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 work
Sequenza 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