by Robert Dick
From: Robert Dick
Subject: Berio Sequenza
Hi Everyone,
I've been following the Berio Sequenza thread with interest and have a couple of observations to offer. In 1978 I had a conversation with Berio about the flute Sequenza. He expressed deep disappointment with how flutists had not come to understand the style of the piece, particularly in regard to reading the proportional notation. He said he was going to have a version made in traditional notation - and this has happened. The new version is a pale shadow of the original and I urge those interested in learning this great piece to use the original edition because it makes possible wonderful rhythms and phrasings that can't be notated traditionally. It has been expressed that the new version can be used to first learn the piece before moving to the original. I think this is a bad idea. Learning from the new version squares everything off and will get in the way of learning how to hear and feel the piece's real style.
Here are a couple of basic steps to learning Sequenza:
1) LISTEN to Berio's music, at least ten pieces. Flutists who only study the flute piece and have never heard any of Berio's other music won't really have any idea of what the music is all about. Of course, this is true for any and every composer, past, present ad future. Imagine someone who had never heard a single piece by Mozart tackling the G Major Concerto -- it would sound mighty strange because they wouldn't have a clue as to the style.
Recommended listening includes the Sequenza for voice (very important!), the Sinfonia (recorded by the New York Philharmonic with the Swingle Singers -- profound and also very funny), Omagio a Joyce (Homage to James Joyce, the writer), a truly great electronic work. Any and all of Berio's songs and chamber music. The more you listen, the more the style becomes intuitive. Good recordings of the flute Sequenza include Harvey Sollberger's on Nonesuch records and (if I may) mine, on the CD, Ladder 5 of Escape (Attacca Babel #9158 - 1)
There is a lot of humor in Berio's music: its not all just aggressive short notes.
2) After purchasing a copy of the score, make a photocopy for your personal study purposes. This is legal as long as you do not give a copy to someone else and you have purchased a published copy. (It is NOT legal, or moral, to photocopy "for study purposes" without buying a legitimate copy.)
On the study copy, circle every dynamic with an F in it in red and circle every dynamic with a P in it in blue or other color. Color coding the dynamics will help a lot with the "turn on a dime" lightning-fast dynamic changes that characterize Sequenza. Then, using a very light pencil, extend the little time indicators until they are longer than the staff, extending them through the staff and at least a half inch above and below. The purpose of this is to make them really easy to see, yet not to intrude into interpretive aspects of the music. Don't make them into bar lines! We are so used to the upbeat/downbeat implications of bar lines and the little time markers have no meaning in regard to where and how phrases start, nor do they indicate downbeat feel.
3) Before tackling the notes, SCAT SING! Move your finger along the music and, like a jazz singer, make up syllables. Express the dynamics and gesture (and don't worry about singing exact pitches). You'll get a great feel for the gestures this way. 4) Learn those notes and phrases and read the proportional notation VERY CAREFULLY. So often notes that are close together are played as if they are even. Take a closer look -- there are small but critical variations in spacing. Play these and the music will come to life.
5) The correct fingering for the multiphonic is low C natural. There are no tricks to playing the perfect fourth. One must learn how to produce notes.
2) After purchasing a copy of the score, make a photocopy for your personal study purposes. This is legal as long as you do not give a copy to someone else and you have purchased a published copy. (It is NOT legal, or moral, to photocopy "for study purposes" without buying a legitimate copy.)
On the study copy, circle every dynamic with an F in it in red and circle every dynamic with a P in it in blue or other color. Color coding the dynamics will help a lot with the "turn on a dime" lightning-fast dynamic changes that characterize Sequenza. Then, using a very light pencil, extend the little time indicators until they are longer than the staff, extending them through the staff and at least a half inch above and below. The purpose of this is to make them really easy to see, yet not to intrude into interpretive aspects of the music. Don't make them into bar lines! We are so used to the upbeat/downbeat implications of bar lines and the little time markers have no meaning in regard to where and how phrases start, nor do they indicate downbeat feel.
3) Before tackling the notes, SCAT SING! Move your finger along the music and, like a jazz singer, make up syllables. Express the dynamics and gesture (and don't worry about singing exact pitches). You'll get a great feel for the gestures this way.
4) Learn those notes and phrases and read the proportional notation VERY CAREFULLY. So often notes that are close together are played as if they are even. Take a closer look -- there are small but critical variations in spacing. Play these and the music will come to life.
5) The correct fingering for the multiphonic is low C natural. There are no tricks to playing the perfect fourth. One must learn how to produce multiphonics based on the natural harmonics. This is not done by "splitting the airstream". It is done by playing both notes simultaneously. The bottom of the airstream produces the G natural and the top of the airstream produces the C natural. There is a sequence (no pun intended) of exercises on natural harmonic multiphonics in my book "Tone Development Through Extended Techniques". Learn the octaves (the lowest two harmonics in the overtone series) first, they're easiest. Then learn the perfect fifths (second and third harmonics) and go on to use the same pattern for perfect fourths (third and fourth harmonic). It is possible to play the multiphonic in Sequenza beautifully and with great stability, sustaining it as indicated.
Hope this helps! With these first steps, learning and enjoying Berio's Sequenza will be a natural consequence of understanding it.
Robert Dick
Posted with permission of the author.
