''Sequenza XI'' for solo

guitar The guitar is a fretted musical instrument that typically has six strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming or plucking the strings with the dominant hand, while simultaneously pressing selected string ...

(1987–1988) is one of a series of Sequenzas by

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 wo ...

. Written for the American guitarist

Eliot Fisk Eliot Hamilton Fisk (born August 10, 1954) is an American classical guitarist. Music career Education and teaching Fisk was born into a Quaker family in Philadelphia. He finished high school in DeWitt, New York, and then studied music at Yale Un ...

, it is an innovative investigation into the dramatic and virtuosic possibilities of musical performance.

Form

The composition is in four large sections, and sets out from the six pitches of the open strings of the guitar. The composer asserted that two intervals are important elements in the work: the perfect fourth (which is the interval found between most neighbouring pairs of the guitar's strings) and the tritone, which leads to a different harmony of Berio's devising.

Usage

''Sequenza XI'' is a standard work for guitarists who have chosen

avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

modern classical music Classical music generally refers to the art music of the Western world, considered to be distinct from Western folk music or popular music traditions. It is sometimes distinguished as Western classical music, as the term "classical music" also ...

as a part of their repertoire, e.g., Denis Sung-Hô (performed '' Sequenzas'' with members of the

ensemble intercontemporain The Ensemble intercontemporain (EIC) is a French music ensemble, based in Paris, that is dedicated to contemporary music. Pierre Boulez founded the EIC in 1976 for this purpose, the first permanent organization of its type in the world. Organi ...

), Stefan Östersjö, Todd Seelye, Mats Scheidegger, Geoffrey Morris, Pablo Gómez, Pablo Márquez, Alan Thomas, Jürgen Ruck, Nico Couck, etc.: it has been recorded numerous times (see below). Berio's ''Chemins V'' (1992) is a work for guitar and ensemble based on ''Sequenza XI''.

References

Sources *

External links

*
''A Polyphonic Mode of Listening: Luciano Berio’s 'Sequenza XI' for Guitar''
(2003 thesis by Mark David Porcaro. Archive from 24 March 2012)
''Berio's Sequenzas''
edited by Janet K. Halfyard
"Berio’s ''Sequenza XI'' for guitar
by Yiorgos Vassilandonakis

Performances

''Sequenza XI''
(mp3) by Karim Samah
''Sequenza XI''
by Pablo Márquez
''Sequenza XI''
(mp3.zip) by Giulio Tampalini
''Sequenza XI''
by

Pablo Sáinz Villegas Pablo Sáinz Villegas (born 16 June 1977) is a Spanish classical guitarist. He was born in Logroño in La Rioja Province and began his musical studies there before going on to an international career. Among his awards was the 2008 Critical Eye ...

video flv
* by Nico Couck

Recordings

(2001, nosag records) by Magnus Andersson
"The 20th Century Guitar"
(2009) by Harold Gretton

(2001, CD's Audio production by Karim Samah

(2006, Mode Records) by Seth Josel

(2000, Gale Recordings by Michael Nicolella
"New Dutch Guitar Music"
(2006,

Cybele Cybele ( ; Phrygian: ''Matar Kubileya/Kubeleya'' "Kubileya/Kubeleya Mother", perhaps "Mountain Mother"; Lydian ''Kuvava''; el, Κυβέλη ''Kybele'', ''Kybebe'', ''Kybelis'') is an Anatolian mother goddess; she may have a possible foreru ...

) by Diangelo Cicilia
"Contemporary Guitar"
(1997, Antes Concerto editions) by Giulio Tampalini

(1999, Acoustic Music Records) by Jens Wagner
"Canzoni – Italian Music for Guitar"
by Franz Halasz
"''Sequenza''"
by Njål Vindenes
"Berio: ''Sequenzas I–XIV''
by

"Sequenza!"
(exact same as in compilation ''Berio Sequenzas'') by

"Sheer Pluck"
by Todd Seelye
"Robot Dream"
by Peter Yates {{Authority control Compositions by Luciano Berio 1988 compositions Compositions for guitar Contemporary classical compositions Compositions that use extended techniques