In 2010 I was engaged by Ensemble Musikfabrik to learn and perform GLANZ by Karlheinz Stockhausen, a work for trio of clarinet, bassoon and viola, accompanied or, interrupted at times by oboe, trumpet, trombone and tuba.
Whilst the score is relatively conventional in its appearance, there are certain kinds of Stockhausen performance practice that must be observed, most of which are detailed in the performance instructions, rather than being incorporated into the notation. This is all well and good. However in one particular scenario, Stockhausen calls for a “Gliss. in Mikrointervallen”, a glissando using intervals smaller than a semitone, and simply draws a straight, unbroken line from one pitch, C#4 to another, F5: an octave and a major third.
The clarinet’s keywork is largely based on the execution of a chromatic scale, however we’ve been able to find many, many fingerings to produce pitches inbetween those, thanks also in part to the clarinet’s number of open tone holes. Fingerings using partly covered tone holes or half-open or -closed keys aren’t very helpful when you’re going for speed. In order to give the impression of a glissando whilst using microtones, those intervals have to pass by fast and fluidly enough, that the ear perceives a kind of ‘stepped glissando’.
Only being able to rely on solid fingerings without partially open/closed or depressed keys, and bearing in mind the kind of velocity needed to successfully produce a microtonally stepped glissando, I proceeded to formulate the following chart. There are three layers of information here:
1. rhythm: After finding out just how many possible (and feasible) microtones there are between C#4 and F5, I had to break it down into a rhythm, practicable with metronome, as Stockhausen insists on being done. It resulted in 62 fingerings, including departure and arrival pitches, played over 12 beats at mm 120. As the 62nd pitch is the arrival pitch, there are only 61 pitches to have to fit into 12 beats at mm 120. After some deliberation, the result was groups of 5s (quintuplets) and one sextuplet following the apex of the crescendo.
2. fingerings: Although I would write them differently today, the fingerings had to be clean and clear enough to read quickly. Simplicity was achieved by not reiterating fingerings of one hand that did not change, using three parallel bars to represent no change (this practice is widely used by composers). The fingerings were then boxed in their rhythmic groupings mentioned before.
3. dynamics: Stockhausen’s dynamics were added as a third layer so the chart could literally be used as a score in performance.
I’m sharing this now, as it seems like concerts are in danger of becoming obsolete. Changes to the way we live and fears of all kinds of threats impacting upon our lifestyle seem omnipresent. Perhaps this piece will never be played again, which would be a huge loss as it’s wonderful music. Perhaps someone else will play this piece and stare wide-eyed at this particular bar (page 14, system 1, bar 2). Perhaps someone will listen to the recording we made and wonder how this glissando was played. Whilst I’m not at liberty to publish the complete score, I can release this small contribution I made to the performance practice of the work, in the hope that it will arouse interest in the music.
