Uploaded December 2015 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Hoch-Zeiten (High Times, or Marriages) is performed simultaneously in two different halls by five choral groups and five orchestral sections, respectively. The five divisions in each hall perform at independent speeds, producing "a tour de force of multiple superimposed tempi" (Toop 2008). The performance is then repeated, with the audiences changing halls (Ulrich 2011, 4). As such, these two versions are sometimes regarded as both the fifth and sixth scenes of Sonntag (Stockhausen 2003a, 5). The basic structure of the orchestral version is identical to that of Hoch-Zeiten for Choir, but has added to it five duos and two trios performed by the first-desk players of the orchestra. These ensembles are recollections of characteristic moments from each of the seven operas in the Licht cycle, presented not in weekday order but in the order they were composed (Stockhausen 2004b, 5, 7–28):
Thursday duo, for trumpet and clarinet, quoting from Mondeva, act 1, scene 2 of Donnerstag
Saturday duo, for flute and trombone, quoting from Kathinkas Gesang, scene 2 of Samstag
Monday duo, for viola and cello, quoting from Wochenkreis, the second "situation" of act 2, scene 3 (Evas Lied) of Montag
Tuesday duo, for flugelhorn and trombone, quoting from Pietà, in act 2 of Dienstag
Friday duo, for oboe and bassoon, quoting from Elufa, the ninth "real scene" of Freitag
Wednesday trio, for clarinet, violin, and cello, quoting from the "Carousel" section of Michaelion, scene 4 of Mittwoch
Finally, a Sunday trio for flute, viola, and synthesizer, quoting the opening of Lichter—Wasser, the first scene of Sonntag.
Hoch-Zeiten (High Times, or Marriages) is performed simultaneously in two different halls by five choral groups and five orchestral sections, respectively. The five divisions in each hall perform at independent speeds, producing "a tour de force of multiple superimposed tempi" (Toop 2008). The performance is then repeated, with the audiences changing halls (Ulrich 2011, 4). As such, these two versions are sometimes regarded as both the fifth and sixth scenes of Sonntag (Stockhausen 2003a, 5). The basic structure of the orchestral version is identical to that of Hoch-Zeiten for Choir, but has added to it five duos and two trios performed by the first-desk players of the orchestra. These ensembles are recollections of characteristic moments from each of the seven operas in the Licht cycle, presented not in weekday order but in the order they were composed (Stockhausen 2004b, 5, 7–28):
Thursday duo, for trumpet and clarinet, quoting from Mondeva, act 1, scene 2 of Donnerstag
Saturday duo, for flute and trombone, quoting from Kathinkas Gesang, scene 2 of Samstag
Monday duo, for viola and cello, quoting from Wochenkreis, the second "situation" of act 2, scene 3 (Evas Lied) of Montag
Tuesday duo, for flugelhorn and trombone, quoting from Pietà, in act 2 of Dienstag
Friday duo, for oboe and bassoon, quoting from Elufa, the ninth "real scene" of Freitag
Wednesday trio, for clarinet, violin, and cello, quoting from the "Carousel" section of Michaelion, scene 4 of Mittwoch
Finally, a Sunday trio for flute, viola, and synthesizer, quoting the opening of Lichter—Wasser, the first scene of Sonntag.
