On the 31^st of January 2025, composer Caspar Johannes Walter (b.1964) brought his Labialklänge V-Helmholtz im Chaos to premiere. The performance was a part of the third biennial for contemporary music in the Rhine-Neckar region of Germany dedicated to the physicist Hermann von Helmholtz (1821–1894). Under the slogan “Hören mit Helmholtz,” the KlangForum commissioned five composers to incorporate their own takeaways from the physicist’s seminal book Die Lehre von den Tonempfindungen als phsysiologische Grundlage für die Theorie der Musik (1913)

As a consequence of the divided subject in the 19th century, music steadily became the preferred medium to communicate ideas. Erlmann (2010) posited that this is due to "hearing posing the least amount of obstacle to the mind." This could explain Helmholtz's positivist approach of illustrating intervals through ratios and diagrams (using music to communicate math), yet, it could also be symptomatic of Helmholtz's need for concepts in order for his book to work. Based on this point, Helmholtz finds himslelf within the debate of 'Anatomy or Affect' when it comes to sensual arrousal from music– does Helmholtz agree with a rational Helmholtz or sensual Hanslick... a devided subject with Herz or a conceptual Blumenberg?

How is this best heard in music? Well, Walter's composition best illustrates this through his orchestration of the Archiorgano, wood blocks, metal screaching, and vocalists that either sing sensually or speak out statements. Therefore, Helmholtz's psychogram is put to music whereby the music amplifies how Helmholtz relates to sensuality, conceptuality or the ear's anatomy to move the soul.

The piece is all about the anatomy of the ear, but how the piece sounds and how we listen to it says a lot more about the role of the ear and musical listening both in the 19th and 21st century.