Berio: Vocal Works
View all works by Berio in the main appExplore the complete catalog of Vocal compositions by Berio. This curated list includes composition years, historical Wikipedia context, and interactive audio to add specific tracks directly to your listening queue.
| Title | Year | Actions |
|---|---|---|
| 4 Canzoni popolari, for voice and piano |
List of works by the Italian composer Luciano Berio. |
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| A Ronne |
A–Ronne is a composition by the Italian composer Luciano Berio, composed in June 1974 as a tape composition for 5 actors and arranged in 1975 for unaccompanied vocal ensemble (8 singers). A-Ronne is a setting of a poem by the Italian avant-garde poet Edoardo Sanguineti. Sanguineti's poem is almost entirely built from extracts from and allusions to a wide range of texts, including various translations of The Bible (St. John's Gospel), works by Dante (The Divine Comedy), Goethe (Faust), Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels (The Communist Manifesto), T.S. Eliot ("East Coker" from Four Quartets), James Joyce (Finnegans Wake), Samuel Beckett (Endgame), Roland Barthes (an essay on Georges Bataille) and also correspondence between Sanguineti and the composer. The title of the piece is an extension of the term "from A to Z": in the old Italian alphabet the three signs ette, conne, ronne came after z. Berio employs a wide range of vocalisations, from sung phrases borrowed from Dutch folksongs to direct speech at various pitches and wordless intonations and inflexions. Although Sanguineti's poem is repeated several times throughout, it is usually indiscernible amongst the variety of textures. As such, Berio described the work as a "documentary on a poem by Edoardo Sanguineti, as one would say a documentary on a painting or an exotic country". He also described it as a "theatre of the ear" in the style of late sixteenth-century Italian madrigal singing (madrigale rappresentativo). Also available on BMG (RCA Victrola CD 09026-68302-2). The work is divided into six untitled sections. It was commissioned by Dutch Radio KRO as a tape composition for five voice actors, three male and two female. It lasts 31:20. The 1975 arrangement was premiered by Swingle II who recorded it for Decca Records in London in 1975. |
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| Chamber Music, for soprano, clarinet, cello, and harp |
Folk Songs is a song cycle by Luciano Berio composed in 1964. It consists of arrangements of folk music from various countries and other songs, forming "a tribute to the extraordinary artistry" of the American singer Cathy Berberian, a specialist in Berio's music. It is scored for voice, flute (doubling on piccolo), clarinet, harp, viola, cello, and percussion (two players). The composer arranged it for a large orchestra in 1973. |
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| Coro, for 40 voices and 40 instruments |
Coro (Italian: Chorus) is a large scale composition for forty voices and forty instruments by Italian composer Luciano Berio. |
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| Folk Songs, for soprano and chamber ensemble |
Folk Songs is a song cycle by Luciano Berio composed in 1964. It consists of arrangements of folk music from various countries and other songs, forming "a tribute to the extraordinary artistry" of the American singer Cathy Berberian, a specialist in Berio's music. It is scored for voice, flute (doubling on piccolo), clarinet, harp, viola, cello, and percussion (two players). The composer arranged it for a large orchestra in 1973. |
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| O King, for voice, flute, clarinet, violin, cello, and piano |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Prologue, for soloists, chorus and orchestra |
L'Orfeo (SV 318) (Italian pronunciation: [lorˈfɛːo]), or La favola d'Orfeo [la ˈfaːvola dorˈfɛːo], is a late Renaissance/early Baroque favola in musica, or opera, by Claudio Monteverdi, with a libretto by Alessandro Striggio. It is based on the Greek legend of Orpheus, and tells the story of his descent to Hades and his fruitless attempt to bring his dead bride Eurydice back to the living world. It was written in 1607 for a court performance during the annual Carnival at Mantua. While Jacopo Peri's Dafne is generally recognised as the first work in the opera genre, and the earliest surviving opera is Peri's Euridice, L'Orfeo is the earliest that is still regularly performed. By the early 17th century the traditional intermedio—a musical sequence between the acts of a straight play—was evolving into the form of a complete musical drama or "opera". Monteverdi's L'Orfeo moved this process out of its experimental era and provided the first fully developed example of the new genre. After its initial performance the work was staged again in Mantua, and possibly in other Italian centres in the next few years. Its score was published by Monteverdi in 1609 and again in 1615. After the composer's death in 1643 the opera went unperformed for many years, and was largely forgotten until a revival of interest in the late 19th century led to a spate of modern editions and performances. At first these performances tended to be concert (unstaged) versions within institutes and music societies, but following the first modern dramatised performance in Paris, in 1911, the work began to be seen in theatres. After the Second World War many recordings were issued, and the opera was increasingly staged in opera houses, although some leading venues resisted it. In 2007, the quatercentenary of the premiere was celebrated by performances throughout the world. In his published score Monteverdi lists around 41 instruments to be deployed, with distinct groups of instruments used to depict particular scenes and characters. Thus strings, harpsichords and recorders represent the pastoral fields of Thrace with their nymphs and shepherds, while heavy brass illustrates the underworld and its denizens. Composed at the point of transition from the Renaissance era to the Baroque, L'Orfeo employs all the resources then known within the art of music, with particularly daring use of polyphony. The work is not orchestrated as such; in the Renaissance tradition instrumentalists followed the composer's general instructions but were given considerable freedom to improvise. |
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| Sequenza I, for flute |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza II, for harp |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza III, for solo voice |
Sequenza III is a 1965 composition for a solo female voice by Luciano Berio, part of Sequenza, a series of works for solo instruments begun in 1958. Sequenza III was inspired by the virtuoso voice of Berio's former wife, Cathy Berberian. Berio set a short text in English by Markus Kutter, partly fragmented into words, syllables and sounds of vowels and consonants. He used the voice not only for singing but many other vocal sounds, creating a form of musical theatre. The work was first performed by Berberian in 1966 and published by Universal Edition the same year. |
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| Sequenza IV, for piano |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza IXa, for clarinet |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza IXb, for alto saxophone |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza V, for trombone |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza VI, for viola |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza VII, for oboe |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza VIIb, for soprano saxophone |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza VIII, for violin |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza VIII, for violin |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza X, for trumpet in C and piano resonance |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza XI, for guitar |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza XII, for bassoon |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza XII, for bassoon |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza XIII, for accordion |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sequenza XIV, for cello |
Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition Sinfonia and Sequenza, a series of solo pieces for instruments using extended techniques), and for his pioneering work in electronic music. His early work was influenced by Igor Stravinsky and experiments with serial and electronic techniques, while his later works explore indeterminacy and the use of spoken texts as the basic material for composition. |
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| Sinfonia, for 8 amplified voices and orchestra |
Sinfonia for 8 Singing Voices and Orchestra is a 1968 work by the Italian composer Luciano Berio commissioned by the New York Philharmonic (for its 125th anniversary) and dedicated to Leonard Bernstein. The "singing voices" are not incorporated classically but rather speak, whisper and shout excerpts from texts in order to paint in sound an abstract and distorted history of culture. They are usually amplified. The source texts include Claude Lévi-Strauss's The Raw and the Cooked, Samuel Beckett's novel The Unnamable and instructions from musical scores by Gustav Mahler. The dedicatee writes in the text version of his Charles Eliot Norton Lectures from 1973 that Sinfonia was representative of the new direction classical music was taking after the pessimistic decade of the sixties. |