Hypnotic vowels, whispered divine names, and six voices suspended in a spell – Stimmung is less a piece of music than an experience outside time. Composed by Karlheinz Stockhausen and inspired by the chanting of Buddhist monks, it’s a work that hovers between meditation and ritual, unfolding slowly over seventy minutes around a single shimmering chord. This August, the Calliope Chamber Choir, led by Somtow Sucharitkul, brings Stimmung to Thailand for the very first time. Presented at the Goethe-Institut, the performance offers a rare chance to encounter one of the 20th century’s most quietly radical works. As Anton Regenberg, former director of the Goethe-Institut, once said: it began with a chant, and became something altogether stranger.
August 9. B500 via here. Goethe-Institut, 7.30pm onwards