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Karlheinz Stockhausen: Mantra

This research stems from my activities with Plus-Minus Ensemble, with whom I work as a live electronics developer and performer. The research develops new approaches to the realisation of Karlheinz Stockhausen's Mantra, a work composed for two pianos and analogue electronics in 1970. This realisation was first performed at Kings Place, London, September 2010. It was subsequently recorded for release on the hat[now]ART series on Hat Hut Records (2013).

Stockhausen's work was originally devised for a custom-built analogue ring modulation device, with integrated filter and compressor circuits. The technology developed for the present version emulates the sound and feel of the original device, but — with a view to facilitating broader uptake of the work, as well as greater reliability and portability — it is implemented entirely in the digital domain. The signal processing attributes are realised as a set of synthdefs for the SuperCollider programming language. The control devices used by the two pianists are based around a custom microcontroller circuit which communicates with the signal processing subsystem over a wireless link. All source code is publicly available.

The new technologies employed here made feasible a number of optimisations in the performance of the work. These optimisations are detailed on a website that outlines the key aspects of the technical realisation. The website is also included here as part of the overall portfolio submission.

http://staff.city.ac.uk/newton.armstrong.1/mantra/