Reeling from Stockhausen's Trans
Nov. 2nd, 2008 02:31 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
unclechristowell I fulfilled a 25yr long ambition to see Trans live - and they played it twice as the composer requested.
It didn;t dissappoint - curtains open on the red lit gauze with strings wall behind it - all playing synchonously, the bows in time playing looooong notes ina wall of sound - from behind the wall you can hear the brass, woodwind and percussion. And the weavers shuttle sound ringing out back and forth. And the 4 humourous interruptions, very subtle, light, and silly as a string player is spoytlit and gets carried away scraping like mad, beofre the others all look at him, then the white light fades, and he;s once again in the red light and playing synchronously again. One example. Another, a trumpet player climbs a ladder behing the wall of strings and lets off a fanfare over the top of the wall. Near the end the whole wall starts to sway as they play for a minute or so. And then...after al this noise...30seconds of silence....Then the weavers shuttle sound once......then 3 times and the whole orchestra cranks up again.
Now I have the pictures in my head when I listen to the piece next - Trans was one of the first I got to know of KHS when I was in college but it is rarely played because of the weird demands of the staging.
Before and between the 2 performances of Trans, there were other small pieces too - his "widows" each played a 15minute solo piece, one bassethorn, one flute, and I got to see well renowned British classical composer Oliver Knussen conduct a chamber piece piece in the foyer, but it was Trans I was looking for this trip.
There's a weeklong Stockhausen Fest this week in London - the drive there was a hassle tho (4 hours instead of the 2ish it shouda been) and the trains in the UK don't run very late and I can;t spare a night away this week so unless I get really keen , this'll have to do for now.
Weird coincidence - who did I run into in the London carpark, in fact I took their space - Leicester pals Ellie, Evie & family.
It didn;t dissappoint - curtains open on the red lit gauze with strings wall behind it - all playing synchonously, the bows in time playing looooong notes ina wall of sound - from behind the wall you can hear the brass, woodwind and percussion. And the weavers shuttle sound ringing out back and forth. And the 4 humourous interruptions, very subtle, light, and silly as a string player is spoytlit and gets carried away scraping like mad, beofre the others all look at him, then the white light fades, and he;s once again in the red light and playing synchronously again. One example. Another, a trumpet player climbs a ladder behing the wall of strings and lets off a fanfare over the top of the wall. Near the end the whole wall starts to sway as they play for a minute or so. And then...after al this noise...30seconds of silence....Then the weavers shuttle sound once......then 3 times and the whole orchestra cranks up again.
After half an hour total the brass and woodwind make a cacophonous farewell, and the strings are left playing, slowly dying out as the curtain closes again.
A totally recreated dream, and a dreamlike feel was the result.Now I have the pictures in my head when I listen to the piece next - Trans was one of the first I got to know of KHS when I was in college but it is rarely played because of the weird demands of the staging.
Remove the superimposed face from this picture and you more or less have what I saw.
Before and between the 2 performances of Trans, there were other small pieces too - his "widows" each played a 15minute solo piece, one bassethorn, one flute, and I got to see well renowned British classical composer Oliver Knussen conduct a chamber piece piece in the foyer, but it was Trans I was looking for this trip.
There's a weeklong Stockhausen Fest this week in London - the drive there was a hassle tho (4 hours instead of the 2ish it shouda been) and the trains in the UK don't run very late and I can;t spare a night away this week so unless I get really keen , this'll have to do for now.
Weird coincidence - who did I run into in the London carpark, in fact I took their space - Leicester pals Ellie, Evie & family.
