Klaus Huber
Swiss composer born 30 November 1924 in Berne; died 2 October 2017 in Perugia, Italy.
Klaus Huber was born in Berne on 30 November 1924. He attended high school in Basel and the Küsnacht Teacher-Education School (Kantonsschule Küsnacht). From 1947 to 1949, he attended the Conservatory of Zurich, where he studied violin with Stefi Geyer, as well as music pedagogy. From 1947 to 1955, he remained in Zurich to study composition with his godfather, Willy Burkhard and from 1955 to 1956, studied with Boris Blacher at the Staatliche Hochschule für Musik in Berlin. From 1961 to 1972, he taught at the Basel Musikakademie, which marked the beginning of a long career teaching composition, becoming one of the great teachers of the generation of composers born after 1945. In 1969, he received an artist fellowship from DAAD in Berlin, and succeeded Wolfgang Fortner teaching at the Hochschule für Musik Freiburg, where he remained until his retirement in 1990, training composers such as Brian Ferneyhough, Wolfgang Rihm, and Michael Jarrell.
In 1955, his Sechs kleine Vokalisen premiered in Bilthoven (Holland). In 1959, the premiere of Des Engels Anredung an die Seele at the ISCM World Music Days in Rome brought him international renown; he was awarded first prize in the chamber music composition competition from a jury that included Luigi Dallapiccola and Wladimir Vogel). In 1961, Noctes premiered at the Darmstadt Summer Course, during which Theodor Adorno asked to meet Huber. A portion of his Soliloquia was performed during the ISCM Festival in London in 1962. In the spring of 1968, Huber travelled to the U.S.S.R. with fellow composer Constantin Regamey, then traveled to Nicaragua in 1983, where he met Ernesto Cardenal. That same year, the complete version of Erniedrigt-Geknechtet-Verlassen-Verachtet premiered at the Donaueschinger Musiktage. Huber spent much of 1999 working on his opera Schwarzerde, which premiered in Basel in 2001. Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen…, premiered in Donaueschingen and in Paris in 2002. In 2003 and 2004, Die Erde tanzt sich auf den Hörnern eines Ochsen was performed in Cairo and in Drochtersen-Huell. In 2004, À l’âme de marcher sur ses pieds de soie… premiered at the Wittener Tagen für Neue Kammermusik. Numerous concerts and events were held to celebrate Huber’s eightieth birthday in Germany, Luxemburg, Switzerland, France, and Spain. In 2007, Quod est pax ? – Vers la raison du cœur… premiered at Warsaw Autumn.
Klaus Huber was a guest professor and composer in residence the world over, including Bilthoven (1966, 1968, 1972), McGill University and Brazil (1984), Siena (1985), IRCAM (1986, 1998, 1990, 1993), the Conservatoire de Paris (CNSMDP - 1987, 1989, 1992), Radziejowice (1987), Malmö, Stockholm and the Sibelius Academy (1989), Royaumont (1990, 1996), the Royal Academy of Music and the Conservatoire de Genève (1991), the Brandenburgisches Kolloquium Neue Musik in Berlin, the Musica de Strasbourg Festival, the Basel Musikakademie and the Huddersfield Festival (1992), the Scuola Civica di Musica in Milan (1992, 1993), Centre Acanthes (1993, 2003), the Toronto New Music Concerts (1993), the Lucerne Internationale Musikfestwochen (1994), the Akiyoshidai Festival in Japan (1995), the Conservatoire de Lyon (CNSMDL) and Aigion in Greece (1996), Sarajevo, Bremen and Caracas (1997), Bergen (1998), and Trossingen (2004).
He received many awards and honors, including the Beethoven Prize, the composition prize of the Swiss Musicians’ Association, the city of Basel Arts Prize, the Reinhold Schneider Prize, the Prix Italia, the Villa Ichon Culture and Peace Prize (Bremen), the Salzburg Music Prize, the Deutscher Musikautorenpreis (German Music Authors’ Prize, in the category Lifetime achievement), and the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize. He was a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, the Berlin Academy of Arts, and the Manheim Academy of Arts, as well as an honorary member of the ISCM. He held an honorary doctorate from the University of Salzburg. His scores were published by Ricordi (Munich) starting in 1975, as well as by Schott. His manuscripts are held at the Paul Sacher Foundation archives in Basel. A volume of his collected writings, titled Umgepflügte Zeit, was published in 1999. Klaus Huber died on 2 October 2017 in Perugia, Italy.
© Ircam-Centre Pompidou, 2009
Sources
- Éditions Ricordi, München.
- Max Nyffeler, « Klaus Huber », Grove Music Online © Oxford University.
- Site officiel Klaus Huber, voir ressources documentaires.
Parcours et dimensions de l’œuvre
By Raphaël Brunner
Course and Dimensions of His Work
There is hardly another musician whose career is so difficult to outline. Klaus Huber’s is unusual because of its mix of tradition and a kind of modernity that is both relative and radical. Huber was connected to spiritual, political, and social causes throughout his life, as his music reflects. Although less known in France than some of his former pupils, he remained active in teaching and composing. His work, abundant and varied, embraces all genres, from solo pieces to operas.
The last decades of the twentieth century seem to have exhausted the question of art’s role, having obviously reached multiple dead ends. However overused the language around the role of art may seem today, the Swiss composer wanted this question to be central. “Unlike Adorno,” notes Brian Ferneyhough, one of Huber’s former students,
he [Huber] does not accept the agnostic view that the integral autonomy of the advanced art work is the necessary and sufficient guarantor of its authenticity. On the contrary, his Christian beliefs impel him to address directly what he sees as art’s utopian dual mission, to move the listener to concrete social reflection and embody a hope-filled vision of the just life.1
Aligning more with Ernst Bloch than Adorno, Huber’s work engages with history: his music works constantly on the oppositions it inherits, refusing to set them aside. For Huber, a modernity based on a tabula rasa that wipes out human drama is no more acceptable than it is for Helmut Lachenmann or Luigi Nono. He also shared György Ligeti’s rejection of the idea of narrow and unidirectional progress in music. His work thus avoids any syncretism mixing humanism and modernity so that it can rather maintain a permanent tension between the two.
Like Nono, Huber rejected the concept of pure music; both composers incorporated pre-existing external elements into their compositions, often as a provocation. But his work also shows confidence in music’s capacity to produce meaning itself once it has assimilated the contexts of its production. By acknowledging and confronting historical contradictions, Huber progressed through successive breakthroughs, unexpected discoveries, and reconciliations marked by pivotal key works throughout his five-decade career:
- Although he had received a traditional musical education, his music from the 1950s diverges from the trends of that time and indeed of much of the latter half of the twentieth century. In the midst of a period of generalized serialism, he wrote contemplative and mystical compositions, such as the chamber symphony Oratio Mechtildis (1957), the cantata Des Engels Anredung an die Seele (The Angel’s Address to the Soul, 1957), and Auf die ruhige Nachtzeit (To the Quiet Nighttime, 1959), which all seem to belong to a different era.
- While he made several early attempts to use modern techniques, he only made significant progress between 1957 and 1964, though he still preserved his own style and ideas. The oratorio Soliloquia (1964) is a notable work, and his first breakthrough came later that year in the organ piece In te Domine speravi.
- Between 1965 and 1967, temporal components emerged in Huber’s music, with pieces such as Tenebrae (1967), an orchestral work that depicts Christ on the cross. He achieved a second breakthrough in the lied with piano accompaniment Der Mensch (The Man, 1968), inspired by Friedrich Hölderlin.
- Between 1969 and 1971, he developed a critical perception of time and a deeper understanding of engagement, as demonstrated in the violin concerto Tempora (1970) and the Apocalypse-inspired oratorio Inwendig voller Figur (Inside Full Figure, 1971). In 1972, he achieved a third breakthrough with Ein Hauch von Unzeit (A Touch of Untimeliness), for flute, piano, and a variable ensemble.
- Over 1972 to 1975, he implemented open work processes and concepts, notably in the opera inspired by Alfred Jarry, Im Paradies oder der Alte vom Berge (In Paradise or the Old Man from the Mountain, 1975). He achieved the fourth breakthrough with the miniature piece Senfkorn (Mustard Seed) composed in 1975 for a child’s voice, oboe, string trio, and harpsichord. The lyrics include psalms by Ernesto Cardenal. The structure of the work foreshadows the next advances.
- From 1975 to 1982 emerged oppositions and the monumental oratorio Erniedrigt-Geknechtet-Verlassen-Verachtet (Humiliated-Subjugated-Abandoned-Despised, 1982). A fifth breakthrough came in 1983 with Seht den Boden, blutgetränkt… (See the ground, soaked in blood), for fourteen instrumentalists. Here, his music began to confront and reconcile opposites. Other examples include his second string quartet Von Zeit zu Zeit (From Time to Time, 1985), Spes contra spem: A Counter-Paradigm on the Twilight of the Gods (1989), and La Terre des hommes (The Land of Men, 1989) for mezzo-soprano, countertenor, narrator, and eighteen instruments.
- Starting in the 1980s, Huber showed interest in the Middle Ages and the Renaissance with compositions like Cantiones de Circulo gyrante (1985) and Agnus Dei cum Recordatione (1991). He also sought to integrate Asian and Arab musical and cultural influences. He continued his research on acoustic space, using differentiated sound spaces in Spes contra spem and Die umgepflügte Zeit (Time Plowed Up, 1990). He developed a system of harmony based on scales composed of third-tones, as appears in La Terre des hommes and as is facilitated by scordatura in the string trio Des Dichters Pflug (The Poet’s Plow, 1989).
- In the 1990s, Huber studied the Arab theorists, whose influence is felt in Die Erde bewegt sich auf den Hörnern eines Ochsen (The World Turns on the Horns of an Ox, 1993). He engages with Carlo Gesualdo in Lamentationes sacrae et profanae ad responsoria lesualdi (1994) and Mozart in the string quintet Ecce homines (1998).
- Huber’s works from the end of his career are intricate yet accessible, inclined toward intimate expression and mystical inspiration. While maintaining seamless continuity with his previous works, they introduce new harmonies that transcend diatonic and chromatic tonality. Huber accomplished this by successfully coordinating scales with temporal structures.
These milestones affirm a constant, which Huber’s music shares with that of Nono and Bruno Maderna: a critical attitude toward a modernity at odds with the past and tradition. This attitude manifests as he avoided any unifying trend in favor of keeping a diversity of original significations. His goal was to set to music both tradition and whatever the modern world was confronting: he conveyed this dramatic content and added his own utopian vision. He used various techniques to test and enhance these elements, without abstracting them from their original contexts. In his work, fragments and silence are not a renunciation of unity, but rather a torn portrayal of a wholeness to which spirituality still allows access. Although unity is frequently sensed and desired, it remains elusive, because of a higher order.
Huber challenged compositional techniques by juxtaposing them with tradition, often in an inverse relationship, as would Alban Berg or Bernd Alois Zimmermann. Like the works of Heinz Holliger, Huber’s create their own images of the past, engaging with folklore and Romantic-era music. They frequently cite other compositions, such as a passage from Berg’s Violin Concerto in Tempora, variations on Johannes Brahms’s Violin Concerto in Terzen-Studie (Thirds Study, 1958), the chaconne from Henry Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas in Ein Hauch von Unzeit (A Touch of Untimeliness, 1972), and a tombeau by Sylvius Leopold Weiss in Erinnere dich an G… (Remember G…, 1977). Huber draws upon music from various historical periods in Turnus (1974) for orchestra, including the Notre-Dame School, Claudio Monteverdi, Anton Bruckner, and Béla Bartók. References to Johann Sebastian Bach dominate his works, especially Litania instrumentalis (1957), where the chorale Vaterunser im Himmelreich becomes modified and distorted, as is Bach’s aria Es ist vollbracht in Senfkorn and the chorale Christ ist erstanden in Tenebrae. In addition, Huber sometimes uses historical instruments, such as the viola d’amore in Plainte: À la mémoire de Luigi Nono (Complaint: In memory of Luigi Nono, 1990), the oboe d’amore and basset horn in Spes contra spem, and the lute and hurdy-gurdy in Agnus Dei cum Recordatione.
Huber’s music incorporates diverse texts, from biblical and medieval mystical writings to contemporary resistance and philosophical literature. Though not always originating from traditional literature, all texts were chosen for their musical suitability. Frequently, multiple languages or texts from several different writers are used within one piece, such as Erniedrigt-Geknechtet-Verlassen-Verachtet and …Ausgespannt… (…Unclamped…, 1972). Huber aimed to preserve diverse cultural identities within a network in which music is only one element, though a crucial one: this approach gives a first chance to the musical work. Various authors are sources of inspiration, including Cardenal, Mahmoud Darwish, Jacques Derrida, Rosa Luxemburg, Osip Mandelstam, Johann Baptist Metz, Pablo Neruda, Friedrich Nietzsche, Octavio Paz, Rainer Maria Rilke, Nelly Sachs, Dorothee Sölle, Simone Weil, and Peter Weiss.
Huber frequently described his approach to incorporating musical excerpts and texts into his works as “transubstantiation.” Such a relationship to the text and music can be found in Senfkorn, which is built around the aria from Bach’s cantata BWV 159: there jointly appears a pre- or de-figuration of the aria and a logogenetic or textual trope, that is to say the substitution of one text for another on similar music. He incorporates texts in a way similar to Cardenal’s Salmos, which reinterprets biblical psalms to reflect contemporary context and language. While Nono did not always include texts in his works (they sometimes appeared as epigraphs), Huber used them to structure and shape his compositions. His alteration of Bach’s aria in Senfkorn did not make it more accessible, but it instead paradoxically increased its “aesthetic distance” (to use a term coined by Hans Robert Jauss) from the original music. The fact that the aria underlies the music gives it an “earth-shattering” effect, as Huber himself remarked. Thus, he successfully transformed a parable of the Kingdom of God on earth into music.
Agnus Dei cum Recordationeis based on a mass by Johannes Ockeghem and uses similar literary techniques that are sometimes hard to trace. Huber took a text by Gösta Neuwirth, translated it into French, and then had Pierre Bec convert it to fifteenth-century French. The final version is not just a retranslation, but a fictional one, because Neuwirth’s original is a montage of various texts, including quotes from Franz Kafka and Jorge Luis Borges. Similar elements appear in Intarsi (1994) but on the level of the music rather than text, as Huber incorporates the songFaire reverdir les arbres (Make the Trees Green Again) referenced by Mozart in the third movement of his piano concerto K. 595.
Going beyond European musical and literary practices, Die Erde bewegt sich auf den Hörnern eines Ochsen uses Arabic tonal scales and responds to a historical, as well as musical, context by incorporating elements “foreign” to European culture and reciting in four languages a discourse by an Iranian poet. The text Huber chose is a sharp critique of the degradation of cultures through their importation. But the work also highlights commonalities between European and Arabic musical traditions, and the text would endorse the moral integrity of this act.
Huber’s Des Dichters Pflug and Senfkorn are structured by Mandelstam’s poems and Cardenal’s psalms, respectively, in contrast to Nono’s string quartet Fragmente-Stille, an Diotima, where Hölderlin’s poetry is read and sung in resonant fragments. However, the use of the text as a framing device suggests that the composition is still a work in progress.
In Bach’s music, Huber observed a “conflict” between madrigalian formulas and constructive ideas, which results in a deeper exploration of the relationship between text and music. When he affirms that “there is no opposition between construction and expression” and that “form has a spoken dimension,” he points to the possibility of a “transubstantiation” that is able to concretely actualize history. He emphasizes that this “degradation” is intrinsically musical. Figurative music, which avoids becoming fixed or reduced to an absolute, challenges Adorno’s ideas about music from the 1950s and ’60s, and even the ideas of modern music in general. To quote Martin Kaltenecker,
Huber’s music is miraculous in that it could develop against its own aesthetic principles. Analogical thinking neither stifled the artist’s imagination nor hindered the advancement of his musical ideas. It never renounces complexity, but places it not at the composition’s source, but at a later stage of development and deployment.2
For Huber, radicalizing modernity did not mean sterilizing the musical work and blindly serving the alienation that threatens it. Rather, it meant taking the risk of expanding music to what it is supposed to reject. Huber represents this paradox while resisting the artificial distortions that art sometimes creates in its thirst for artistic purity. His music tirelessly and obstinately endeavors to transform this despondent human world of perpetual exile into a realm of creation.3
1. Brian FERNEYHOUGH, “Portrait Klaus Huber,” klaushuber.com (accessed 16 May 2023). ↩
2. See full text here. ↩
3. All of Klaus Huber’s scores and related documents are kept at the Paul Sacher Foundation in Basel. The author of this article, Raphaël Brunner, expresses his sincere gratitude to the Foundation for allowing him to consult the collection multiple times and for allowing him to conduct his research. ↩
© Ircam-Centre Pompidou, 2009
- Solo (excluding voice)
- Ciacona for organ (1954), 9 mn, Inédit
- In memoriam Willy Burkhard for organ (1955), 7 mn, Bärenreiter
- La Chace for harpsichord (1963), 5 mn, Schott
- In te Domine speravi for organ (1964), 6 mn, Bärenreiter
- Cantus cancricans for organ (1965), 4 mn, Bärenreiter
- To Ask the Flutist for solo flute (1966), 7 mn, Bärenreiter
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit I Complaint about the loss of musical reflection - some madrigals for solo flute or flute with any instruments... (1972), 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit II Complaint about the loss of musical reflection, for one-and-a-half-handed piano ... (1972), 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit V for guitar (arrangement: Cornelius Schwehr) (1972), 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit VI for accordion (arrangement: Hugo Noth) (1972), 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit VII for double bass (arrangement: Fernando Grillo) (1972), 10 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit VIII for cello (arrangement: Michael Bach) (1972), 10 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Blätterlos solo piano version by Schattenblätter (1975), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Transpositio ad infinitum for a virtuoso cellist, dedicated to Paul Sacher (1976), 8 mn, Schott [program note]
- Oiseaux d'Argent for one, two or three flutes (1977), variable, Ed. Musicales Transatlantiques
- ...Plainte... I for alto flute tuned in third of a tone (1990), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - Die umgepflügte Zeit I for Luigi Nono, for viola d'amore in third tone (1990), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Rauhe Pinselspitze I for kayagum with accompaniment of a buk (Korean drum) (1992), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Rauhe Pinselspitze III for cello pizzicato (1992), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Winter Seeds for accordion (1993), 11 mn, Ricordi
- “Il pleut des fleurs...” for accordion (1993), 3 mn, HBS Nepomuk
- Metanoia for solo organ (1995), 30 mn, Ricordi
- Cadence à l'âme qui descend for cello (2002), 5 mn, Ricordi
- Piccola cadenza contrappuntistica ... wie ein Hauch ..., for accordion (2007), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Intarsimile for violin (2010, 2012), 6 mn
- Chamber music
- Sonata da chiesa for violin and organ (1953), 13 mn, Ricordi
- Partita for cello and harpsichord (1954), 15 mn, Bärenreiter
- Concerto per la camerata for six instruments (1954-1955), 13 mn, Pegasus
- Drei Sätze in zwei Teilen for wind quintet (1958-1959), 17 mn, Bärenreiter
- Noctes intelligibilis lucis for oboe and harpsichord (1961), 15 mn, Schott
- Moteti-Cantiones for string quartet (1962-1963), 25 mn, Schott
- Sechs Miniaturen for clarinet, violin and cello (1963), 7 mn, Pegasus
- Sabeth for alto flute, english horn and harp (1966-1967), 7 mn, Schott
- Ascensus for flute, piano and cello (1969), 16 mn, Schott [program note]
- Drei kleine Meditationen aus 'Kleine deutsche Messe' for harp and string trio (1969), between 8 mn and 10 mn, Bärenreiter
- Schattenblätter trio for bass clarinet, cello and piano (1975), 12 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Lazarus I/II crumbs for cello and piano (1978), 7 mn, Ricordi
- Beati Pauperes I for flute, viola, piano and small percussion (1979), 6 mn, Ricordi
- ...von Zeit zu Zeit... string quartet n°2 (1984), 22 mn, Ricordi
- Petite pièce for three basset horns (or three clarinets in A) (1986), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Des Dichters Pflug In memoriam Ossip Mendelstam, for string trio (1989), 12 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- elec ...Ruhe sanft... In memoriam John Cage, for recorded voice and four scordatura cellos (1992), 8 mn, Ricordi
- Luminescenza piccola musica enigmistica per Brian Ferneyhough, for mandolin, guitar and harp (1992), 10 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - Lieber spalten mein Herz I in memoriam Ossip Mandelstam, for viola d'amore in third tone, guitar in third tone and small percussion (1990-1992), 14 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Rauhe Pinselspitze II version for pizzicato cello and korean drum (1992), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - Lieber spalten mein Herz II in memoriam Ossip Mandelstam, for flute, third tone guitar and small percussion (1990-1993), 14 mn, Ricordi
- Black Plaint for shō and percussion (1995), 20 mn, Ricordi
- Ecce homines for string quintet (1997-1998), 37 mn, Ricordi
- L'âge de notre ombre for alto flute, viola d'amore and harp (all three tuned in third of a tone) (1998), 15 mn, Ricordi
- Beati Pauperes III for piano, guitar and 4 percussions (2000), 7 mn, Ricordi
- Vers la raison du cœur for alto flute, bass clarinet, harp, violin, viola d'amore, cello (2007), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Instrumental ensemble music
- Inventionen und Choral for orchestra (1956), 14 mn, Schott
- Litania instrumentalis for orchestra (1957), 11 mn, Bärenreiter
- Terzen-Studie variations on the theme of the last movement of Brahms' Violin Concerto, for orchestra (1958), 3 mn, Inédit
- Zwei Sätze for seven brass instruments (1957-1959), 7 mn, Schott
- Cantio-Moteti-Interventiones for string orchestra (1963), 14 mn, Schott
- Tenebrae for large orchestra (1966-1967), 18 mn, Schott
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit III for 2 to 7 instrumentalists (variable distribution) (1972), 14 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- elec Turnus for a conductor, a stage manager, symphony orchestra and magnetic tape (1973-1974), 22 mn, Schott
- Ich singe ein Land, das bald geboren wird... for seventeen instruments (1978-1979), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Seht den Boden, blutgetränkt... for fourteen instrumentalists (1983), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Zwei Sätze for ensemble (1983), 8 mn, Ricordi
- Protuberanzen three small pieces for orchestra, successive or simultaneous (1985-1986), between 6 mn and 10 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Zwischenspiel for large orchestra (1986), 7 mn, Ricordi
- Agnus Dei in umgepflügter Zeit for eight instruments (1990-1991), 11 mn, Ricordi
- In nomine - ricercare il nome... for ensemble (1999), 7 mn, Ricordi
- In nomine - ricercare il nome... for ensemble (1999), 7 mn, Ricordi
- L'ombre de notre âge Contrafactum for chamber ensemble (1998-1999), 23 mn, Ricordi
- Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi for six instrumentalists (2008), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Concertant music
- Alveare Vernat for flute and 12 string instruments (1965), 13 mn, Schott
- James Joyce Chamber Music for harp, horn and chamber orchestra (1966-1967), 18 mn, Bärenreiter
- Tempora concerto for violin and small orchestra (1969-1970), 25 mn, Schott
- ...Ohne Grenze und Rand... for viola and small orchestra (1976-1977), 13 mn, Schott [program note]
- Erinnere dich an G... for double bass and eighteen instruments (1976-1977), 19 mn, Schott [program note]
- Plainte - die umgepflügte Zeit I in memoriam Luigi Nono, for viola d'amore in third tone and thirteen instrumentalists (1990), 13 mn, Ricordi
- Concerto de chambre « Intarsi » in memoriam Witold Lutoslawski, for piano and 17 instrumentalists (1993), 20 mn, Ricordi
- elec Lamentationes de fine vicesimi saeculi for orchestra in four groups and Sufi singer ad libitum (1992-1994), 19 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Plainte - die umgepflügte Zeit III for alto flute and thirteen instrumentalists (2004), 14 mn, Ricordi
- elec Erinnere dich an Golgatha... for double bass, 18 instruments and electronics (2010), 25 mn, Schott
- Vocal music and instrument(s)
- Abendkantate for bass and five instruments (1952), 9 mn, Inédit
- Kleine Taufkantate für Christoph for soprano, flute and viola or violin (1952), 5 mn, Inédit
- Das kleine Lied two times seven duets for contralto and viola (1955), 17 mn, Inédit, manuscrit perdu
- Der Abend ist mein Buch for contralto and piano (1955), 2 mn, Inédit
- Drei Lieder nach Gedichten aus dem Mittelhochdeutschen for deep voice and piano (1955), 8 mn, Inédit
- Quem terra Hymn to the Virgin Mary, for alto, tenor, small mixed choir and six instruments (1955), 15 mn, Bärenreiter
- Sechs kleine Vokalisen for contralto, violin and cello (1955), 7 mn, Pegasus
- Antiphonische Kantate for mixed one- to four-part choir, large unison choir and orchestra (1956), 11 mn, Inédit, manuscrit perdu
- Antiphonische Kantate for mixed choir with one- to four-part choir, unison choir, brass instruments, percussion and organ (1956), 11 mn, Inédit
- Des Engels Anredung an die Seele chamber cantata for tenor, flute, clarinet, horn and harp (1957), 11 mn, Universal Edition
- Oratio Mechtildis chamber symphony for chamber orchestra and contralto (1956-1957), 25 mn, Bärenreiter
- Auf die ruhige Nacht-Zeit for soprano, flute, viola and cello (1958), 12 mn, Bärenreiter
- Soliloquia oratorio for soloists, two choirs and large orchestra (1959-1964), 51 mn, Bärenreiter
- Musik zu einem « Johannes-der-Täufer-Gottesdienst » for the assembly of the faithful, church choir, organ and orchestra ad libitum (1965), Inédit
- elec Askese for flute, narrator and magnetic tape (1966), 6 mn, Bärenreiter
- Grabschrift In memoriam Zvi Snunit, for baritone and seven instruments (1967), 2 mn, Inédit
- Psalm of Christ for baritone and eight instruments (1967), 11 mn, Schott
- Der Mensch for deep voice and piano (1968), 60 s, Ricordi
- Kleine Deutsche Messe - Missa brevissima for choir, assembly of the faithful, organ, string trio, harp and percussion ad libitum (1969), variable, Bärenreiter
- elec ...Inwendig voller Figur... for choir, loudspeaker, large orchestra and magnetic tape (1970-1971), 25 mn, Schott
- Hiob 19 for choir and nine instrumentalists (1971), 10 mn, Schott's Söhne
- elec ...Ausgespannt... sacred music for baritone, organ, five instrumental groups, magnetic tape and loudspeaker (narrator) (1972), between 17 mn and 20 mn, Schott
- elec stage Jot, oder wann kommt der Herr zurück dialectic opera (1972-1973), 1 h 20 mn, Schott
- elec stage Im Paradies oder der Alte vom Berge five schematic opera acts on a large orchestra (1973-1975), 1 h 30 mn, Inédit
- Senfkorn In memoriam Luigi Dallapiccola, for children's voice and five instruments (1975), 9 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage Erniedrigt-Geknechtet-Verlassen-Verachtet for mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, children's voice, choir with sixteen solo voices, large mixed choir, fifty instruments in seven groups, magnetic tape, video (1975-1978, 1981-1982), 1 h 10 mn, Ricordi
- Beati Pauperes II counterfeit for a small orchestra with choir (ad libitum) and 7 solo voices (ad libitum) (1979), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Sonne der Gerechtigkeit library music for a religious service: "The Prophecy of Jeremiah", for baritone, two choirs, narrator, assembly of the faithful, organ and three groups of wind instruments (1979), variable, Inédit
- Cantiones de Circulo gyrante spatialized music for five soloists, choir and three instrumental groups (1985), 39 mn, Ricordi
- Fragmente aus Frühling In memoriam Karol Szymanowski und Bruno Schulz, for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano (1987), 7 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- La terre des hommes In memoriam Simone Weil, for mezzo-soprano, countertenor, narrator and ensemble (1987-1989), 35 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- elec stage Spes contra spem a counter-paradigm on the Twilight of the Gods in four parts and a prologue, for soloists, reciters and large Wagnerian orchestra (1986-1989), 50 mn, Ricordi
- Die umgepflügte Zeit In memoriam Luigi Nono, spatialized music for viola d'amore, mezzo-soprano, light tenor, narrator, choir, 2 ensembles distributed in space (1990), 20 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - die umgepflügte Zeit II in memoriam Luigi Nono, for mezzo-soprano, counterenor, viola d'amore in third tone and thirteen instrumentalists (1990), 13 mn, Ricordi
- Agnus Dei cum Recordatione homage to Johannes Okeghem, for four male voices, renaissance lute and two bowed violas (1990-1991), 14 mn, Ricordi
- elec Die Erde bewegt sich auf den Hörnern eines Ochsen assemblage for four Arab musicians, two European musicians and magnetic tape (1992), 37 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Metanoia I for organ, alto trombone and 2 children's voices with organ tubes and small percussion (1995), 30 mn, Ricordi
- A Prayer on a Prayer for female voice (ad libitum) and ensemble (1996), 5 mn, Ricordi
- Lamentationes Sacrae et Profanae ad Responsoria Iesualdi for 6 singers and 2 instrumentalists (1993-1997), 46 mn, Ricordi
- Umkehr - im Licht sein... diptych for choir, mezzo-soprano and small orchestra (1997), 35 mn, Ricordi
- Auf der Welt sein - Im Licht sein / Svjet - Man kann nicht atmen for choir, six solo voices, timpani and percussion (1997-2000), 9 mn, Ricordi
- Canción for mezzo-soprano, guitar, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass (2000), 21 mn, Ricordi
- Flor mía, flor de mi alma for 2 groups of strings, 2 percussionists and 2 children's voices (1999-2000), 21 mn, Ricordi
- Ararat for countertenor and ensemble (1997-2001), 11 mn, Ricordi
- stage Schwarzerde work for the scene in nine sequences (1997-2001), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen... for cello, baritone, countertenor and two orchestral groups (2002), 39 mn, Ricordi
- A Voice from Guernica... for baritone and mandola/mandocello, both with scordatura (2003), 17 mn, Ricordi
- .. à l'âme de descendre de sa monture et marcher sur ses pieds de soie... for contralto, cello, baritone, accordeon and 2 percussionists, other version of Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen... (2002-2004, 2004), 30 mn, Ricordi
- ... à l'âme de marcher sur ses pieds de soie... chamber concerto for solo cello, solo baritone, countertenor and 9 instrumentalists, other version of Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen... (2002-2004), 29 mn, Ricordi
- Bicinium: An Aged Man... In memoriam Carl Améry, for violin and bass-baritone (2005), 2 mn, Ricordi
- Miserere hominibus... for 7 solo voices and 7 instruments (2005-2006), 50 mn, Ricordi
- Quod est pax ? – Vers la raison du cœur... for 5 solo voices and arabic percussions (2006-2007), Ricordi
- Quod est pax ? – Vers la raison du cœur... for orchestra with 5 solo voices and Arabic percussions (2006-2007), 23 mn, Ricordi
- Vida y muerte no son mundos contrarios Cadenza ad libitum, from Miserere hominibus..., for mezzosoprano and viola d'amore (or countertenor and cello) (2007), 5 mn 30 s, Ricordi
- A Voice from Guernica... for alto voice, long neck lute and Arabic percussion (2008), 17 mn, Ricordi
- Intarsioso for female voice, string quartet and piano (1994-2009), 20 mn about , Ricordi
- A cappella vocal music
- Das Te Deum Laudamus Deutsch for contralto, two tenors, and mixed choir from three to five voices a cappella (1955-1956), 17 mn, Bärenreiter
- Psalm 131 for three-part choir a cappella (1956), 3 mn, partition perdue
- Kleine Deutsche Messe for a cappella choir and percussion ad libitum (1969), between 7 mn and 8 mn, Bärenreiter
- Traumgesicht for male voice, ...Inwendig Voller Figur... (1971), 10 mn, Schott
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit IV for soprano with accordion ad libitum (1976), 10 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Kanon zum Jahresbeginn for 4-part mixed choir a cappella (1977), 2 mn, Schott
- Ñudo que ansí juntáis for sixteen solo voices in three groups (1984), 14 mn, Ricordi
- Kleine Requiem für Heinrich Böll from Cantiones de circulo gyrante, for bass-baritone and a cappella choir (1994), 18 mn, Ricordi
- Ja, ich liege in der Erde – Tenebrae for six solo voices and choir (2000-2001), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Nous ? La raison du cœur for contralto and tenor, in memoriam Jacques Derrida (2004-2005), 4 mn 30 s, Ricordi
Catalog sources and details
Source du catalogue des œuvres
L’ensemble des partitions de Klaus Huber, ainsi que tous les documents qui s’y rattachent, sont conservés à la Fondation Paul Sacher (Bâle).
- 2010
- elec Erinnere dich an Golgatha... for double bass, 18 instruments and electronics, 25 mn, Schott
- Intarsimile for violin, 6 mn
- 2009
- Intarsioso for female voice, string quartet and piano, 20 mn about , Ricordi
- 2008
- A Voice from Guernica... for alto voice, long neck lute and Arabic percussion, 17 mn, Ricordi
- Agnus dei qui tollis peccata mundi for six instrumentalists, 12 mn, Ricordi
- 2007
- Piccola cadenza contrappuntistica ... wie ein Hauch ..., for accordion, 4 mn, Ricordi
- Quod est pax ? – Vers la raison du cœur... for 5 solo voices and arabic percussions, Ricordi
- Quod est pax ? – Vers la raison du cœur... for orchestra with 5 solo voices and Arabic percussions, 23 mn, Ricordi
- Vers la raison du cœur for alto flute, bass clarinet, harp, violin, viola d'amore, cello, 12 mn, Ricordi
- Vida y muerte no son mundos contrarios Cadenza ad libitum, from Miserere hominibus..., for mezzosoprano and viola d'amore (or countertenor and cello), 5 mn 30 s, Ricordi
- 2006
- Miserere hominibus... for 7 solo voices and 7 instruments, 50 mn, Ricordi
- 2005
- Bicinium: An Aged Man... In memoriam Carl Améry, for violin and bass-baritone, 2 mn, Ricordi
- Nous ? La raison du cœur for contralto and tenor, in memoriam Jacques Derrida, 4 mn 30 s, Ricordi
- 2004
- .. à l'âme de descendre de sa monture et marcher sur ses pieds de soie... for contralto, cello, baritone, accordeon and 2 percussionists, other version of Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen..., 30 mn, Ricordi
- ... à l'âme de marcher sur ses pieds de soie... chamber concerto for solo cello, solo baritone, countertenor and 9 instrumentalists, other version of Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen..., 29 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - die umgepflügte Zeit III for alto flute and thirteen instrumentalists, 14 mn, Ricordi
- 2003
- A Voice from Guernica... for baritone and mandola/mandocello, both with scordatura, 17 mn, Ricordi
- 2002
- Cadence à l'âme qui descend for cello, 5 mn, Ricordi
- Die Seele muss vom Reittier steigen... for cello, baritone, countertenor and two orchestral groups, 39 mn, Ricordi
- 2001
- Ararat for countertenor and ensemble, 11 mn, Ricordi
- Ja, ich liege in der Erde – Tenebrae for six solo voices and choir, 4 mn, Ricordi
- stage Schwarzerde work for the scene in nine sequences, 12 mn, Ricordi
- 2000
- Auf der Welt sein - Im Licht sein / Svjet - Man kann nicht atmen for choir, six solo voices, timpani and percussion, 9 mn, Ricordi
- Beati Pauperes III for piano, guitar and 4 percussions, 7 mn, Ricordi
- Canción for mezzo-soprano, guitar, 2 violins, viola, cello and double bass, 21 mn, Ricordi
- Flor mía, flor de mi alma for 2 groups of strings, 2 percussionists and 2 children's voices, 21 mn, Ricordi
- 1999
- In nomine - ricercare il nome... for ensemble, 7 mn, Ricordi
- In nomine - ricercare il nome... for ensemble, 7 mn, Ricordi
- L'ombre de notre âge Contrafactum for chamber ensemble, 23 mn, Ricordi
- 1998
- Ecce homines for string quintet, 37 mn, Ricordi
- L'âge de notre ombre for alto flute, viola d'amore and harp (all three tuned in third of a tone), 15 mn, Ricordi
- 1997
- Lamentationes Sacrae et Profanae ad Responsoria Iesualdi for 6 singers and 2 instrumentalists, 46 mn, Ricordi
- Umkehr - im Licht sein... diptych for choir, mezzo-soprano and small orchestra, 35 mn, Ricordi
- 1996
- A Prayer on a Prayer for female voice (ad libitum) and ensemble, 5 mn, Ricordi
- 1995
- Black Plaint for shō and percussion, 20 mn, Ricordi
- Metanoia for solo organ, 30 mn, Ricordi
- Metanoia I for organ, alto trombone and 2 children's voices with organ tubes and small percussion, 30 mn, Ricordi
- 1994
- Kleine Requiem für Heinrich Böll from Cantiones de circulo gyrante, for bass-baritone and a cappella choir, 18 mn, Ricordi
- elec Lamentationes de fine vicesimi saeculi for orchestra in four groups and Sufi singer ad libitum, 19 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- 1993
- Concerto de chambre « Intarsi » in memoriam Witold Lutoslawski, for piano and 17 instrumentalists, 20 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - Lieber spalten mein Herz II in memoriam Ossip Mandelstam, for flute, third tone guitar and small percussion, 14 mn, Ricordi
- Winter Seeds for accordion, 11 mn, Ricordi
- “Il pleut des fleurs...” for accordion, 3 mn, HBS Nepomuk
- 1992
- elec ...Ruhe sanft... In memoriam John Cage, for recorded voice and four scordatura cellos, 8 mn, Ricordi
- elec Die Erde bewegt sich auf den Hörnern eines Ochsen assemblage for four Arab musicians, two European musicians and magnetic tape, 37 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Luminescenza piccola musica enigmistica per Brian Ferneyhough, for mandolin, guitar and harp, 10 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - Lieber spalten mein Herz I in memoriam Ossip Mandelstam, for viola d'amore in third tone, guitar in third tone and small percussion, 14 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Rauhe Pinselspitze I for kayagum with accompaniment of a buk (Korean drum), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Rauhe Pinselspitze II version for pizzicato cello and korean drum, 4 mn, Ricordi
- Rauhe Pinselspitze III for cello pizzicato, 4 mn, Ricordi
- 1991
- Agnus Dei cum Recordatione homage to Johannes Okeghem, for four male voices, renaissance lute and two bowed violas, 14 mn, Ricordi
- Agnus Dei in umgepflügter Zeit for eight instruments, 11 mn, Ricordi
- 1990
- ...Plainte... I for alto flute tuned in third of a tone, 12 mn, Ricordi
- Die umgepflügte Zeit In memoriam Luigi Nono, spatialized music for viola d'amore, mezzo-soprano, light tenor, narrator, choir, 2 ensembles distributed in space, 20 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - Die umgepflügte Zeit I for Luigi Nono, for viola d'amore in third tone, 12 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - die umgepflügte Zeit I in memoriam Luigi Nono, for viola d'amore in third tone and thirteen instrumentalists, 13 mn, Ricordi
- Plainte - die umgepflügte Zeit II in memoriam Luigi Nono, for mezzo-soprano, counterenor, viola d'amore in third tone and thirteen instrumentalists, 13 mn, Ricordi
- 1989
- Des Dichters Pflug In memoriam Ossip Mendelstam, for string trio, 12 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- La terre des hommes In memoriam Simone Weil, for mezzo-soprano, countertenor, narrator and ensemble, 35 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- elec stage Spes contra spem a counter-paradigm on the Twilight of the Gods in four parts and a prologue, for soloists, reciters and large Wagnerian orchestra, 50 mn, Ricordi
- 1987
- Fragmente aus Frühling In memoriam Karol Szymanowski und Bruno Schulz, for mezzo-soprano, viola and piano, 7 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- 1986
- Petite pièce for three basset horns (or three clarinets in A), 4 mn, Ricordi
- Protuberanzen three small pieces for orchestra, successive or simultaneous, between 6 mn and 10 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Zwischenspiel for large orchestra, 7 mn, Ricordi
- 1985
- Cantiones de Circulo gyrante spatialized music for five soloists, choir and three instrumental groups, 39 mn, Ricordi
- 1984
- ...von Zeit zu Zeit... string quartet n°2, 22 mn, Ricordi
- Ñudo que ansí juntáis for sixteen solo voices in three groups, 14 mn, Ricordi
- 1983
- Seht den Boden, blutgetränkt... for fourteen instrumentalists, 4 mn, Ricordi
- Zwei Sätze for ensemble, 8 mn, Ricordi
- 1979
- Beati Pauperes I for flute, viola, piano and small percussion, 6 mn, Ricordi
- Beati Pauperes II counterfeit for a small orchestra with choir (ad libitum) and 7 solo voices (ad libitum), 12 mn, Ricordi
- Ich singe ein Land, das bald geboren wird... for seventeen instruments, 4 mn, Ricordi
- Sonne der Gerechtigkeit library music for a religious service: "The Prophecy of Jeremiah", for baritone, two choirs, narrator, assembly of the faithful, organ and three groups of wind instruments, variable, Inédit
- 1978
- elec stage Erniedrigt-Geknechtet-Verlassen-Verachtet for mezzo-soprano, tenor, baritone, children's voice, choir with sixteen solo voices, large mixed choir, fifty instruments in seven groups, magnetic tape, video, 1 h 10 mn, Ricordi
- Lazarus I/II crumbs for cello and piano, 7 mn, Ricordi
- 1977
- ...Ohne Grenze und Rand... for viola and small orchestra, 13 mn, Schott [program note]
- Erinnere dich an G... for double bass and eighteen instruments, 19 mn, Schott [program note]
- Kanon zum Jahresbeginn for 4-part mixed choir a cappella, 2 mn, Schott
- Oiseaux d'Argent for one, two or three flutes, variable, Ed. Musicales Transatlantiques
- 1976
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit IV for soprano with accordion ad libitum, 10 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Transpositio ad infinitum for a virtuoso cellist, dedicated to Paul Sacher, 8 mn, Schott [program note]
- 1975
- Blätterlos solo piano version by Schattenblätter, 12 mn, Ricordi
- elec stage Im Paradies oder der Alte vom Berge five schematic opera acts on a large orchestra, 1 h 30 mn, Inédit
- Schattenblätter trio for bass clarinet, cello and piano, 12 mn, Ricordi [program note]
- Senfkorn In memoriam Luigi Dallapiccola, for children's voice and five instruments, 9 mn, Ricordi
- 1974
- elec Turnus for a conductor, a stage manager, symphony orchestra and magnetic tape, 22 mn, Schott
- 1973
- elec stage Jot, oder wann kommt der Herr zurück dialectic opera, 1 h 20 mn, Schott
- 1972
- elec ...Ausgespannt... sacred music for baritone, organ, five instrumental groups, magnetic tape and loudspeaker (narrator), between 17 mn and 20 mn, Schott
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit I Complaint about the loss of musical reflection - some madrigals for solo flute or flute with any instruments..., 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit II Complaint about the loss of musical reflection, for one-and-a-half-handed piano ..., 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit III for 2 to 7 instrumentalists (variable distribution), 14 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit V for guitar (arrangement: Cornelius Schwehr), 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit VI for accordion (arrangement: Hugo Noth), 12 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit VII for double bass (arrangement: Fernando Grillo), 10 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- Ein Hauch von Unzeit VIII for cello (arrangement: Michael Bach), 10 mn, Breitkopf & Härtel
- 1971
- elec ...Inwendig voller Figur... for choir, loudspeaker, large orchestra and magnetic tape, 25 mn, Schott
- Hiob 19 for choir and nine instrumentalists, 10 mn, Schott's Söhne
- Traumgesicht for male voice, ...Inwendig Voller Figur..., 10 mn, Schott
- 1970
- Tempora concerto for violin and small orchestra, 25 mn, Schott
- 1969
- Ascensus for flute, piano and cello, 16 mn, Schott [program note]
- Drei kleine Meditationen aus 'Kleine deutsche Messe' for harp and string trio, between 8 mn and 10 mn, Bärenreiter
- Kleine Deutsche Messe for a cappella choir and percussion ad libitum, between 7 mn and 8 mn, Bärenreiter
- Kleine Deutsche Messe - Missa brevissima for choir, assembly of the faithful, organ, string trio, harp and percussion ad libitum, variable, Bärenreiter
- 1968
- Der Mensch for deep voice and piano, 60 s, Ricordi
- 1967
- Grabschrift In memoriam Zvi Snunit, for baritone and seven instruments, 2 mn, Inédit
- James Joyce Chamber Music for harp, horn and chamber orchestra, 18 mn, Bärenreiter
- Psalm of Christ for baritone and eight instruments, 11 mn, Schott
- Sabeth for alto flute, english horn and harp, 7 mn, Schott
- Tenebrae for large orchestra, 18 mn, Schott
- 1966
- elec Askese for flute, narrator and magnetic tape, 6 mn, Bärenreiter
- To Ask the Flutist for solo flute, 7 mn, Bärenreiter
- 1965
- Alveare Vernat for flute and 12 string instruments, 13 mn, Schott
- Cantus cancricans for organ, 4 mn, Bärenreiter
- Musik zu einem « Johannes-der-Täufer-Gottesdienst » for the assembly of the faithful, church choir, organ and orchestra ad libitum, Inédit
- 1964
- In te Domine speravi for organ, 6 mn, Bärenreiter
- Soliloquia oratorio for soloists, two choirs and large orchestra, 51 mn, Bärenreiter
- 1963
- Cantio-Moteti-Interventiones for string orchestra, 14 mn, Schott
- La Chace for harpsichord, 5 mn, Schott
- Moteti-Cantiones for string quartet, 25 mn, Schott
- Sechs Miniaturen for clarinet, violin and cello, 7 mn, Pegasus
- 1961
- Noctes intelligibilis lucis for oboe and harpsichord, 15 mn, Schott
- 1959
- Drei Sätze in zwei Teilen for wind quintet, 17 mn, Bärenreiter
- Zwei Sätze for seven brass instruments, 7 mn, Schott
- 1958
- Auf die ruhige Nacht-Zeit for soprano, flute, viola and cello, 12 mn, Bärenreiter
- Terzen-Studie variations on the theme of the last movement of Brahms' Violin Concerto, for orchestra, 3 mn, Inédit
- 1957
- Des Engels Anredung an die Seele chamber cantata for tenor, flute, clarinet, horn and harp, 11 mn, Universal Edition
- Litania instrumentalis for orchestra, 11 mn, Bärenreiter
- Oratio Mechtildis chamber symphony for chamber orchestra and contralto, 25 mn, Bärenreiter
- 1956
- Antiphonische Kantate for mixed one- to four-part choir, large unison choir and orchestra, 11 mn, Inédit, manuscrit perdu
- Antiphonische Kantate for mixed choir with one- to four-part choir, unison choir, brass instruments, percussion and organ, 11 mn, Inédit
- Das Te Deum Laudamus Deutsch for contralto, two tenors, and mixed choir from three to five voices a cappella, 17 mn, Bärenreiter
- Inventionen und Choral for orchestra, 14 mn, Schott
- Psalm 131 for three-part choir a cappella, 3 mn, partition perdue
- 1955
- Concerto per la camerata for six instruments, 13 mn, Pegasus
- Das kleine Lied two times seven duets for contralto and viola, 17 mn, Inédit, manuscrit perdu
- Der Abend ist mein Buch for contralto and piano, 2 mn, Inédit
- Drei Lieder nach Gedichten aus dem Mittelhochdeutschen for deep voice and piano, 8 mn, Inédit
- In memoriam Willy Burkhard for organ, 7 mn, Bärenreiter
- Quem terra Hymn to the Virgin Mary, for alto, tenor, small mixed choir and six instruments, 15 mn, Bärenreiter
- Sechs kleine Vokalisen for contralto, violin and cello, 7 mn, Pegasus
- 1954
- 1953
- Sonata da chiesa for violin and organ, 13 mn, Ricordi
- 1952
- Abendkantate for bass and five instruments, 9 mn, Inédit
- Kleine Taufkantate für Christoph for soprano, flute and viola or violin, 5 mn, Inédit
Catalog source(s)
Source du catalogue des œuvres
L’ensemble des partitions de Klaus Huber, ainsi que tous les documents qui s’y rattachent, sont conservés à la Fondation Paul Sacher (Bâle).
Documents
- L'œuvre de Klaus Huber par Martin Kaltenecker, Sept. 1, 1981
Bibliographie
- Ernst BLOCH, Le Principe Espérance (1954-1959), traduit de l’allemand par François Wuilmart, Paris, Gallimard, 3 volumes, 1976-1991.
- Raphaël BRUNNER, « L’œuvre hors d’elle » in Musique : Texte, Les Cahiers de l’Ircam, collection « Recherche et Musique », no 6, Paris, Ircam - Centre Pompidou, 1994, pp. 137-150.
- Célestin DELIÈGE, « Klaus Huber : une convergence de moyens vers un style de synthèse » in Cinquante ans de modernité musicale : de Darmstadt à l’Ircam. Contribution historiographique à une musicologie critique, Sprimont, Pierre Mardaga Éditeur, 2003, pp. 324-328.
- Brian FERNEYHOUGH, « Portrait Klaus Huber », texte non publié, disponible en allemand, en français, en anglais, en italien et en espagnol sur le site officiel du compositeur, https://klaushuber.ch/pagina.php?1,0 (lien vérifié en janvier 2024).
- Klaus HUBER, « Einführung/Introduction/Introduzione/Introduction » in Senfkorn für Oboe, Violine, Viola, Violoncello, Cembalo und Knabenstimme, München, Ricordi, 1975.
- Klaus HUBER, « Par delà le texte. Entretien avec Klaus Huber » in Des Lettres dans la musique (= Équinoxe no 9, revue de sciences humaines), sous la direction de Françoise Zay et de Raphaël Brunner, Lausanne, Arches Association, 1993, pp. 97-105.
- Klaus HUBER, « Schaffensgang bis 1989 » (« Itinéraire compositionnel jusqu’en 1989 »), Sammlung Klaus Huber, Basel, Paul Sacher Stiftung, 1 page manuscrite.
- Klaus HUBER, Écrits, Genève, éditions Contrechamps, 1991.
- Klaus HUBER, Au nom des opprimés : écrits et entretiens, éditions Contrechamps, 2012.
- Max NYFFELER, « Zwischentöne. Der Komponist Klaus Huber » in Passagen/Passages Nr/no 15, Pro Helvetia, Zürich, Herbst 1993, pp. 26-27.
- Robert PIENCIKOWSKI, « Hors-texte. Erinnere dich an G… » in Klaus Huber (Entretemps no 7), Paris, diffusion Jean-Claude Lattès, décembre 1988, pp. 127-133.
- Jürg STENZL, « Textes et contextes » in Composition et Perception (Contrechamps no 10), Paris, L’Âge d’homme, 1989, pp. 128-139.
Discographie
Les disques disponibles sont en vente chez RecRec (Zurich, livraison internationale) ; source : site du compositeur (voir liens Internet ci-dessous)
- Klaus HUBER, …à l’âme de descendre de sa monture et marcher sur ses pieds de soie… ; Metanoia, Walter Grimmer : violoncelle, Max Engel : baryton, Katharina Rikos : contralto, Hugo Noth : accordéon, Michael Pattmann : percussion, 1 cd Neos, 2012.
- Klaus HUBER, L’œuvre pour violoncelle : Ein Hauch von Unzeit Vlll (version pour quatre violoncelles) ; Transposition ad infinitum ; Lazarus ; Rauhe Pinselspitze ; …ruhe sanft… in memoriam John Cage; Partita pour violoncelle et clavecin, Alexis Descharmes : violoncelle, 1 cd æon, 2010, n° AECD1089.
- Klaus HUBER, Miserere Omnibus ; Agnus Dei cum Recordatione, Les Jeunes Solistes : direction Rachid Safir, Jean-Luc Menet (flûtes), Olivier Voize : clarinettes, Jérôme Blum : luth, Caroline Delume : guitare et théorbe, Isabelle Daups : harpes, Gérard Siracusa : percussions, Svava Bernhardsdottir, Igor Pomykalo : vièle, Pierre-Henri Xuereb : alto et viole d’amour, Walter Grimmer : violoncelle, Nicolas Crosse : contrebasse, 1 Cd SOUPIR Editions - Harmonia mundi, n° S216, 2009.
- Klaus HUBER, …à l’âme de descendre de sa monture et aller sur ses pieds de soie…, Rohan de Saram : violoncelle, Max Engel : baryton, Katharina Rikus : contralto, Teodoro Anzellotti : accordéon, Isao Nakamura : percussion, Lucas Vis : direction, 43. Internationale Ferienkurse für Neue Musik Darmstadt 2006, avec des pièces de Robin Hoffmann, Dieter Mack et Mark Andre, 1 Cd Neos, 2008, n° 10821.
- Klaus HUBER, Quod est Pax? Vers la Raison du Cœur … Nora Thiele : percussion arabe, Les Jeunes Solistes, direction : Rachid Safir, SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, direction : Rupert Huber, Donaueschinger Musiktage 2007, 1 Cd Neos, 2008, n° 10824.
- Klaus HUBER, Plainte, pour Luigi Nono, in « D’Amore » avec des œuvres d’Anges Vesterman, Attilio Ariosti et Tobias Hume, Garth Knox : viola d’amore, 1 Cd Ecm, 2008, n° 1925; 476 6369.
- Klaus HUBER, Vida y muerte non son mundos contrarios, Kai Wessel : contreténor, Daniel Haefliger : violoncelle, avec des œuvres de Martin Jaggi, Bettina Skrzypczak, Alfred Zimmerlin, Eric Gaudibert, Rico Gubler, Ulrich Gasser, William Blank, Xavier Dayer, Mischa Käser, 2 Cds Grammont Selection 2007, CTS-M 115.
- Klaus HUBER, Tenebrae ; Intarsi ; Protuberanzen ; James Joyce Chamber Music, Michael Wendeberg : piano, Giovanna Reitano : harpe, Miklós Nagy : cor, Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, direction Arturo Tamayo, 1 CD Timpani, 2004, n° 1C1075.
- Klaus HUBER, Die Seele muß vom Reittier steigen, Kai Wessel : contreténor, Gerhard Oetiker : violoncelle, Max Engel : baryton, Ensemble “Atelier Neue Musik” Bremen, 1 Cd Bremen 2004.
- Klaus HUBER, Cantus cancrians, Mina Balissat : orgue, 1Cd Doron, 2006, n° DRC.
- Klaus HUBER, L’âge de notre ombre ; Ein Hauch von Unzeit (version pour flûte basse) ; Alveare vernat ; Plainte - Lieber spaltet mein Herz (version pour flûte alto) ; Oiseaux d’argent, Jean-Luc Menet : flûte, Pierre Henri Xuereb : viola d’amore, Véronique Ghesquière : harpe, Ensemble Alternance, direction : Arturo Tamayo, 1 Cd Traversières – Association Française de la Flûte, 2002, n° 210-270.
- Klaus HUBER, Schwarzerde, Björn Waag, Rosemary Hardy, Kai Wessel, Basler Madrigalisten, chœur et orchestre du théâtre de Bâle, direction : Arturo Tamayo, enregegistrement de la création mondiale, 2 Cds Musikszene Schweiz, 2001, n° 6185.
- Klaus HUBER, Lazarus, Walter Grimmer : violoncelle, 1 Cd Musiques Suisses, 2001, n° MGB CTS-M 67.
- Klaus HUBER, Lamentationes Sacrae et Profanae ad Resonsoria Iesualdi, Les Jeunes Solistes, direction Rachid Safir, avec Drei Responsorien (1611) de Gesualdo, 1 Cd WDR, 2006 (première édition : label Plus Loin Deutsche Harmonia Mundi, 2000, n° PL001/ HM90).
- Klaus HUBER, Alveare vernat, Felix Renggli, flûte, Camerata Bern, 1 Cd Musiques Suisses, 2000, n° MGB CTS-M 69.
- Klaus HUBER, Lamentationes de fine vicesimi saeculi, SWR-Sinfonieorchester, direction : Michael Gielen, 1 Cd BSF 95/1, Produktion SWF Baden-Baden, Col Legno, 1999, n° WWE 8 CD 20041.
- Klaus HUBER, Ecce homines, quatuor Arditti, Garth Knox, dans « Donaueschinger Musiktage 1998 », 4 Cds col legno, 1999, n° WWE 20050.
- Klaus HUBER, Tempora, Hansheinz Schneeberger : violon, Winterthurer Stadtorchester, direction : Francis Travis, 1 Cd Musiques Suisses, avec une œuvre de Rudolf Kelterborn, 1998, n° CTS 40.
- Klaus HUBER, To ask the flutist, Carin Levine, flûte, avec des œuvres pour flûte de Ferneyhough, Hosokawa, Kawashima, Kurtág, Pagh-Paan, Maderna, Steve Reich et al., dans 1 Cd Musicaphon, 1998, n° B000028CA9.
- Klaus HUBER, Lamentationes Sacrae et Profanae ad Responsoria Iesualdi, Les jeunes Solistes, direction : Rachid Safir, dans 1 Cd Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, 1997.
- Klaus HUBER, Ein Hauch von Unzeit VII, Bjørn Ianke : contrebasse, avec des pièces de Berio, Bibalo, Feidje, Scelsi, dans un Cd The Contemporary Solo Doublebass, vol.2, 1997, Simax PSC 1136.
- Klaus HUBER, Winter Seeds, Teodoro Anzellotti : accordéon, avec des pièces de Schnebel, Rihm, Schwehr, 1 Cd Koch Schwann, 1997, n° 3-6418-2.
- Klaus HUBER, Plainte, Dimitrios Polisoidis : viola d’amore, 1 Cd Klangschnitte 3, ORF Steiermark, 1996.
- Klaus HUBER, …Plainte…, avec des œuvres de G. Neuwirth, R. R. Höldrich, W. Schurig, Solf Schaefer, 1 Cd Klangschnitte 3, 1996, n° GE 08.
- Klaus HUBER, Canciones de circulo gyrante, “Requiem”, Denis Rouger, Rachid Safir, 1 Cd Auvidis Montaigne, 1995, n° MO 782 060.
- Klaus HUBER, Transpositio ad infinitum, per violoncello virtuoso, avec les 12 hommages à Paul Sacher pour violoncelle, Thomas Demenga : violoncelle, 1 Cd ECM 1520/21, 1995, n° 445 234-2.
- Klaus HUBER, Ohne Grenze und Rand ; Protuberanzen ; Erinnere dich an G ; Ch. Schiller : alto ; Joh. Nied : contrebasse, Sinfonieorchester Basel, direction : Jürg Wyttenbach, 1 cd Accord, 1994, 204 532.
- Klaus HUBER, Die Erde bewegt sich auf den Hörnern eines Ochsen, Sheik Hamza Shakour, Ensemble Al Kindi, J. Sulem : alto, M.-Th. Ghirardi : guitare, 1 cd Wittener Tage für neue Kammermusik, 1994.
- Klaus HUBER, Kammerkonzert “Intarsi”, Jean-Jacques Dünki, Ensemble 20. Jahrhundert, direction : Peter Burwik, Musikprotokoll Graz, ORF MP 12, 1994.
- Klaus HUBER, Cantiones de circulo gyrante, enregistrement de la création mondiale, Collegium Vocale Köln, Ensemble Köln, direction : Robert HP Platz, 1 Cd Thorofon, 1994, n° CTH 2015.
- Klaus HUBER, Des Engels Anredung an die Seele ; Alveare vernat ; Senfkorn ; Schattenblätter ; Blätterlos ; Ein Hauch von Unzeit III, Ensemble Alternance, direction : Arturo Tamayo, 1 Cd Accord, 1993, 204 542 / Guilys GLY 5201.
- Klaus HUBER, Auf die ruhige Nachtzeit, Ensemble Mobile, 1 Cd Jecklin szene sCHweiz, 1993, n° JS 296-2.
- Klaus HUBER, Ñudo que ainsi juntáis…, Schola cantorum Stuttgart, direction : Clythus Gottwald, avec des œuvres de Reimann, Brass, Trojahn, Stuppner, Casiglioni, 1 Cd Cadenza, 1993, n° 800 897.
- Klaus HUBER, Noctes intelligibilis lucis, Christian Hommel : hautbois, Kay Johannsen : clavecin, Cd Primavera, 1993, APM 5005-2.
- Klaus HUBER, Ein Hauch von Unzeit I : Plainte sur la perte de la réflexion musicale, Bérengère Michot : flûte, Fabio Gordi : synthétiseur, 1 Cd Rusty, 1993, n° 555019.2.
- Klaus HUBER, Des Dichters Pflug ; Fragmente aus Frühling ; Schattenblätter ; Auf die ruhige Nachtzeit ; Ascensus ; transpositio ad infinitum, Magali Schwartz : mezzo-soprano, Ensemble Recherche, 1 Cd Accord, 1992, n° 201 652.
- Klaus HUBER, Von Zeit zu Zeit (Streichquartett Nr. 2), Berner Streichquartett, Documentation Rencontres Internationales de Musique Contemporaine, Metz, 1 Cd col legno 1991, n° AU 31834.
- Klaus HUBER, Von Zeit zu Zeit (2. Streichquartett), in « 20 ans de musique contemporaine à Metz », 8 Cds col legno, 1991, n° AU-031830.
- Klaus HUBER, Ein Hauch für Unzeit, version pour accordéon, Stefan Hussong, 1cd, édition Michael frauenlob Bauer, 1991, MFB 026.
- Klaus HUBER, Ein Hauch für Unzeit, version pour accordéon, in « Hugo Noth. Musique contemporaine pour accordéon », 1 Cd GMS, 1989, n° 8906-CD1174.
- Klaus HUBER, Soliloquia, H. Lukomska : soprano, S. Klare contralto, D. Ahlstedt : ténor, B. McDaniel : baryton, H. G. Ahrens : basse, chœur et orchestre symphonique Bayerischen Rundfunks Munich, J. Schmidhuber : chef de chœur, Hans Zender : direction, 1 Cd Grammont, 1988, n° CTS-P 24-2-CTS-M 24, voir www.musiques-suisses.ch (lien vérifié en janvier 2024).
- Klaus HUBER, To ask the flutist, Pierre-André Valade, flûte, 1 Cd ADDA, 1988, n° 581075.
Liens Internet
- Site de Klaus Huber : https://klaushuber.ch/pagina.php?1,0 (lien vérifié en janvier 2024).
- Éditeurs :
- Schott https://de.schott-music.com/shop/autoren/klaus-huber (lien vérifié en janvier 2024).
- Bärenreiter https://www.baerenreiter.com/en/suche/quicksearch/tags/1110001926/ (lien vérifié en janvier 2024).