Dream-Formula (from the opera Samstag), for basset horn (1981)
I. Introduktion (Introduction) II. Fünfschichtige Formel (Five-layer formula) III. Zweiter Formel-Durchgang (Second round of the formula) IV. Ausgang (Exit)
Suzanne Stephens, basset horn
Karlheinz Stockhausen's Traum-Formel (Dream Formula) (1981) for basset horn originates from the \"super-formula\" the composer used for his opera cycle Licht. The score includes specific instructions for the performer: he or she is to wear a blue-black or green-black costume, and stage movement and lighting suggestions are indicated as well.
Musically, Traum-Formel combines five polyphonic lines derived from the Licht \"formula\"; each line is marked by distinct gestures, articulations, and rhythms. This sort of single-instrument polyphony hearkens to similar instances in, for example, Luciano Berio's Sequenza series, though it extends back to Bach's contrapuntal works for solo violin and solo cello.
Traum-Formel was written as a birthday gift for clarinetist and frequent Stockhausen collaborator Suzanne Stephens. [allmusic.com]