Stockhausen: Stimmung (2007)

Though Karlheinz Stockhausen's Stimmung (Tuning) for six solo voices may be one of his most accessible pieces, relatively few commercial recordings of the hour-long "meditation on a chord" exist. Collegium Vocale premiered the work in 1968, and subsequently took their interpretation -- known now as the "Paris version" -- on the road and into the studio. Singcircle presented a slightly different sonic reading in the mid-'70s; Paul Hillier himself was a part of that recording. Yet in the maturity of his career, Hillier in ... Read More

Though Karlheinz Stockhausen's Stimmung (Tuning) for six solo voices may be one of his most accessible pieces, relatively few commercial recordings of the hour-long "meditation on a chord" exist. Collegium Vocale premiered the work in 1968, and subsequently took their interpretation -- known now as the "Paris version" -- on the road and into the studio. Singcircle presented a slightly different sonic reading in the mid-'70s; Paul Hillier himself was a part of that recording. Yet in the maturity of his career, Hillier in 2006 decided to approach Stockhausen's iconic vocal work afresh, and prepared the so-called "Copenhagen version"; it is this new version heard on the CD. Hillier has changed nothing of Stockhausen's score, from the Form Diagram of the overall piece to the guidelines for each voice's rendition of the 51 "models." Hillier has, with his ensemble Theatre of Voices, reconsidered the pacing and aural interpretation of the work. Hearing the performance, there is still over an hour's worth of... Read Less