ecarroll

David,

I actually know the answer to that one. Berio told Tom Stevens to play the loudest pedal note that he could: C/C# . . . it makes no difference to the composer.

I'd love to read your paper if you'll send me a copy.

Cheers,
EC

josephus07

To anybody who is interested, I've got an analogy about the relationship between Sequenza X and Kol Od (Chemins VI).

First of all, if you don't own a recording of the Sequenza, PLEASE do yourself an educational favor and listen to it A LOT...this is one of those pieces that may have to grow on you, but when it does, you'll be all the better for it! You can't go wrong with Gabrielle Cassone's recording on Deutsche Grammophone (a Berio approved recording).

Well, here's the premise of the two pieces: Berio wrote the Sequenza in 1984 for trumpet and piano resonance. As Berio often did with his works, he revisited the piece and wrote another piece "on top" of the Sequenza (with the original and called this new workSequenza completely contained within the new piece, minus the piano resonance). To this new piece, he gave the title Chemins VI (Kol Od).

Chemins means "paths" or "ways," and Berio wrote a total of 7, using various Sequenze as the framework for each. Discussing other Sequenza-Chemins pairings, Berio said they are related to each other, "...like the layers of an onion: distinct, separate, yet intimately contoured on each other: each new layer create a new, though related surface, and each older layer assumes a new function as soon as it is covered." (Griffiths, Modern Music and After, 1995, 193).

In the Chemins, a chamber ensemble is added and this ensemble has many different roles. The addition of an ensemble allows for the musico-dramatic action to be altered, thus leading to a unique piece (that is, the Chemins is not simply an orchestration of the Seqeunza.

As I mentioned before, the ensemble takes on a number of roles, but since this post is already too long, I'll hold off talking about those roles so I can FINALLY spit out my analogy.

If you never saw A Beautiful Mind with Russel Crowe, I'm about to ruin the movie for you...

To me, listening to the Sequenza is like observing the musical drama of a schizophrenic. The character (dramatic quality, not as in the actors in a drama) of the piece is in a constant state of flux, sometimes seeming non-sensical, sometimes stumbling over itself, sometimes violent, other times introspective, warm, lyrical even, always developing ideas that it previously presented, etc.

(From Schizophrenia.com): “Psychosis,” a common condition in schizophrenia, is a state of mental impairment marked by hallucinations, which are disturbances of sensory perception, and/or delusions, which are false yet strongly held personal beliefs that result from an inability to separate real from unreal experiences. Less obvious symptoms, such as social isolation or withdrawal, or unusual speech, thinking, or behavior, may precede, be seen along with, or follow the psychotic symptoms.)

Listening to the Chemins seems to be like observing the character schizophrenic in the alter reality world that they think they exist in. It's just like in A Beautiful Mind, where we were led to believe that Russel Crowe was interacting with all of those other characters (his roommate and the little girl, the man in the hat) and that his actions were occurring and of consequence (his solving the hidden messages and codes).

In the world of the Chemins, the soloist believes that his actions are influencing the world (meriting response from the ensemble), or that the actions of the ensemble influence him/her (when the ensemble foreshadows what the soloist does or perhaps causes what the soloist does).

It's not a perfect analogy, and I could go into MUCH more detail, bu it's something to think about when listening.

Unfortunately, a recording of the Chemins is difficult to come by, but I got mine from Arkivmusic.com (for about $70). This recording is a live performance, and while the solo playing is top notch, the ensemble isn't always 100% faithful to the score (take that for what it is worth).

Any thoughts?

If you made it this far, congratulations and thanks!

Best,
David

mahaberio

Mr. Carroll,
You talked about separating the piece up into its individual cells. Could you talk a little more about this and generally how you go about this piece? Also, I have the Cassone recording and have heard the recordings by Graham Ashton and Reinhold Friedrich. Are there any other recordings people could recommend? It's really too bad that Hakan's recording is out-of-print as there were several other great pieces on that CD (Takemitsu's "Paths", Henze's "Sonatina", a short Ligeti piece, etc.).

I don't suppose there's any chance of talking you and/or Thomas Stevens into recording the Sequenza and Kol Od?

ecarroll

Mahaberio,

Hello from Los Angeles.

Tom has retired from playing and I've almost done the same...don't hold your breath for either of us! Cassone's recording was made under the supervision of the composer. I have Hakan's (as well as the others you mention) but consider Gabri's to be urtext.

Start by disregarding all of the black notes and take small bites (no, even smaller -- one cell at a time). If you truly learn each cell before going on you'll probably end up memorizing the piece as you learn it, as Cassone did.

Honestly? The piece looks intimidating but, at the end of the day, isn't that hard if you have a fluid doodle, flutter, and double tongue.

Good luck!
EC

mahaberio

Thanks for the reply! The Cassone recording is truly brilliant, I just like to have a pool of different performances of every piece I enjoy as much as this one.

josephus07

Thomas Stevens thinks very highly of the Cassone recording - so not only does Cassone have Berio's approval, but Thomas Stevens' too - not bad!

ecarroll

Both Cassone and Tom will be at Chosen Vale...should be VERY interesting!

Best,
EC

josephus07

Yes, what an event Chosen Vale will be! I hope to hear all about it from numerous participants.

mahaberio

As do I. The faculty list is incredible.

josephus07

Well, the thesis is finally done (except for formatting and one final pass through the committee).

156 pages of text and examples - yikes!

Ed, I'd be happy to send you a copy. Can you PM me an address?