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Structuring in Luciano Berio’s Sequenza IV Pauls, Cheryl Irene
Abstract
This paper explores structuring in Luciano Berio's sequenza IV. The analytic inquiry draws on the methodology of music theory, on Berio's writings (which generally take the form of philosophic reflection), and on the physical necessities and traditions of piano playing. Issues of form - as presented in segmentations of similar durations, syntactic relations, and gestural language - inform discussion of the place of the player in tracing, interpreting, and forming the music's structure and statement. The form of sequenza IV is created most explicitly through the gestures of playing the piano, specifically, those of playing the piano's most idiomatic expression, chords. Chords fragment and reform into various types that provide a tangible means of distinction throughout the piece. Chords are the typical expression of harmony, and accordingly Berio constructs the piece from specific harmonies. Harmonies also fragment and reform into particular sonorities; however, the correlation typical of chordal gestures and harmonic content is continually disengaged and reformed. Harmonies thus become decontextualized, assimilated into the texture rather than providing distinct contrasting entities within the form. Despite the continual redefining of distinctive harmonies, the listener is constantly aware of multiple events and processes, that is, of a form constructed in polyphonic layers. Polyphonic layering is introduced into the piece tangibly through the timbral distinguishing of material sustained in the sostenuto pedal from surface material, that is, from material with dry articulation. However, the capacity of the sostenuto for harmonic expansion through sympathetic resonance draws these timbrally distinct elements together and causes this aspect of formal distinction also to be continually in flux. The following analysis presents several approaches to defining the structure of sequenza IV. Firstly its form is described in reference to traditional idiomatic expressions and formal devices applied to essentially similar pitch materials. Secondly, form is explored as a linear structure of both sections and phrases according to chordal types, symmetric proportion, and cadential gestures. These general descriptions treat pitch only insofar as it supports the delineations between phrases. Graphs of individual parameters represent the piece's structure according to independent and accumulated intensity levels. Thirdly, pitch content is addressed and defined as a polyphonic layered structure. A tendency is observed for these layers to assimilate each other's characteristics, which suggests that pitch structure can also be understood as a comprehensive shape with varying registral and pitch densities. Graphs portray both this structure and that of the acoustic resonance of pitch content in local sostenuto harmonies. The role of that complicity throughout the piece is then discussed in local contexts so as to define the structure dramatically. Each chapter thus presents a way of structuring sequenza IV, and each is in itself a layer of a multiple-layered construction.
Item Metadata
Title |
Structuring in Luciano Berio’s Sequenza IV
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Creator | |
Publisher |
University of British Columbia
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Date Issued |
1997
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Description |
This paper explores structuring in Luciano Berio's sequenza IV. The analytic
inquiry draws on the methodology of music theory, on Berio's writings (which
generally take the form of philosophic reflection), and on the physical necessities
and traditions of piano playing. Issues of form - as presented in segmentations of
similar durations, syntactic relations, and gestural language - inform discussion of
the place of the player in tracing, interpreting, and forming the music's structure
and statement.
The form of sequenza IV is created most explicitly through the gestures of
playing the piano, specifically, those of playing the piano's most idiomatic
expression, chords. Chords fragment and reform into various types that provide a
tangible means of distinction throughout the piece. Chords are the typical
expression of harmony, and accordingly Berio constructs the piece from specific
harmonies. Harmonies also fragment and reform into particular sonorities;
however, the correlation typical of chordal gestures and harmonic content is
continually disengaged and reformed. Harmonies thus become decontextualized,
assimilated into the texture rather than providing distinct contrasting entities
within the form.
Despite the continual redefining of distinctive harmonies, the listener is
constantly aware of multiple events and processes, that is, of a form constructed in
polyphonic layers. Polyphonic layering is introduced into the piece tangibly
through the timbral distinguishing of material sustained in the sostenuto pedal
from surface material, that is, from material with dry articulation. However, the
capacity of the sostenuto for harmonic expansion through sympathetic resonance
draws these timbrally distinct elements together and causes this aspect of formal
distinction also to be continually in flux. The following analysis presents several approaches to defining the structure
of sequenza IV. Firstly its form is described in reference to traditional idiomatic
expressions and formal devices applied to essentially similar pitch materials.
Secondly, form is explored as a linear structure of both sections and phrases
according to chordal types, symmetric proportion, and cadential gestures. These
general descriptions treat pitch only insofar as it supports the delineations between
phrases. Graphs of individual parameters represent the piece's structure according
to independent and accumulated intensity levels.
Thirdly, pitch content is addressed and defined as a polyphonic layered
structure. A tendency is observed for these layers to assimilate each other's
characteristics, which suggests that pitch structure can also be understood as a
comprehensive shape with varying registral and pitch densities. Graphs portray
both this structure and that of the acoustic resonance of pitch content in local
sostenuto harmonies. The role of that complicity throughout the piece is then
discussed in local contexts so as to define the structure dramatically.
Each chapter thus presents a way of structuring sequenza IV, and each is in
itself a layer of a multiple-layered construction.
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Extent |
17183883 bytes
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Genre | |
Type | |
File Format |
application/pdf
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Language |
eng
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Date Available |
2009-04-20
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Provider |
Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
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Rights |
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
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DOI |
10.14288/1.0088334
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URI | |
Degree | |
Program | |
Affiliation | |
Degree Grantor |
University of British Columbia
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Graduation Date |
1997-11
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Campus | |
Scholarly Level |
Graduate
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Aggregated Source Repository |
DSpace
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Item Media
Item Citations and Data
Rights
For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.