Review

Reviewed Work(s): The Music of Stockhausen: An Introduction by Jonathan Harvey

Review by: Brian Israel
Source: Notes, Vol. 32, No. 2 (Dec., 1975), pp. 298-300
Published by: Music Library Association
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/897085
Accessed: 02-09-2016 20:42 UTC

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(The emperor did not accept Schubert's
Mass!)
The editor's arrangement of his material
is entirely chronological. This is a pity, for
each excerpt is commenting on the local,
or national scene. To follow the course of
church music in Germany, for instance,
requires the reader to do his own rear-
rangement. This is vital, for even today the
church music situation is completely dif-
ferent in each country. As it is, there are
five selections which deal with Germany and
Austria, six with Roman Catholic authority,
fourteen with America, and twenty with
England. The latter deal almost entirely
with the decay of cathedral music, particu-
larly in the eighteenth century, and show
nothing of the fine developments of recent
decades. Why is France ignored?
J. S. Bach's narration of his needs as
regards singers and instrumentalists tells
us of his problems in securing adequate
performances, but nothing speaks to his
personal dedication "soli Deo gloria." In
this connection, a definition from Johann
Gottfried Walther's famous Musikalisches
Lexicon (Leipzig, 1732) is pertinent:
Stilo Ecclesiastico . . . der Kirchen-
Styl, ist voller Majest'at, ehrbar und
ernsthafft, kraifftig die Andacht einzuflo-
ssen, und die Seele zu GOTT zu erheben.
The Music of Stockhausen: An Intro-
The quotation from the Reverend Sir
Arthur Gore Ouseley is interesting on sev-
eral counts. First is his notice of the im-
provements in the music of English
churches during the mid-nineteenth centu-
ry. To parallel this, the anthology should
quote Lowell Mason's Address on Church
Music (New York, 1851) which tells of the
improvements made in America. According
to Mason, in 1815 women could seldom
carry their part independently, so that the
sopranos were always sustained by tenors,
and the alto register of women's voices was
unknown, the part being sung by a few
men and boys. Second, Sir Arthur com-
ments on the mass teaching of music by
John Hullah and its effect on parish choirs
throughout England. If only Lowell Mason
had followed his techniques in this country!
In this context, there is an excellent discus-
sion of the weakness of American church
music in the nineteenth century in an article
on "Church Music" by the Reverend Mor-
gan Dix, rector of Trinity Church, New
York City, in the American Church Review
298
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(28 [1876]: 599-619). It is so relatively
inaccessible that an anthology of this sort
should reprint it. Let's hope there may be
a second printing to include some of the
above suggestions.
We seldom think of Mendelssohn today
as a composer of church music. Baptized
and confirmed in the State Church of
Prussia, he wrote a number of motets,
psalm-settings, etc., during his short life-
time. The quotation from him about the
use of music in church comes from a man
who had given much thought to the subject.
Not so different, except in point of time,
is the fine quotation from Dave Brubeck,
who not only states his own faith clearly,
but who also delineates the thought pro-
cesses necessary for the composer of church
music in the closing years of the twentieth
century.
It is unfortunate that this anthology was
so arranged that it concluded on the very
sour notes of Jesus Christ Superstar and
Bernstein's Mass, neither of which was in-
tended to be church music.
LEONARD ELLINWOOD
Washington Cathedral
duction. By Jonathan Harvey. Berke-
ley: University of California Press,
1975 [144 p., $14.95]
Not counting the composer's own three
volumes of essays, this book is the sixth
monograph on Stockhausen that has
appeared. The other works all focus on
different aspects of the composer's work:
Karl W6rner's Stockhausen: Life and Work
(rev. ed., translated by Bill Hopkins,
Berkeley, Ca., 1973) is a general and non-
technical "background"; Jonathan Cott's
Stockhausen (New York, 1973), a set of
conversations with the composer, presents
his philosophical and extra-musical rant-
ings; K. Ritzel's Musik fur ein Haus (Mainz,
1970) presents the teachings of Stockhausen
in their application to a composition semi-
nar; Seppo Heikinheimo's excellent techni-
cal study on Stockhausen's electronic music
(this study is listed in Harvey's rather
sketchy bibliography as an "article," al-
though it is twice as long as the present
study, and as having the title "Stockhausen's
'Kontakte"' when its proper title is The works. In several instances we are given
Electronic Music of Karlheinz Stockhausen some information about a piece, but such
([Helsinki, 1972], and when it is indeed, a small amount that complete bewilderment
devoted to all of Stockhausen's tape works is the result: for example, about Herbstmusik
up to and including Kontakte) is purely we are told only that it is "a theater piece
analytical in nature; and Walther Kruger's in four movements" (for whom and what
Karlheinz Stockhausen -Allmacht und Ohn- was it written?; what theatrical elements are
macht in der neuesten Musik (which is not used?); about Inori, a work-in-progress, we
included in Harvey's bibliography; Regens- are told nothing more than that it "uses
burg, 1971) is devoted primarily to matters the logarithmic tempo scale in a much more
metaphysical and aesthetic. Since none of complex manner than Gruppen, but the
these works, excepting Heikinheimo's, is material itself is rhythmically simpler;" and
truly technical, the book jacket blurb claim- the already esoteric operations of Plus-
ing that this study "makes available for theMinus are made even more confusing by
first time systematic analyses of [Stockhau-Harvey's abbreviated explanation which
sen's] works," is at least partially true. does not include any examples (desparately
Fortunately, this new book goes much needed in this case) of the notational devices
beyond most of the recent writing on Stock- of the score and how they are to be inter-
hausen, which too often tends to be little preted. Still more annoying is a tendency
more than glorified program notes aimed to focus on some aspects of a work to the
at the lowest common denominator of exclusion of others, or to descend to the
reader (the W6rner study is especially in- level of a mere general description of
furiating in this regard) and contains much events. Thus, in a description of Zyklus we
helpful analytical information. Most suc- are told that types of sound elements,
cessful is an excellent chapter on Gruppennumbers of elements, dynamics, etc., are
which clearly and brilliantly explains the "serialised and permutated cyclically," but
relation of set structure to tempos, struc-we are never told how these permutations
tural configurations, and group relation- were arrived at or how they operate. The
ships. Indeed, one can rejoice in Harvey's pitch material of Klavierstiicke I-IV is dis-
fine talent for clarifying most of the tech- cussed effectively, but the rhythmic struc-
niques of the New Music in a way that ture of these pieces -the very factor that
contributors to the Journal of Music Theory makes them so revolutionary -is barely
and Perspectives of New Music appear to be mentioned. Scarcely any note is made of
incapable of doing. Here, for once, is a the notational devices or compositional
theoretician who can write English! As a procedures of Mixtur and Mikrophonie I and
result, the average musician (for the book II, yet Harvey gives us a long, detailed
is really beyond the capabilities of most road-map description of Klavierstiick X in
laymen) will, at long last, have a real insight which he does little more than count
into the processes of series rotation and numbers of chords and durations to little
serial organization of rhythm (in a concise effect and without a single musical example,
description of the early Kreuzspiel of 1951), and make sectional delineations, declaring
and one chapter is devoted to a simple and the piece to be, of all things, a "quasi
comprehensible condensation of Stockhau- sonata-form." This method, of merely de-
sen's theories of time, tempo organization, scribing a long list of musical events that
and macro- and micro-rhythm. occur, in the manner of a scenario, seems
Although the book certainly contributes especially useless in the section on Hymnen,
far more greatly than the rest of the avail- where the reader would be well-advised
able literature to an understanding of the merely to listen to the work for himself
technical procedures Stockhausen has uti- and to read Stockhausen's own remarks
lized in his works, it also offers many regarding the piece in Jonathan Cott's book,
frustrations to the reader. First, absolutely rather than pay any attention to Harvey's
nothing is said about many of Stockhausen's second-hand, structureless verbal score. It
later compositions (although they are duti- would also be wise to avoid Harvey's chapter
fully included in a list of works at the end on Aus den sieben Tagen which presents a
of the book). Virtually not a single word set of philosophical verbosities in an attempt
is said about Stop, Spiral, Fresco, Pole, Fuir to excuse the metaphysical nonsense that
Kommende Zeiten, or any of the post-1970 is inherent in the "intuitive" musical-

299

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compositions-cum-free-improvisations of
this set of pieces.
Still, all in all, this monograph must be
recommended as a fine, serious introduc-
tion to Stockhausen's music that will dispel
many misinterpretations of the composer's
work, and may inspire some lively discus-
sion among those willing to pay the abso-
lutely outrageous $14.95 price for a book
of 146 pages.
BRIAN ISRAEL
Syracuse University

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