Sequenza XI

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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.

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 ie. the interval of a perfect 4th. This is negated at the end of the work by a tritone (augmented 4th/diminished 5th).

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 (Sequenzas performance with members of the Ensemble InterContemporain), Stefan Östersjö, Mats Scheidegger, Geoffrey Morris, Pablo Gómez, Pablo Márquez, Alan Thomas, Jürgen Ruck, 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.


[edit] External links

[edit] Sequenza XI performances (mp3, etc.)

[edit] Sequenza XI recordings


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