New Music By Karlheinz Essl

Recorded live on June 10th, 2023 at Studio kHz. Performed on a Doepfer DARK ENERGY modular synth and a small analog mixer. No edits, no overdubs. This piece is somehow inspired by the legendary industrial noise band Throbbing Gristle. It focuses on the layering of slowly shifting pulses and the chaotic patterns that emerge from this process. More information: https://www.essl.at/works/trobbing-crystals.html

Recorded live on June 10th, 2023 at Studio kHz. Performed on a Doepfer DARK ENERGY modular synth and a small analog mixer. No edits, no overdubs. This piece is somehow inspired by the legendary industrial noise band Throbbing Gristle. It focuses on the layering of slowly shifting pulses and the chaotic patterns that emerge from this process. More information: https://www.essl.at/works/trobbing-crystals.html

Excerpt of an infinite generative sound environment for a room installation by the artist Tanja Prušnik, to be shown at the Johanniterkirche Feldkirch (an abandoned church in Voralberg, Austria) from 23 June to 1 October 2023. An electronic transformation of the organ composition "Prendere il Fa" (2021), performed by Wolfgang Kogert. This piece has been created with a computer program written in Max, utilizing composition algorithms from my RTC-lib (Real Time Composition Library) (1991-2022) https://www.essl.at/works/spuren.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded on the North Bohemian river Ohře/Eger between 16 and 18 May 2023: 1) the river at Loket 2) railway station in Perštein 3) a thermal spring in Karlovy Vary 4) the St. Nicholas fountain in the historical centre of Cheb/Eger Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Performed by Wolfgang Kogert at Hofmusikkapelle Vienna. Part of the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023). The expansion of the note f ("Fa") into a wide octave sound is transformed into a sensual sound process. https://www.essl.at/records/organologics.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones to enjoy the 3D audio! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Plzeň (Pilsen, CZ) between 20 and 21 May 2023: 1) Bells ringing at 6 pm from St Bartholomew's Cathedral 2) "Poesiomat" - a poetry jukebox https://poesiomat.cz/en/what-is-poesiomat/ 3) a walk along the Mže river next to the Pilsner Urqell brewery 4) a street café in the pedestrian zone of the historic town centre Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html

Performed by Wolfgang Kogert on the organ of the Hofburgkapelle in Vienna, Austria. Released on the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html A retrogressively composed piece for organ, commissioned by Pier Damiano Peretti, which refers to the palindrome "sator arepo" quoted by Anton Webern. The highly chromatic ricercar in six different temporal layers at the centre is flanked by contrapuntal canons and ethereal reed clusters. Score and more: https://essl.at/works/tenet-opera-rotas.html

Performed by Wolfgang Kogert on the organ of the Hofburgkapelle in Vienna, Austria. Released on the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html Music on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of Anton Webern’s death in Mittersill, 15 September 2005. The transformation of his final twelve-tone series (allegedly noted down on a circular tabletop) into a computer-generated glockenspiel, transcribed for toy piano respectively organ. Score and more: https://essl.at/works/webernspielwerk.html

Performed by Wolfgang Kogert on the organ of the Hofburgkapelle in Vienna, Austria. Released on the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html The transformation of a piece for electric guitar and mezzosoprano that throws together quotes from Purcell’s operas “Oedipus” and “King Arthur” into a trio sonata of baroque appearance featuring a throbbing bass. An image of sound spanning a period of 300 years, telling a story of grief and comfort. Score and more: https://essl.at/works/purcell-puzzle.html

A meditative sound trip through “tenet opera rotas” using live electronics, embedded in the original acoustics of the Imperial Castle’s Court Chapel in Vienna. Released on the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html More information: https://essl.at/works/apres-lavant.html

Performed by Wolfgang Kogert on the organ of the Hofburgkapelle in Vienna, Austria. Released on the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html Palindromic-canonic variations on what is probably the most famous Christmas carol "Silent Night" (Stille Nacht). The score was punched into a tape that could be played in different directions on a mechanical musical clock. It was first adapted for toy piano, then, in collaboration with Wolfgang Kogert, for organ. Score and more: https://essl.at/works/listen-thing.html

A graphic score created for a performative collaboration with Harald Naegeli, the “Sprayer of Zurich”, is interpreted as an expressive duo for voice and organ. An imaginative exploration of the playing techniques offered by the mechanical organ and the potential of the human voice beyond the bel canto. Part of the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html

Performed by Wolfgang Kogert on the organ of the Hofburgkapelle in Vienna, Austria. Released on the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html The piece draws its strength from the interaction between constantly changing chord structures, whose harmonic components are made more or less audible by slowly pulling out the stops. Score and more: http://essl.at/works/unbestimmt.html

Performed by Wolfgang Kogert on the organ of the Hofburgkapelle in Vienna, Austria. Released on the album ORGANO/LOGICS (col legno 2023) https://essl.at/records/organologics.html A comment on Karl Hodina’s Viennese song “Hergott aus Sta”, written on the occasion of the inauguration of the giant organ at St. Stephen’s Cathedral in Vienna. A piece of music whose shimmering harmonics are imbued with the chromatics of the original song, unfolding in a gradual process, like electronic music. Score and more: http://essl.at/works/herrgott.html

Binaural production - listen with headphones! Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes recorded in Amsterdam between 10 and 12 May 2023. 1) Vondelpark in the evening 2) Platform of the M5 metro at the Central Station 3) Visitors of the Vermeer exhibition in the Rijksmuseum 4) Art lovers at the Stedelijk Museum Released: 13 May 2023

Binaural recording - listen with headphones! Recorded on 27 April 2023 with a sculpture by Emmerich Weissenberger, commissioned by Martin Essl. Generative soundscape based on a two-dimensional random walk between four binaural soundscapes: 1) Unwrapping of the sculpture 2) Karlheinz and Martin improvising on the sculpture with different mallets 3) Rubbing and rolling walnuts found in the workspace 4) Playing with my hands on a vase by Nora Ruzsics Part of the work-in-progress H.E.A.D. (Hearing Entirely Artificial Dreams): https://essl.at/works/HEAD.html Released: 28 April 2023

Free improvisation on a Make Noise 0-coast analog synth and a small Behringer mixer, patched as a generative non-linear system with internal audio feedback. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - only manual control in real time! Performed live on Jan 12th, 2023 at Studio kHz by Karlheinz Essl. Info: https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Free improvisation on a Make Noise 0-coast analog synth and a small Behringer mixer, patched as a generative non-linear system with internal audio feedback. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - only manual control in real time! Performed live on Jan 12th, 2023 at Studio kHz by Karlheinz Essl. Info: https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Free improvisation on a Make Noise 0-coast analog synth and a small Behringer mixer, patched as a generative non-linear system with internal audio feedback. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - only manual control in real time! Performed live on Dec 6th, 2022 at Studio kHz by Karlheinz Essl. Info: https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html

Three part improvisations on a Make Noise 0-coast analog synth and a small Behringer mixer, patched as a generative non-linear system with internal audio feedback. No edits, no overdubs, no MIDI, no sequencer, no arpeggiator - only manual control in real time! Performed live on Dec 15th, 2022 at Studio kHz by Karlheinz Essl. Info: https://www.essl.at/works/coastlines.html