Zyklus – Stockhausen
December 2, 2010
Stockhausen, Karlheinz
Zyklus
Solo Percussion
marimba, vibraphone (motor off), 4 toms, snare drum, guiro (use several guiros if necessary), 2 African log drums (each producing 2 pitches), 2 suspended cymbals (of differing sizes), hi-hat, 4 almglocken (suspended, clappers removed), a suspended “bunch of bells” (preferably Indian bells or tambourine mounted on a stand), at least 2 high pitched triangles, gong (with raised boss in center), and tam-tam.
Approx. 10 minutes
Written in 1959 for a Percussion Competition in Darmstadt, Zyklus is of an early wave of percussion solo compositions in the middle 20th Century of which use a the vast quantity of instruments in the percussionists field to their advantage. Zyclus is written for over 20 instruments and is designed to be played with the possibility of the score facing multiple directions. The spontaneity of this composition as it is to be performed adds contrast to the density of the composition itself, leaving the listener many possibilities for interpretation and experience.
Annotated by Nate Tucker
