Sequenza XI

Sequenza XI for solo guitar (1987–1988) is one of a series of Sequenzas by Luciano Berio. Written for the American guitarist Eliot Fisk, it is an innovative investigation into the dramatic and virtuosic possibilities of musical performance.

Form

The work carries a simple form, with a dramatic multitextural section leading into a calm resolution (if such a thing exists in Berio's music) at the end. The guitar Sequenza is also one of the longest Sequenzas, the longest being Sequenza XII, the bassoon Sequenza. A variety of guitar techniques are explored in this piece including rasqueado (from the flamenco tradition), tremolo, glissando, harmonics, tambour (percussive effects). In terms of harmony, the work is based on the guitar's characteristic harmony/tuning, i.e., the interval of a perfect fourth. Set class 6-7 also underlies most of the linear material.^{[citation needed]}

The composition is in four large sections, and sets out from the six pitches of the open strings of the guitar. The composer asserted that two intervals are important elements in the work: the perfect fourth (which is the interval found between most neighbouring pairs of the guitar's strings) and the tritone, which is used to leads to a different harmony of Berio's devising (Porcaro 2007, 258–59)

Usage

Sequenza XI is a standard work for guitarists who have chosen avant-garde modern classical music as a part of their repertoire, e.g., Denis Sung-Hô (Sequenza's performance with members of the Ensemble InterContemporain), Stefan Östersjö, Todd Seelye, Mats Scheidegger, Geoffrey Morris, Pablo Gómez, Pablo Márquez, Alan Thomas, Jürgen Ruck, Nico Couck, etc.: it has been recorded numerous times (see below).

Chemins V by Berio is a work by Berio based on Sequenza XI, for guitar and ensemble.

References

• Porcaro, Mark D. 2007. "A Polyphonic Type of Listening in and out of Focus: Berio’s Sequenza XI for Guitar". In Berio's Sequenzas: Essays on Performance, Composition, and Analysis, edited by Janet K. Halfyard, 255–74. Aldershot (Hants.); Burlington (VT): Ashgate Publishing, Ltd. ISBN 978-0-7546-5445-2.

External links

• Information (IRCAM) (French)
• A Polyphonic Mode Of Listening Luciano Berio’s Sequenza XI For Guitar (Thesis by Mark David Porcaro)
• Berio's Sequenzas edited by Janet K. Halfyard
• Berio’s Sequenza XI for guitar by Yiorgos Vassilandonakis

Sequenza XI performances (mp3, etc.)

• Sequenza XI (mp3) by Karim Samah
• Sequenza XI by Pablo Márquez
• Sequenza XI (mp3.zip) by Giulio Tampalini
• Sequenza XI (mp3) by Pablo Sáinz Villegas (video flv)
• Sequenza XI (flv) by Nico Couck

Sequenza XI recordings

• Short Sounds (2001, nosag records) by Magnus Andersson
• The 20th Century Guitar (2009) by Harold Gretton
• Hexade, six tributes to guitar music of our epoch (2001, CD's Audio production [1]) by Karim Samah (altern.)
• The complete Sequenzas (2006, mode) by Seth Josel
• Push (2000, Gale Recordings by Michael Nicolella
• New Dutch Guitar Music (2006, CYBELE) by Diangelo Cicilia
• Contemporary Guitar (1997, Antes Concerto editions) by Giulio Tampalini
• Evolución (1999, Acoustic Music Records) by Jens Wagner
• Canzoni - Italian Music for Guitar by Franz Halasz
• Sequenza by Njål Vindenes
• Berio: Sequenzas I-XIV by Pablo Sáinz Villegas
• Sequenza! (exact same as in compilation Berio Sequenzas) by Eliot Fisk
• Avant-Garde Guitar (DECCA) by Eduardo Fernández
• Sheer Pluck by Todd Seelye
• Robot Dream by Peter Yates