"This is an astounding work by one of the true masters of the post-WWII avant-garde. Stockhausen often worked with massive (and complex) forces, but here, all we find are six unadorned voices, gradually chanting their way through a litany of sacred names, erotic verse, meditative intonations, all utilizing only the harmonics of a single root B-flat tone that can be produced by the human voice. There are many people that think that washing synths, twiddly melodies, and overdubbed whales makes for 'New Age'...but "Stimmung" really sounds like some mysterious, just-beyond-comprehension ceremony from some time not yet reached. Singcircle's performance here is perhaps the best I've heard, also, with very exacting (and rigorous) performance capabilities in evidence. And having some familiarity myself with how overtone singing works, I can say that the effort which the ensemble makes here is truly leviathan, monumental, and all the more astounding for its accomplishment!"
Beautiful, but...
DAC Crowell | 10/09/2001
(5 out of 5 stars)
"The singers are all top-class, and the recording technique superb, but I still prefer the older recordings with the Collegium Vocale Köln (2 versions in Stockhausen-Edition CD12), who premiered "Stimmung" in the late 1960's. The reason is that the Collegium Vocale singers seemed to have a very good time when singing and the piece progresses spontaneously (note that in this piece the singers have to make decisions almost all the time during each performance). On the other side, the Singcircle singers seem to be always very, very concentrated, but they take the music too seriously, and even the funny interludes when "erotic" verses by Stockhausen are recited are performed as if they were written for the Church. If you really like this music you should have both recordings."
Dependable manipulation of voice
hirofantv | tomorrow | 05/18/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Stockhausen's career was one of monumental & protean experimentation. Who might have expected that the man who composed music as chaotic as Kontakte would also compose music with notes as solidly organised as Stimmung? My friend who is a fellow fan of Stockhausen thinks of Stimmung as "his silly piece." It's so accessible that it's very fun too -- unusual for him. Stimmung was inspired by time Stockhausen spent in Mexico where he would sit on a rock for hours staring at ruins, noticing how they were slightly out pf phase.... He also experienced being different indigenous peoples or a Spaniard & relived their religious ceremonies, which could be quite cruel, but (as he wrote) "religious cruelty isn't in Stimmung, only sounds.""
Experimentation on tonal potentials of the human voice
DAC Crowell | 10/24/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I feel many listeners would agree that Stimmung is far more accessible to the average listener than Stochausen's other works.Some listeners,however, who valued Stockhausen's lack of repitition,may be disappointed.I for one feel it is more akin to the more minimal works of Glass/Reich in that its structure poses more of a developmental process than his works inclined towards 'chance'-still this is not for your average listener and might appear very strange indeed.More problematic than the still non-repetitive structure is the strict adherence to solo-instrumentation-namely, the human voice.This does not mean to say that this is for fans of choral music-the use of the voice veers more toward chanting than singing.-Still 5 stars from me."
Thank you Hyperion for taking a chance on this unusual and b
Pete | North America | 05/07/2007
(5 out of 5 stars)
"I love this CD and I rate it 5 stars. However, it is a composition that defies any form of rating system, as it is so unlike anything else out there. If the word 'Alternative' were ever to be used appropriately, it would be for the great Karlheinz Stockhausen. What is remarkable about this recording is that there is nothing heard other than human voices. I am so thankful for Hyperion records for releasing these sorts of works that most companies would dimiss as unmarketable. While it may take a while to get really into Stimmung, something will grab you right away. It's just so totally unlike anything alse you have ever heard."