Berio's Sequenzas

by Janet K. Halfyard (Editor)

Between 1958 and 2002, Luciano Berio wrote fourteen pieces entitled Sequenza, along with several versions of the same work for different instruments, revisions of the original pieces and also the parallel Chemins series, where one of the Sequenzas is used as the basis for a new composition on a larger scale. The Sequenza series is one of the most remarkable achievements of the late twentieth century - a collection of virtuoso pieces that explores the capabilities of a solo instrument and its player, making extreme technical demands of the performer whilst developing the musical vocabulary of the instrument in compositions so assured and so distinctive that each piece both initiates and potentially exhausts the repertoire of a new genre. The Sequenzas have significantly influenced the development of composition for solo instruments and voice, and there is no comparable series of works in the output of any other composer. Series of pieces tend to be linked by the instruments for which the composer writes, but this is a series in which the pieces are linked instead by the variety of instruments for which Berio composed. The varied approaches taken by the contributors in discussing the pieces demonstrate the richness of this repertoire and the many levels on which Berio and these landmark compositions can be considered. Contributions are arranged under three main Performance Issues; Berio's Compositional Process and Aesthetics; and Analytical Approaches.

Genres: Music

306 pages, Paperback

First published August 1, 2007

About the author

Also known as Steve Halfyard.

Reviews

[Christopher · Rating 4 out of 5]

On a recent trawl through Berio’s Sequenzas for the first time in years, I found that they have stood the test of time remarkably well for twentieth-century high modernism, and I was keen to read about them in detail. This collection of papers by various scholars and performers is entirely dedicated to these works (and their offshoots). Though the papers are placed under three parts, “Performance issues”, “Berio’s compositional process and analysis”, and “Analytical approaches”, they often deal with all of these topics. One prominent thread that runs through the book is Berio’s unusual notation for some of the Sequenzas, and how its affects performance.

The biggest lacuna here is any discussion of Sequenza XIV for cello, except for a brief comment or two. This is understandable, as there was not yet a commercial recording of this last Sequenza as the collection was being assembled. Sequenza XII for bassoon also gets noticeably less attention than the others. Nevertheless, this is made up for because we get a chapter discussing the Chemins series, the orchestral works that Berio wrote that maintain the original Sequenza almost unchanged while adding new layers of harmony. Moreover, Berio reused material from his clarinet Sequenza in his opera La vera storia, and that gets a look here.

There are a few typos here, as well as some mistakes that an astute editor should have caught (e.g. Boulez’s Notations are called an example of integral serialism when the author surely meant Structures I). Nevertheless, this book was fun reading and really did expand my appreciation of these works, especially Sequenza XI for guitar that I had never managed to get into before.

[Space Orlando · Rating 5 out of 5]

Berio's Sequenzas is a music book edited by Janet Halfyard but written by many different musicians. Luciano Berio was an Italian composer from of the modernist school [Cage, Boulez, Stockhausen] and he wrote these pieces titled Sequenza for different instruments. These are a series of works for different instruments that are written for the virtouoso in mind. The book has three parts: 1) Performance Issues, 2) The Compositional Process, and 3) Analytical Approaches. All the parts correspond with each other if you read it that way.

This sort of book is very important because modernism has in a sense, died and left the building. Replaced by postmodernism, which is nothing in comparison. Now its not unheard of jazz musicians to play rap music for a living. Or for classical musicians' serious 'gigs' to be nothing but pop music gigs. However, back in the 1950s modernism was king. Once you take a look back at the past you realize how important all of this music really was: historically, culturally, musically, and emotionally.

The section that had the most profound effect on me was the sections regarding Berio's compositional process. "For Berio and the compositional process there was always a question of what does time do?, What is duration and sound? When we experience it, what is the "now" for music." [Amazon review by composer Frank Abbinanti]

There's charts on pitch structure, dynamics, and timbral analysis, as well as performative insights. Written by the musicians who performed the pieces. There's also a lot of information regarding Berio's compositional process as well as his ideas regarding performance aesthetic. All of this had a profound effect on me while reading and upon completion.

In a way me being a rock and roll jazz guitar player makes me a stranger in a strange land when it comes to this sort of hardcore classical [avant garde, modern] musical analysis. I've been working on Sequenza for Guitar since October but I still have a lot of work before I can actually play the piece in front of anybody. Although I don't think I completely understood everything in the book, I do think I gained a lot of insight regarding music, mainly regarding performance aesthetic, composition, and how to analyze compositions. For that, its a very valuable tool. I think I'll go back to it in due time, and try to see if I can understand parts that I didn't get or misunderstood.

Listening to all the Sequenzas by themselves is refreshing. Music really was quite something back then. This book is set for retail price of 50 dollars on Amazon. Luckily, my music mentor, and composer Frank Abbinanti gave me a copy back in October. I didn't read it until now. I'm late to the party but I'm glad I finally read it. In some aspects, I can't look at music the same, something has changed.

And what's changed? Perhaps everything.