Note on stück 1998 seiten 1-4000

The score stück 1998 consists of 160'000 time units written on 4000 pages. One time unit indicates a duration of 12 seconds, structured by a frequency of 6 seconds to be played by one or more musicians, and a silence of 6 seconds.

There are 72 frequencies corresponding to 6 octaves of the well-tempered twelve ton system. The frequencies are indicated by the alphabetic characters of the ton pitches, f.i. C, d, e1 etc., in order to abstract the specific relation of the clefs in traditional music notation to the respective instruments and pitches.

A frequency that is out of reach of the respective musicians' instruments is realized as the respective time period to last, which results in a time unit of silence of 12 seconds. The 160'000 time units are actualized (the term I prefer to 'performed') in consecutive sections and essentially only once, lasting in its totality 533 hours and 20 minutes. This means that every sound to occur has its very precise and unrepeatable moment within this absolute structure. In the context of this score the alphabetic character that indicates the frequency allows the sign to operate according to its intrinsic quality of iteration. It takes its precise place in the structure but doesn't represent any sound quality at all.

There are various levels of Indeterminacy, f.i. the distribution by chance procedure of the 72 frequencies over the 160'000 units. This is very explicit; however, as we will see, the frequencies feature a particular structure of potentiality. The instruments with their sound qualities and ranges provide a more challenging level. According to their ranges, a violinist would play about the half of the frequencies and a trombonist would play about the exact other half, precisely at the times when the violinist doesn't produce any frequency. A pianist would play all the frequencies which results in a regular flow of sound of 6 seconds and silence of 6 seconds. We can consider instruments with particularly small ranges: An actualization would easily result in one long silence.

So, the selection of the instrument(s) effectuates not only the sound quality but the actual flow of the music: The intersection of the course of the frequencies (given in the score at the precise moment of the ongoing thread) and the specific range of the selected instrument(s) produces an ever contingent situation. This essentially allows the structure to unfold its potentiality, including its extremes, which are a regular flow of sound of 6 seconds and silence of 6 seconds, and a complete silence (which simply means absence of played frequencies).

There is an absolute structure, but not until coming together with reality the structure and its signs are actualized under the specific condition of the situation as the actual material: the selected instruments and their performers, and the place as the occurring intersection of all its divergent potentials. The absolute but empty structure of stück 1998 allows us to consider music to essentially consist in its condition occurring in place: a musician touches a sound source and at a time at a place produces a sound or not. This set lets the precise condition of each situation, regarding our proposed structure, occur as intrinsic reality of the situation. I propose this to be already enough: the intrinsic reality of a situation. (2010)