Karlheinz Stockhausen's Final, Epic Musical Statement Comes To FringeArts

Analog Arts, Elizabeth Huston, and FringeArts present the Philadelphia premiere of legendary composer Karlheinz Stockhausen's KLANG: The 24 Hours of the Day. This musical cycle, charting the journey of the soul out of the body and into the afterlife, takes over FringeArts' waterfront headquarters-140 N Columbus Blvd. (at Race St.)-April 7th-8th. Listeners will be able to hear the work in its entirety on both days of the production over the course of fourteen hours through four unique but cohesive concert experiences. Day and weekend passes are available and cost $40 and $75, respectively. Tickets are also available for each individual concert experience, ranging from $25 to $30. All tickets are available by phone (215-413-1318) or online at FringeArts.com.

Intended to include 24 chamber music compositions, called "Hours," but left incomplete at the time of Stockhausen's death, KLANG fittingly gives space to meditate on time, spirituality, reality, and the meaning of mortality. This is a production of all 21 completed pieces and marks the first time audiences will be able to see them all in a single day. The music ranges from intimate chamber pieces to electronic extravaganzas, and will be performed by members of Cologne's esteemed contemporary music ensemble MusikFabrik, along with many other virtuosic musicians, some of whom closely collaborated with Stockhausen in his final years. Stockhausen also assigned a specific color to each piece of the composition which will be reflected in "light paintings" created by artist Thomas Dunn.

KLANG is conceptually divided into three sections. The first five "Hours" relate to Christian spirituality, reflecting the ascension of Christ, Pentecost, and Heaven. The next seven contain Stockhausen's view of the sounds of Heaven. The final nine "Hours" turn to an imagined universe as described in the mysterious spiritual and philosophical tome the Urantia Book. Viewed by most as science fiction, Stockhausen took the text as fact, and creates sound-worlds to describe the planets and universes of Urantia with each "Hour" in this final section.

In preparing for such a colossal presentation, Huston and her team of collaborators have put careful consideration into audience experience. To this end, the presentation will be divided into four concert experiences that allow attendees to engage with the work in different ways: KLANG Up Close, Modular KLANG, KLANG Immersion, and KLANG in Concert. Additionally, there will be flexible seating, lectures from performers and Stockhausen experts in an adjoining space, and the freedom to come and go as attendees please. "We are shaping an environment that accounts for every entry point and perspective, making sure that no one feels like this was not built for them," Huston offers, adding, "This piece is especially easy to do this for since Stockhausen creates an incredible story with this work."

Major support for KLANG has been provided to Elizabeth Huston by The Pew Center for Arts & Heritage, with additional support from the Philadelphia Cultural Fund, Goethe Insitut, and the Penn Treaty Special Services District.

TICKET INFORMATION

$40 One Day Pass | $28 for Members

$75 Two Day Pass | $52.50 for Members

$25 KLANG Up Close, Modular KLANG, or KLANG Immersion | $17.50 for Members

$30 KLANG in Concert | $21 for Members

Call 215-413-1318 or visit www.fringearts.com to purchase tickets.

Photo via: http://fringearts.com/event/stockhausens-klang/

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