"Am I a newcomer in musical history, or am I a reincarnation of an earlier composer? Are the superficial parallels between my music and the music of other cultures perhaps grounded in experiences of my earlier lives on this planet?
What are the distinctively new vibrations and rhythms in my music, and what law of the Universe are transmitted in them? To what spiritual lanes do the different works, or isolated events from individual works, aspire? To what level of awareness do they bring us?
What are the underlying mods of particular works? Which is the appropriate state of feeling for listening to a given work? Which works are expressly spiritual in tone, that is to say music of praise, prayer, and thanksgiving to God? In which is the spirituality hidden?
Which works appeal more directly to the physical being, the feelings and sufferings of sensory existence, and which more to the transcendental life of the spirit? Or is a balance of sorts discernible overall between the vibrations and rhythms of the beast and the angel in man?
Which pieces sing more than others, which transport us to worlds far removed from our planet? Which works allow us to experience the way of life of much smaller creatures, down to the smallest micro-organism? Which enable us to traverse great distances with the stride and breath of giants, to fly with giant wings?
In which work has the Prince of Satania, Master Lucifer, insinuated himself with his brilliant wit and glittering alchemy? Which works, which part of works allow us, like a child seeking protection, to cling to God's foot, snug and content in the certain knowledge of complete security?
Where sounds the voice of Prophecy?
Where the voice of Divine Humour?"
Foreword
The Works of Stockhausen by Robin Maconie
