Karlheinz Stockhausen

Gesang der Jünglinge · Kontakte

★★★★

I guess this type of music throws people off, the usual crowd at least. And I understand that as I was also pretty thrown off on the first listen. My knowledge of Stockhausen and his music is pretty inadequate, but I remember listening to "Gesang der Jünglinge" a time before and exiting the tab before I even got myself straightened out. I still have much to listen to but now I have a better understanding. The two pieces here are all about exploration, testing the waters and pushing boundaries. No matter how strange this sounds now, and back then, it's helped pave the way for other artists in many genres. The diversity in sound and synth use is unlike anything I've heard before, perhaps the closest example would be some Iannis Xenakis works. These both are early early works and I can't imagine the shock of the classical community in the 20th century when these were performed. I'm even surprised that it was released on the Deutsche Grammophon label. 

Starting off with "Gesang der Jünglinge", or "Song of the Youths", you're led into a cavernous terrain that is unlike any I've experienced. It's considered one of the first important electronic works ever, and one of Stockhausen's many opuses. It combines the bubbly scifi synths of the time, with religious allusions and choral singing, and many effective tape loops. The dryness in the voices mixed in with lively, scaly synth whirls makes me spin in circles trying to find stability within it all. It's an uncomfortable hellscape that traps you and won't let go, but you can't be helped when you decide to explore more of the sounds and textures. The contrast between the staircase-like singing and the all encompassing synth waves is truly unique and original. Stockhausen had a difficult life full of grief and violence, and I believe some of those undertones can be heard here. It's a vinegary sparkling water for the ears, some would find it to their taste but many wouldn't. Luckily this isn't even the most extreme sonic excursion that you'll bear witness to on this album.  

"Kontake" or "Contact" is a piece that was conceptualized a bit later but really expands upon the ideas of "Gesang der Jünglinge" and takes them to darker depths and brighter highs. It's a much longer piece that feels less organized and with no clear theme, even completely sparse at points. It's so alien that it's hard to believe a man behind a keyboard and some reel-to-reels could conjure something like this up. The sounds that are actualized seem to originate from different textures and materials. Like glass, wood, or metal and they all play their specific role in creating this mutating behemoth that can surprise you at any time it likes. There's pinball machines and helicopter rotors and airlocks being breached; all of which are being conceived in mind. It's a constant array of fire alarms and emergency signals being sent out but only to never be answered. It's the state of not knowing that can be the most frightening thing in the world, but you won't leave because there's always hope that an answer will present itself. Truly making "Kontakte" with the alien world as well as our inner beings. 

 Stockhausen was an original, an innovator, and a musical genius by all accounts. He inspired and evolved many genres of music, most notably, early electronic. Mixing electronics and white noise within the classical world was fresh, unusual and as exciting to some as it was terrifying to others. And while the instruments he was working with were on the cutting edge during the 1950s-1960s, I think we've barely progressed on that front. Many people could be fooled with album in believing it came out yesterday. And while that shows the ingenuity and forward thinking way of Stockhausen, it's also a symptom that innovation has slowed down immensely on the musical front. I would love to see that change but I'm not sure how. Perhaps we need another Stockhausen.

Favorite Song: Kontake