Kontakte

Stockhausen’s Kontakte (1958–60) can be considered a milestone in the history of multichannel music. The work exists in two versions: one for tape alone, and another for tape with live piano and percussion. For the tape part, Stockhausen employed the Rotationstisch—a mechanical rotation device described below—to generate spatial movement within a quadraphonic loudspeaker setup. Although these movements cannot be fully reproduced in stereo, the passage at 17′00″ contains a particularly well-known example of four-channel rotational motion:

Rotationstisch

The Rotationstisch was used by Karlheinz Stockhausen for his work Kontakte (1958-60) (von Blumroeder, 2018). In the studio, the device was used for producing spatial sound movements on a quadraphonic loudspeaker setup. This was realized with four microphones in a quadratic setup, each pointing towards a loudspeaker in the center:

/images/spatial/rotational-table_W640.jpg — *Functional sketch of the Rotationstisch (Braasch, 2008).*

The primary effect produced by the Rotationstisch is amplitude panning, achieved through the directivity of the loudspeaker and its waveguide. In addition, the spatialization process introduces a Doppler shift as a result of the loudspeaker’s physical rotation. Because the rotation mechanism can be operated manually, spatial trajectories could be performed in real time and recorded directly onto quadraphonic tape. This technique anticipates later approaches to object-based spatialization by specifying a dynamic angle of incidence for a sound source within the listening space.

/images/spatial/rotationstisch.jpg — *Rotationstisch , operated by Karlheinz Stockhausen (Stockhausen-Stiftung für Musik, Kürten).*

References

2018

Christoph von Blumröder. Zur bedeutung der elektronik in karlheinz stockhausens œuvre / the significance of electronics in karlheinz stockhausen's work. Archiv für Musikwissenschaft, 75(3):166–178, 2018.
[abstract▼] [details] [BibTeX▼]

Composing within the electronic medium, i. e. modifying sound with the help of electroacoustic apparatuses, has been an essential determinating factor in the musical work of Karlheinz Stockhausen, as a spectrum of electronic pieces from Studie I (1953) to Kontakte (1958-60), Mixtur (1964), Hymnen (1966-67), Oktophonie (1990/91), and Cosmic Pulses (2007) documents. The article considers this seemingly well-known fact from a revised musicological perspective. Considerations from a broader compositional-creative context that include both instrumental and vocal components lead to insights into the origins and history of some of Stockhausen's electronic projects that have found less attention until now.
```
@article{vonblumroeder2018zurbedeutung,
    author = "Blumröder, Christoph von",
    journal = "Archiv für Musikwissenschaft",
    number = "3",
    pages = "166–178",
    publisher = "Franz Steiner Verlag",
    title = "Zur Bedeutung der Elektronik in Karlheinz Stockhausens Œuvre / The Significance of Electronics in Karlheinz Stockhausen's Work",
    volume = "75",
    year = "2018"
}
```

Tomy Brautschek and Maximilian Haberer. Echoes of pink floyd: experiencing intimacy through acoustic immersion. Sound Studies, 4(2):234–237, 2018.
[details] [BibTeX▼]

@article{brautschek2018echoes,
    author = "Brautschek, Tomy and Haberer, Maximilian",
    title = "Echoes of Pink Floyd: experiencing intimacy through acoustic immersion",
    journal = "Sound Studies",
    volume = "4",
    number = "2",
    pages = "234--237",
    year = "2018",
    publisher = "Taylor \\& Francis"
}

2015

Martha Brech and Henrik von Coler. Aspects of space in Luigi Nono's Prometeo and the use of the Halaphon. In Martha Brech and Ralph Paland, editors, Compositions for Audible Space, Music and Sound Culture, pages 193–204. transctript, 2015.
[details] [BibTeX▼]

@incollection{vonColer2015aspects,
    author = "Brech, Martha and von Coler, Henrik",
    editor = "Brech, Martha and Paland, Ralph",
    booktitle = "Compositions for Audible Space",
    pages = "193--204",
    publisher = "transctript",
    series = "{Music and Sound Culture}",
    title = "Aspects of Space in {Luigi Nono's Prometeo} and the use of the {Halaphon}",
    year = "2015"
}

2011

John Chowning. Turenas: the realization of a dream. In Proceedings of the 17th Journées d\rq Informatique Musicale. 2011.
[details] [BibTeX▼]

@inproceedings{chowning2011turenas,
    author = "Chowning, John",
    booktitle = "{Proceedings of the 17th Journ{\'e}es d{\rq}Informatique Musicale}",
    location = "Saint-Etienne, France",
    title = "Turenas: The Realization of a Dream",
    year = "2011"
}

2010

Peter Moormann. Raum-musik als kontaktzone. stockhausens hymnen bei der weltausstellung in osaka 1970. Paragrana, 19(2):33–43, 2010. URL: https://doi.org/10.1524/para.2010.0023, doi:doi:10.1524/para.2010.0023.
[details] [BibTeX▼]

@article{moormann2010raum,
    author = "Moormann, Peter",
    doi = "doi:10.1524/para.2010.0023",
    url = "https://doi.org/10.1524/para.2010.0023",
    title = "Raum-Musik als Kontaktzone. Stockhausens Hymnen bei der Weltausstellung in Osaka 1970",
    journal = "Paragrana",
    number = "2",
    volume = "19",
    year = "2010",
    pages = "33--43"
}

2008

Marco Böhlandt. “kontakte” – reflexionen naturwissenschaftlich-technischer innovationsprozesse in der frühen elektronischen musik karlheinz stockhausens (1952–1960). Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte, 31(3):226–248, 2008.
[details] [BibTeX▼]

@article{boehlandt2008kontakte,
    author = "Böhlandt, Marco",
    title = "“Kontakte” – Reflexionen naturwissenschaftlich-technischer Innovationsprozesse in der frühen Elektronischen Musik Karlheinz Stockhausens (1952–1960)",
    journal = "Berichte zur Wissenschaftsgeschichte",
    volume = "31",
    number = "3",
    pages = "226-248",
    keywords = "Karlheinz Stockhausen, electroacoustic, sound research, composing, music aesthetics, music history, musicology, psychoacoustics, realisation technology, sound studio technology., Karlheinz Stockhausen, Elektroakustik, Klangforschung, Komposition, Musikästhetik, Musikgeschichte, Musikwissenschaft, Psychoakustik, Realisationstechnik, Tonstudiotechnik.",
    year = "2008"
}

Jonas Braasch, Nils Peters, and Daniel Valente. A loudspeaker-based projection technique for spatial music applications using virtual microphone control. Computer Music Journal, 32:55–71, 09 2008.
[details] [BibTeX▼]

@article{braasch2008aloudspeaker,
    author = "Braasch, Jonas and Peters, Nils and Valente, Daniel",
    year = "2008",
    month = "09",
    pages = "55-71",
    title = "A Loudspeaker-Based Projection Technique for Spatial Music Applications Using Virtual Microphone Control",
    volume = "32",
    journal = "Computer Music Journal"
}

1980

François Potard. L’acousmonium. In Pierre Schaeffer, editor, La Musique électroacoustique. INA–GRM / Buchet-Chastel, Paris, 1980.
[details] [BibTeX▼]

@incollection{Potard1980,
    author = "Potard, François",
    editor = "Schaeffer, Pierre",
    title = "L’Acousmonium",
    booktitle = "La Musique électroacoustique",
    publisher = "INA–GRM / Buchet-Chastel",
    year = "1980",
    address = "Paris"
}