The name Karlheinz Stockhausen is synonymous with avant-garde contemporary music of the latter half of the 20th Century. Like most visionary artists much of the body of his work has been obscured by media soundbites concentrating on his domestic arrangements, helicopters and comments on international events. Thus, like other seminal cultural figures such as Joseph Beuys and John Cage, Stockhausen’s work is more often referred to than engaged with in any great depth.
Aus den Sieben Tagen (From the Seven Days) from 1968 is one of those landmark works that is more often talked about but rarely performed. A small book or pamphlet of texts about music to be made, it uses the basic premise that we all have music inside of ourselves and through our own intuition and attentive listening a collective new-sounding will emerge. These are not improvisational rites, but a series of specific texts, each stipulating ways of making music. They are visionary, epic, difficult, challenging, gorgeous, unsettling, weird, cool and indeed a myriad of possible sonic experiences and this is what is so wonderful about these works, they lead us somewhere beyond the dull mainstream of so much contemporary cultural life.
Cut & Splice dismisses the often conservative and dry executions of Stockhausen’s work and brings together, quite simply, some of the best musicians in Europe, notable for their expertise in improvisation, indeterminate music and the creation of new sounds.
Stockhausen’s score Aus den Sieben Tagen (From the Seven Days) will be split up for this reinterpretation. 7 sections will be played on the Friday and six on the Saturday. Additional to this, one section will be realised as a video installation by Arturas Bumsteinas running throughout the festival at Wilton’s Music Hall.
A full list of performers can be found here…
Schedule
Tues 21 Oct
Gold Dust begins. Culminating in the opening performance at Wilton’s.
Artists: Matthew Lee Knowles and T.B.C.
Fri 24 Oct
6.30pm Doors
8.00pm Performances start
Gold Dust
Connection
Meeting Point
Unlimited
Night Music
Downwards
Intensity
‘High & Low’ will run as an installation, created by Arturas Bumsteinas, throughout the weekend at Wilton’s.
Sat 25 Oct
Artists in Conversation
11.00am – 12.00pm
Wilton’s Music Hall
Free
Robert Worby will lead an informal discussion exploring Aus Den Sieben Tagen and its interpretation as this year’s Cut & Splice with Anton Lukoszevieze, Reinhold Friedl and David Behrman.
Main Performance
6.30pm Doors
8.00pm Performances start
Arrival
Right Durations
Upwards
Communion Antiphonal
It
Set Sail For The Sun
‘High & Low’ will run as an installation, created by Arturas Bumsteinas, throughout the weekend at Wilton’s.
