Karlheinz Stockhausen
Invasion-Explosion

Seven reviews for the seven days of the week: today it's Tuesday from Light.
(4/7)

Michael's troops: a tenor, 9 trumpeters, a synthesist, and a percussionist. Luzifer's troops: a bass, 9 trombonists, a synthesist, and a percussionist. Tuesday is the day of war in the cycle of seven days: the war between Michael, the archangel of creativity, and the troublemaker Luzifer.

The conflict takes place in the second act of the opera "Tuesday from Light" (Dienstag aus Licht), titled "Invasion-Explosion" and composed in 1990-91: a very long piece (72 minutes) that begins with the electronic music of "Oktophonie" (which then remains in the background for almost the entire duration of the piece) and is divided into eleven episodes.

In a scenic representation, the troops of the two contenders burst into the theater audience at a certain point: from left to right, along two or three paths created after some rows of seats have been removed. It is the first invasion: the musicians move among the audience fighting with notes. The two synthesists (from opposing factions) play strap-on synths amplified with small car radio speakers carried in a backpack. The same is done by the two percussionists, one playing a midi lyre and the other a midi-tare drum, which they have self-constructed. They are assisted by one helper each, who unrolls 100 meters of electrical cable to power the instruments.

Thus also in the second invasion, from right to left. But a trumpeter from Michael's troop remains on the ground, mortally wounded. Then follows one of the most evocative pages of the entire Licht cycle, a duet for flugelhorn and soprano voice that Stockhausen titles, in Italian, "Pietà": the compassion of a Red Cross nurse, a transfiguration of Eva, who watches over a dying soldier, a transfiguration of Michael.

Then the battle resumes: it's the third invasion, from the back of the audience to the stage. During this episode, three explosions shatter the rock and crystal of the set: the last three episodes follow without interruption until this musical phantasmagoria finally finds peace.

It is impossible not to consider the scenic aspect in the music of "Invasion-Explosion": if you limit yourself to listening only on a CD, you are exposed to a tangle of sounds that might seem nonsensical. But then, for those who have time and patience, the compelling novelty of those sounds finds its way into us until it invades our consciousness and explodes within it.

- Dienstag aus Licht (1987-1991) is the fourth opera in the cycle dedicated to the days of the week. It consists of a Greeting and two acts, with a Final Farewell. Tuesday is the day of war between Michael and Luzifer. The opera was performed at the Leipzig Opera House in May 1993. The disc edition on 2 CDs is published by Stockhausen-Verlag ("Invasion-Explosion" with the Final Farewell is CD no.2 of this edition).