Eins (oratorio)

Eins is a planned, but as of yet uncompleted, oratorio by the German composer Karlheinz Stockhausen. It is intended to be the first part of a larger cycle of oratorios called Klang: Die 24 Stunden des Tages (Sound: The 24 Hours of the Day), with each part representing an hour of the day. Eins, therefore, represents the first hour, midnight.

While Stockhausen worked on Klang extensively from 2004 until his death in 2007, Eins remains unfinished. He completed the first nine "hours" of the cycle, leaving Eins as one of the planned compositions that was never fully realized in his lifetime.

The existing parts of Klang offer some insight into Stockhausen's intended approach for Eins. The cycle generally involves instrumental and vocal forces, incorporating electronic music elements characteristic of Stockhausen's later work. The themes are often mystical and cosmological, drawing on numerological principles and spiritual concepts. It is likely that Eins would have explored themes of darkness, silence, and the genesis of sound, reflecting the symbolism of midnight.