Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Karlheinz Stockhausen’s slow-burning INSIDE LIGHT immerses audiences in organic electronic soundscapes

• By drediman
• June 7, 2024
• No Comments

Currently at the Park Avenue Armory, you’ll find the American premiere of Karlheinz Stockhausen’s Inside Light, a two-part presentation that assembles selections from Licht, the pioneering composer’s rarely-performed cycle of seven operas (each representing a day of the week, and collectively amounting to some 29-hours of playtime). Even though I was only able to take in Part 2 of the anticipated event, I can safely say that the project is the kind of wholly unique, large-scale endeavor that only venues/institutions like the Armory can pull off and should continue to dedicate themselves to presenting.

Taking full advantage of the massive proportions of the Wade Thompson Drill Hall, the production pairs Stockhausen’s moody and organic electronic compositions with a glacially-paced projection and light show that pulsates in synchronicity with the score. The result is a truly immersive experience that invites audiences to take the whole thing in however they see fit. For me, being able to gaze over sizable crowds casually clustered across the expansive vista made for an experience more akin to a ritualistic, cult-like happening (what are they all agog over?) rather than your traditional cultural outing (when push comes to shove, Inside Light can be best described as a sort of hybrid between an elongated concert and art installation).

As far as Stockhausen’s score, it’s more atmospheric (at times apocalyptic-leaning) soundscape than it is your typical musical fare, at least upon initial listen. Inside Light: Part 2 is split into two distinct halves — the first half is more varied, the second more insistently hypnotic — that that are separated by an intermission. To be sure, it’s a slow-burning affair that may take some time to adjust to. But once you’re attuned to the work’s distinct cadence, it lulls you into a state of profound meditation, allowing audiences to see beyond the artifice of human existence and open their minds to both the cosmos and the elemental life-force within and around us.

RECOMMENDED

INSIDE LIGHT: PART 2
Music
Park Avenue Armory
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Runs in repertory with Part 1 through June 14