Luciano Berio - Sequenzas for solo instruments

Recorded in 1994-97 and released in 1998, this complete collection of Luciano Berio's famous works for solo instruments has won universal accolades, fully deserved. The series began in 1958 with No I for flute and they became increasingly well known with Nos III for his wife Cathy Berberian and V (in memory of Grock) for trombone, each of those two 'a theatre of vocal and instrumental gestures'. They made a huge initial impact and have spurred a whole literature of avant-garde instrumental music for solo instruments.

Berio's aim was to develop a harmonic discourse with monodic instruments, and to explore the technical possibilities inherent in each instrument and the voice. All demand virtuosity, often of completely new types. The instruments become 'a means of research and expression' and many were composed in collaboration with musicians 'of sensibility and intelligence'. Berio was keen not to go against the 'nature' of each instrument, but he often unveiled possibilities little considered beforehand. The performances are all authoritative and ideally suited to home listening, a few at a time. The most recent are given by their dedicatees, guitarist Eliot Fisk No. XI (1988), Pascal Gallois, bassoon, No XII & Teodoro Anzellotti, (saxophone) - both world first recordings.

It is supported with texts by Sanguineti and essays by the composer, who was no doubt in close attendance at the sessions for this first complete recording of his Sequenzas at IRCAM in Paris.

Artist(s):
Luciano Berio, Sophie Cherrier, Frédérique Cambreling, Luisa Castellani, Florent Boffard
Release Date: 07 June, 1999

TrackListing:
CD 1:
1. Sequenze: Sequenza I for flute
2. Sequenze: Sequenza II for harp
3. Sequenze: Sequenza III for woman's voice
4. Sequenze: Sequenza IV for piano
5. Sequenze: Sequenza V for trombone
6. Sequenze: Sequenza VI for viola
CD 2:
7. Sequenze: Sequenza VII for oboe
8. Sequenze: Sequenza VIII for violin
9. Sequenze: Sequenza IXa for clarinet
10. Sequenze: Sequenza X for trumpet in C and piano resonance
CD3:
11. Sequenze: Sequenza XI for guitar
12. Sequenze: Sequenza XII for bassoon
13. Sequenze: Sequenza XIII for accordion
14. Sequenze: Sequenza IXb for alto saxophone

Description:
Luciano Berio has always looked at his Sequenzas as building blocks among his other compositions. These solo works, sometimes written for specific performers, exist as elements of other, larger works or as platforms upon which he's built extensive structures. This three-CD set is the first to collect all Berio's Sequenzas, and the performances are peerless. Berio's writing is, of course, unconventional, feeding off serialism and making complexity sound friendly. Sophie Cherrer's leaping flute on Sequenza I (1958) finds dozens of ways not to shriek, as does Gabrielle Cassone's Sequenza X for trumpet. There are two world-premiere recordings: Pascal Gallois's Sequenza XII for bassoon and Teodoro Anzellotti's Sequenza XIII for accordion (both 1995). Here Anzellotti conjures his playful 1998 recording, Satie on Accordion. Berio envisions these works as suggestive of polyphony in their architecture and impact, which is to say that the aggressive juxtapositions within a solo work fool the ear into believing that the soloist is a small ensemble. The melodies get multiplied, from initial statements into transfigurations and harmonic variations, making the pieces at once tremendously complex and demanding but also totally inviting. The constancy of these 13 works is evidenced by two of the harmonically richest performances, Benny Sluchin's Sequenza V for trombone (1965, originally composed for Stuart Dempster) and Eliot Fisk's Sequenza XI for guitar (1987-88). The dialogue between density and pinpoint nodes remains a thematic constant, rendered almost in parallel on the various instruments. This is a dynamic, vital document of 20th-century music, one that shouldn't be missed. --Andrew Bartlett

— Reviews from Customers for Berio: Sequenzas I-XIII —

Rating: 5
Summary: 18 minute solos never sounded so good
Comment: luciano berio's sequenzas are a group of 14 solo modern music compositions (words to scare anyone off) for differnt instruments that span the lenght of the composer's career and are often seen as building blocks for his larger pieces. while this may be true, the sequenzas are very much complete compositions in themselves. berio's sequenzas can almost be listened to as a review of various 20th century movements in other art forms. absurdity, existentialism, expressionism can all be detected in these works. this post-modern approach would not be uncommon to berio; his symphonia was one of the cornerstones of musical postmodernism ("music about music") with hugely important referential and ironic elements to the music. the sequenzas differ in this respect - they can be enjoyed solely as music; it just so happens that the sequenza for trombone, to take an example, is as perfect a representation of absurdity as one could find in camus.

more important than the myriad of labels that can be attached to these pieces is the emotional hold that these pieces exert. anyone put off by the thought of an 18 minute solo bassoon piece should try to be aware of the fact that everyone is put off by the thought of an 18 minute solo bassoon piece. anyone put off by the thought of a 9 minute harp solo should take heed of berio's own thoughts - "french impressionism has left us with a rather limited version of the harp, as if its most obvious characteristic were that of lending itself to the attention of loosely robed girls with long blond tresses, capable of drawing from it nothing more than seductive glissandi"; just as one can understand berios point without knowing what glissandi are (it should be fairly obvious), the appeal of the sequenzas is not in their extramusical implications but in the wonderfully tense and expressive music itself. highlights include the sequenzas for solo voice, piano, trombone, violin, accordian and, yes, bassoon. Musical influences are predominantly serial - schoenberg, webern and boulez - making berio a modern post-modernist (ah, labels). however, berio is somewhat more approachable, especially compared to someone as academic as boulez; there is almost an improvisatory feel to some of these pieces which is both attractive and gripping and not meant as criticism or to imply any absence of depth. safe to say, i strongly recommend this music; berio was a genuine master of modern music and will be much missed.

Rating: 5
Summary: Expand your musical horizons
Comment: The set of Sequenzas (works for solo instruments or voice) spans throught Berio's creative carrer, for the early Sequenza for Solo Flute to late works such as the Sequenza for Accordion. Every work is a stunning demonstration of creativity and considerably expands the frontiers of what can be called "music". Particularly to be savoured are the sequenzas for solo voice, trombone and violin. At each inception, Berio brings his extremely refined musical thinking, a creative blend from Monteverdi to Maderna. Anyone that would like to grasp the best on contemporary music would do well to start here, and will be pleasantly surprised by an enormous outpouring of creativity. As the critic on UK's Gramophone magazine said, "Listen, and be astonished".

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Отредактировано Nanuhi (2007-09-07 16:04:49)