Harlekin
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''Harlekin'' (Harlequin) is a composition for unaccompanied
clarinet The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell. Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
by
Karlheinz Stockhausen Karlheinz Stockhausen (; 22 August 1928 – 5 December 2007) was a German composer, widely acknowledged by critics as one of the most important but also controversial composers of the 20th and early 21st centuries. He is known for his groun ...
, named for the
commedia dell'arte Commedia dell'arte was an early form of professional theatre, originating from Theatre of Italy, Italian theatre, that was popular throughout Europe between the 16th and 18th centuries. It was formerly called Italian comedy in English and is a ...
character
Harlequin Harlequin (, , ; , ) is the best-known of the comic servant characters (Zanni) from the Italian commedia dell'arte, associated with the city of Bergamo. The role is traditionally believed to have been introduced by the Italian actor-manager Zan ...
. It was composed in 1975 and is Number 42 in his catalogue of works. A shorter, derived work called ''Der kleine Harlekin'' is Number 42½.


History

''Harlekin'' was composed for the clarinetist
Suzanne Stephens Suzanne Stephens (born July 28, 1946) is an American clarinetist, resident in Germany, described as "an outstanding performer and tireless promoter of the clarinet and basset horn". Biography Suzanne Stephens was born in Waterloo, Iowa, the dau ...
to dance to her own playing. It was begun at Easter 1975 in Morocco, and completed on Christmas Eve of the same year on Big Corn Island off the coast of Nicaragua. In an interview from October 1984, Stockhausen recalled the circumstances: "I can see it in front of me. A rocky shore with a small restaurant on it, and the timber house where I wrote most of HARLEKIN. I can see the oil that was poured on the floor to fight those horrid cockroaches". The work was premiered on 7 March 1976 in the Große Sendesaal of the
WDR WDR may refer to: * Waddell & Reed (stock ticker: WDR), an American asset management and financial planning company * Walt Disney Records, an American record label of the Disney Music Group * WDR neuron, a type of neuron involved in pain signalli ...
in Cologne by Suzanne Stephens. Although intended primarily for a dancing clarinetist, it can also be performed as "pure" music, in which case the notated dance rhythms are to be played on
tabla A ''tabla'' is a pair of hand drums from the Indian subcontinent. Since the 18th century, it has been the principal percussion instrument in Hindustani classical music, where it may be played solo, as an accompaniment with other instruments a ...
, a Kandy drum, or similar drum. It may also be performed by a clarinetist at the side of the stage on which a dancer performs the choreography. There is an arrangement for flute, as well.


Analysis

''Harlekin'' is composed using formula technique and falls into seven sections, which are played without a break: # Der Traumbote (The Dream Messenger) # Der spielerische Konstrukteur (The Playful Constructor) # Der verliebter Lyriker (The Enamored Lyric) # Der pedantische Lehrer (The Pedantic Teacher) # Der spitzbübische Joker (The Roguish Joker) # Der leidenschaftliche Tänzer (The Passionate Dancer) # Der exaltierte Kreiselgeist (The Exalted Spinning Spirit) Part 6 is subdivided into two parts, titled "Dialog mit einem Fuß" (Dialog with a Foot) and "Harlekins Tanz" (Harlequin's Dance). The whole work is composed as a single large wave. The work is based on a melodic formula first exposed in its full form in section 3, "Der verliebte Lyriker". Up to this point, the melody is gradually evolved, and from here onward it is composed out in a variety of ways. The cyclic compositional processes are associated with rotating movements by the performer, which recall the rotating movements of electronic sounds in ''
Kontakte ''Kontakte'' (, 'contacts') is an electronic music work by Karlheinz Stockhausen, realized in 1958–60 at the '' Westdeutscher Rundfunk'' (WDR) electronic-music studio in Cologne with the assistance of Gottfried Michael Koenig. The score is N ...
'', and the improvised motions produced by use of the "sound mill" in the spherical auditorium of the German Pavilion at
Expo '70 The or Expo '70 was a world's fair held in Suita, Osaka Prefecture, Japan, between 15 March and 13 September 1970. Its theme was "Progress and Harmony for Mankind." In Japanese, Expo '70 is often referred to as . It was the first world's fair ...
in Osaka. The duration is 45 min.


''Der kleine Harlekin''

"Harlequin's Dance", the second subsection of part 6, became an independent piece with the title ''Der kleine Harlekin'', and was given the work-number 42½. This piece was premiered by Suzanne Stephens on 3 August 1977 at the Centre Sirius in Aix-en-Provence. Like the parent composition, ''Der kleine Harlekin'' is meant for a dancing clarinetist, but can be performed as a duo by a clarinetist and a dancer, or a clarinetist and a drummer. It also has been arranged for flute.


Discography

* Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Harlekin''; ''Der kleine Harlekin''. Suzanne Stephens (clarinet). LP recording. DG 2531 006. amburg Deutsche Grammophon, 1978. Reissued on CD, Stockhausen Complete Edition CD 25. Kürten: Stockhausen-Verlag, 1992. * Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Harlekin''. Michele Marelli (clarinet). Stradivarius Times Future. CD recording. Stradivarius STR 33864.
ilan Ilan may refer to: Organization *ILAN, Israeli umbrella organization for the treatment of disabled children Given name *Ilan (name), a Hebrew/Israeli name *Ilan Bakhar, a retired Israeli footballer *Ilan Araújo Dall'Igna, a Brazilian footballer ...
Stradivarius, 2010. * Karlheinz Stockhausen: ''Amour'', ''Der kleine Harlekin'', ''Wochenkreis''. Michele Marelli (clarinet and
basset horn The basset horn (sometimes hyphenated as basset-horn) is a member of the clarinet family of musical instruments. Construction and tone Like the clarinet, the instrument is a wind instrument with a single reed and a cylindrical bore (wind in ...
); Antonio Pérez Abellán (synthesizer, in ''Wochenkreis''). Recorded in Cuneo, Italy, and Alicante, Spain, in March 2013. CD recording. Wergo WER 6785 2. Mainz: Wergo, 2013.


Filmography

* ''Virtuoso: Müller—Paganini—Rossini—Stockhausen—Stravinsky''. Matthias Müller (clarinet); Ensemble Zero, David Philip Hefti (cond.). 1 hybrid SACD + 2 DVDs (1 PAL and 1 NTSC), with video performances of Müller: ''Six Études de Concert'' and Stockhausen: ''Der kleine Harlekin''. NEOS 20904. cking NEOS Music GmbH, 2009.


References


Cited sources

* * * * * * *


Further reading

* Conen, Hermann. 1991. ''Formel-Komposition: Zu Karlheinz Stockhausens Musik der siebziger Jahre''. Kölner Schriften zur Neuen Musik 1, ed.
Johannes Fritsch Johannes Georg Fritsch (27 July 1941 – 29 April 2010) was a German composer. At the age of seven, Fritsch found a violin in the attic of his uncle's house in Bensheim-Auerbach, Germany, and began lessons with a village music teacher named Kna ...
and
Dietrich Kämper Dietrich Kämper (born 1936) is a German musicologist. Life Born in Melle, Germany, Melle, Niedersachsen, Kämper studied at the University of Cologne and University of Zurich with research stays in Bologna, Florence and Rome. He received his do ...
. Mainz: Schott's Söhne. . * Frisius, Rudolf. 1997. "Komponistenporträt Karlheinz Stockhausen". In ''Das Deutsche in der Musik'', edited by Marion Demuth, 87–98. Kolloquium vom im Rahmen der 5. Dresdner Tage Zeitgenössischer Musik (1991): Dresden. Dresden: Zentrum für Zeitgenössischer Musik. . * Frisius, Rudolf. 2008. ''Karlheinz Stockhausen II: Die Werke 1950–1977; Gespräch mit Karlheinz Stockhausen, "Es geht aufwärts"''. Mainz, London, Berlin, Madrid, New York, Paris, Prague, Tokyo, Toronto: Schott Musik International. . * Gratzer, Wolfgang. 1994. "Zur Wiederkehr Harlekins auf Karlheinz Stockhausens Bühne". In ''Die lustige Person auf der Bühne'', edited by Peter Csobádi, 2:733–50. Wort und Musik: Salzburger Akademische Beiträge 23 (2 vols.). Anif-Salzburg: Mueller-Speiser. . * Herbort, Heinz Josef. 1976. "Blähungen". ''
Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...
'' (12 March). * Herbort, Heinz Josef. 1984. "Von Luzifer lernen: Eine Reportage: Anmerkungen und Teile eines Gespräches". ''
Die Zeit (, ) is a German national weekly newspaper published in Hamburg in Germany. The newspaper is generally considered to be among the German newspapers of record and is known for its long and extensive articles. History The first edition of was ...
'' (1 June).


External links


"Details, analysis"
Ed Chang

Albrecht Moritz,
Jerome Kohl Jerome Joseph Kohl (November 27, 1946 – August 4, 2020) was an American musicologist, academic journal editor, and recorder teacher. A music theorist at the University of Washington, he became recognized internationally as an authority on the ...
(ed) * , Paula Pires (2016) * , Matthias Müller {{Authority control 1975 compositions Compositions by Karlheinz Stockhausen Solo clarinet pieces Serial compositions