Kim Tan on being enticed by the unknown.
Kim Tan will perform Karlheinz Stockhausen's Ypsilon (1989) at Rubble Music. The highly technical and expressive piece includes small bells worn by the performer, usually attached to their clothes, creating sounds through their movement.
Kim share’s her approach to Ypsilon, which traverses Ancient Greek, the birth of humanity, the legend of the Pied Piper and the iconography of being led into the light.
Photo by Suzanne Phoenix.
“Ypsilon; is theatre, whimsy, and lightness - it is about enchantment and being enticed by the unknown.”
“Stockhausen’s work Ypsilon is entangled with three ideas:
1. The greek letter Y; an unknown variable, also one of the coordinates in the Cartesian plane. Y is a specific point of orientation with an unknown value.
2. Eve; Ypsilon is a related subwork of 'Montag aus Licht' meaning Monday from Light.
In Ed Chang's blog about Stockhausen's 'Licht' cycle of seven operas, MONTAG (Monday) is Eve's Day - a celebration of birth and the rebirth of humanity. Eve not only signifies the first woman, but also a melodic motif on which Ypsilon is based.
3. Ava; the pied piper. In MONTAG, Ava is represented by a flautist who leads children towards the clouds.
In contrast to other mythologies where a pied piper may lure followers to their demise, Ypsilon entices followers towards light, a willing enchantment to an unknown wonder.”
Our thanks to Kim for giving us a glimpse into the philosophical, historical and mathematical research that is integral in preparing Ypsilon.
Rubble Music
Friday 27 March, 7pm
Church of All Nations, Carlton Naarm