''Sequenza VI'' is a composition for solo

viola The viola ( , also , ) is a string instrument that is bow (music), bowed, plucked, or played with varying techniques. Slightly larger than a violin, it has a lower and deeper sound. Since the 18th century, it has been the middle or alto voice of ...

Luciano Berio Luciano Berio (24 October 1925 – 27 May 2003) was an Italian composer noted for his experimental work (in particular his 1968 composition ''Sinfonia'' and his series of virtuosic solo pieces titled ''Sequenza''), and for his pioneering work ...

, part of his series of fourteen '' Sequenze''.

History

''Sequenza VI'' was written in 1967 for

Serge Collot Serge Collot (27 December 1923 – 11 August 2015) was a French violist and music educator. Biography Born in Paris, Collot studied viola at the Conservatoire de Paris with Maurice Vieux, chamber music with Joseph Calvet, and composition with ...

, to whom the score is dedicated. It also forms the core of two other Berio compositions, ''Chemins II'' for viola and nine instruments (1968), and ''Chemins III'' (1969), which adds an orchestra to the forces of ''Chemins II''.

Walter Trampler Walter Trampler (August 25, 1915 – September 27, 1997) was a German musician and teacher of the viola and viola d'amore. Born in Munich, he was given his first lessons at age six by his violinist father. While still in his youth, he played well e ...

, for whom ''Chemins III'' was written, believed it had in fact been composed first and the ''Sequenza'' then extracted from it. The relationship of the three works is described by Berio as being "something like the layers of an onion: distinct, separate, yet intimately contoured on each other; each new layer creates a new, though related surface, and each older layer assumes a new function as soon as it is covered". Two further works were evolved from ''Chemins II'': ''Chemins IIb'' for orchestra (1969) and ''Chemins IIc'' for

bass clarinet The bass clarinet is a musical instrument of the clarinet family. Like the more common soprano B clarinet, it is usually pitched in B (meaning it is a transposing instrument on which a written C sounds as B), but it plays notes an octave bel ...

and orchestra (1972).

Analysis

''Sequenza VI'' exploits the harmonic possibilities of a fundamentally melodic instrument. It does this in two ways: first, by implying harmonies with melodic lines circling continuously through a small number of fixed pitches and, second, by presenting long series of three- and four-part chords in which the pitches are kept sounding by means of across-the-stings

tremolo In music, ''tremolo'' (), or ''tremolando'' (), is a trembling effect. There are two types of tremolo. The first is a rapid reiteration: * Of a single Musical note, note, particularly used on String instrument#Bowing, bowed string instrument ...

. The work alternates these two gestural ideas (melodic and chordal), producing a sectional form based on changes in texture, gestural predominance, and shaping processes. The sections may be summarized as a pattern of AA'BA''B', with the A' and A'' sections each divided into two subsections. The opening A section is an exposition dominated at first by the tremolando chords, but also using short melodic segments to articulate phrases and create internal fluctuations. These melodic figures gradually increase in prominence over the course of this section. The A' section develops the chordal gestures, while the B section focuses instead on the melodic ideas, using the tremolando gesture as an articulative device at first. In a reversal of the process found in the exposition, the tremolando chords gradually increase in frequency over the B section. A'' restates the chordal material and, in its second subsection, introduces a heightened level of activity. The concluding B' section then serves as a coda.

References

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History

Analysis

References

Further reading