993. "Karlheinz Stockhausen—40 Jahre Elektronische Musik." ''

'' 50, no. 4:309–323. * Dack, John. 1998. "Strategies in the Analysis of Stockhausen's ''Kontakte''." '' Journal of New Music Research'' 27:84–119. ISSN 0929-8215. * Hansen, Finn Egeland. 1990. "Tropering: Et kompositionsprincip." ''Festskrift Søren Sørensen: 1920. 29 September 1990'', edited by Finn Egeland Hansen, Steen Pade, Christian Thodberg and Arthur Ilfeldt, 185–205. Copenhagen: Fog. . * Huang, Zhenyu (黄枕宇). 2002. 从两部作品的比较看西方电子音乐早期发展(上)(下) n Examination of the Early Development of Western Electronic Music through Comparison of two Electronic Compositions ''Zhongyang Yinyue Xueyuan xuebao/Journal of the Central Conservatory of Music'' 2, no. 87 (Summer): 58–67 and no. 88 (Fall): 58–67. * Kelsall, John. 1975.
Compositional Techniques in the Music of Stockhausen (1951–1970)
. PhD diss. Glasgow: University of Glasgow. * Kirchmeyer, Helmut. 1963. "Zur Entstehungs- und Problemgeschichte der ''Kontakte'' von Karlheinz Stockhausen". Liner notes for Stockhausen, ''Kontakte'',

David Tudor David Eugene Tudor (January 20, 1926 – August 13, 1996) was an American pianist and composer of experimental music. Life and career Tudor was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He studied piano with Irma Wolpe and composition with Stefan W ...

(piano and percussion) and

Christoph Caskel Christoph Caskel (born 12 January 1932) is a German percussionist and teacher. Life Born in Greifswald, Caskel began learning percussion at an early age, taking lessons at the age of five with a military musician and as a schoolboy with a percu ...

(percussion).

Wergo WERGO is a German record label focusing on contemporary classical music. It was founded in 1962 by German art historian and music publisher (1903–1975) and the musicologist Helmut Kirchmeyer. Their first release, filed under "WER 60001", was ...

-Studienreihe für Neue Musik LP, WER 60 009. Reprinted in ''Neuland Jahrbuch'' 3 (1982–83): 152–176. * Kramer, Jonathan. 1978. "Moment Form in Twentieth Century Music." ''

The Musical Quarterly ''The Musical Quarterly'' is the oldest academic journal on music in America. Originally established in 1915 by Oscar Sonneck, the journal was edited by Sonneck until his death in 1928. Sonneck was succeeded by a number of editors, including Ca ...

'' 64, no. 2 (April): 177–194. * Mackay, Duncan Maclean. 1983. "Concepts of Dualism in the Works of Stockhausen." M.M. thesis. University of East Anglia. * Marvin, Elizabeth West. 1995. "Generalization of Contour Theory to Diverse Musical Spaces: Analytical Applications to the Music of Dallapiccola and Stockhausen." ''Concert Music, Rock, and Jazz Since 1945: Essays and Analytical Studies'', edited by Elizabeth West Marvin and Richard Hermann, 135–171. Eastman Studies in Music 2. Rochester: University of Rochester Press. . * Mowitz, Michael. 2002. ''Die Form der Unendlichkeit: Aspekte der Momentform und der seriellen Struktur in Karlheinz Stockhausens Kontakte''. Essen: Die Blaue Eule. . * Pécquet, Franck. 1998. "Espace et représentation sonore." In ''L'espace: Musique/philosophie: Paris, 1997'', edited by Jean-Marc Chouvel and Makīs Solōmos, 187–194. Musique et musicologie: Les dialogues. Paris: L'Harmattan. . * Perle, George. 1960. "Current Chronicle: Germany". ''

'' 46, no. 4 (October): 517–525. * Rea, John. 2009.
On Stockhausen's ''Kontakte'' (1959–60) for Tape, Piano and Percussion: A Lecture/Analysis by John Rea Given at the University of Toronto, March 1968
. ''Circuit: Musiques Contemporaines'' 19, no. 2:77–86. * Schatt, Peter W. 1988. "Tendenzen des Materials in Stockhausens ''Kontakten''". ''

'' 45, no. 3:206–223. * Skowron, Zbigniew. 1982. "Muzyka elektroniczna Karlheinza Stockhausena. II: Utwory z lat 1955–67" arlheinz Stockhausen's Electronic Music II: Works from 1955–67 ''Muzyka: Kwartalnik Poświęcony Historii i Teorii Muzyki'' 27, nos. 1–2:11–36. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1963a. "Momentform: Neue Beziehungen zwischen Aufführungsdauer, Werkdauer und Moment". In his ''Texte zur Musik'' 1, edited by

Dieter Schnebel Dieter Schnebel (14 March 1930 – 20 May 2018) was a German composer, theologian and musicologist. He composed orchestral music, chamber music, vocal music and stage works. From 1976 until his retirement in 1995, Schnebel served as professor of ...

, 189–210. DuMont Dokumente. Cologne: Verlag M. DuMont Schauberg. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1963b. "Erfindung und Entdeckung", in his ''Texte zur Musik'' 1, edited by Dieter Schnebel, 222–58. DuMont Dokumente. Cologne: Verlag M. DuMont Schauberg. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1996. "Electroacoustic Performance Practice", translated by

Jerome Kohl Jerome Joseph Kohl (November 27, 1946 – August 4, 2020) was an American musicologist, academic journal editor, and recorder teacher. A music theorist at the University of Washington, he became recognized internationally as an authority on the ...

. ''

Perspectives of New Music ''Perspectives of New Music'' (PNM) is a peer-reviewed academic journal specializing in music theory and analysis. It was established in 1962 by Arthur Berger and Benjamin Boretz (who were its initial editors-in-chief). ''Perspectives'' was firs ...

'' 34, no. 1 (Fall): 74–105. * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 1998. "Bildung ist große Arbeit: Karlheinz Stockhausen im Gespräch mit Studierenden des Musikwissenschaftlichen Instituts der Universität zu Köln am 5. Februar 1997." In ''Stockhausen 70: Das Programmbuch Köln 1998''. Signale aus Köln: Musik der Zeit 1, edited by Imke Misch and Christoph von Blumröder, 1–36. Saarbrücken: Pfau-Verlag. . * Stockhausen, Karlheinz. 2009. ''Kompositorische Grundlagen Neuer Musik: Sechs Seminare für die Darmstädter Ferienkurse 1970'', edited by Imke Misch. Kürten: Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik. . {{italic title Compositions by Karlheinz Stockhausen Chamber music by Karlheinz Stockhausen 1960 compositions Serial compositions Electronic compositions Spatial music Music with dedications Process music pieces Musique concrète