Op.50: Requiem of Art (Aus “Celtic”) Fluxorum Organum II

Henning Christiansen


"In the summer of 1969 we made a collective film "The Search" on the heath in Jutland, Denmark. Henning Christiansen made on site field recordings for the individual scenes with Peter Sakse as sound master. The music was first used during the performance at the festival Strategy: Gets Art exhibition organised by Richard Demarco at Edinburgh College of Art, on August 21,1970 with Joseph Beuys and Henning Christiansen. Henning Christiansen sampled the field recording into the organ music from "Eurasienstab." He gave this composition subsequently the title 'Requiem of Art Fluxorum Organum II Opus 50'. That means a requiem for the role of art in the 1960s." Ursula Reuter Christiansen, Møn, Denmark 10.20.2015

'Op. 50 Requiem Of Art (Aus "Celtic") Fluxorum Organum II' was first issued in 1973 by Edition Schellmann alongside ‘Schottische Symphonie’ with Joseph Beuys (Beuys* / Christiansen* - Schottische Symphonie / Requiem Of Art). With the full cooperation of the Henning Christiansen estate, Penultimate Press is proud to present the authoritative version of one of Christiansen’s greatest works.

Available as 320kbp MP3 or 24bit FLAC 

Tracklisting:

1. Op. 50 Requiem Of Art Aus Celtic Fluxorum Organum II First Part - 23:31

2. Op. 50 Requiem Of Art Aus Celtic Fluxorum Organum II Second Part - 12:46

Henning Christiansen

Henning Christiansen (May 28, 1932, Copenhagen – December 10, 2008) was a Danish composer and an active member of the Fluxus-movement. He worked with artists such as Joseph Beuys, Nam June Paik, Bazon Brock and Wolf Vostell as well as with his wife Ursula Reuter Christiansen. Other collaborators include Bjørn Nørgaard, Carlo Quartucci, Carla Tato, Ernst Kretzer, Ben Patterson, David Moss, Ute Wassermann, Andreas Oldörp, Christophe Charles, Bernd Jasper, Henrik Kiel, Vilem Wagner, Vladimir Tarasov, Niko Tenten, and many others.

His overall goal was to work collaboratively and to trespass conventional boundaries. He resented the idea of an isolated artistic genius and his entire production can be seen as a subsequent and vibrant example of praxis in a constant flux. He believed in the need to trespass conventional boundaries between artistic disciplines. This is visible from his engagement in Fluxus, over numerous collaborative performances to his position as a professor at the Art Academy in Hamburg (Hochschule für Bildende Künste).

Christiansen lived almost 40 years on the Danish Island Møn. He presented a retrospective exhibition in Copenhagen and participated in the music festival Wundergrund shortly before his death. (wikipedia)