Berio, Luciano

The Great Works For Voice

Label: Mode Records Country: USA

"Luciano Berio is one of the greatest and most innovative composers for the voice of the post-war generation, moving the voice into previously unknown territories, but always with an innately literate sense of "song". In honor of Berio's 70th birthday, Mode is proud to release the first of several volumes devoted to his musical genius.

His association with the legendary mezzo-soprano Cathy Berberian led to the creation of all but one of the works recorded on this CD--a selection of his greatest vocal compositions collected on one disc for the first time! A wondrous musical and audiophile journey.

The recital begins with Berio's magical, wry Folk Songs. One of his most popular works based on tunes from America, France, Italy, Sicily and Azerbaijan, their folk veneer covers many musical surprises, including hints of minimalism.

Sequenza III for solo voice is a tour-de-force for a singing actress, covering all ranges of human emotion in a virtuoso vocal display.

James Joyce wrote his Chamber Music poems with the intention that they be sung. Set by Berio in his early 20s, their sophistication belie the composer's age.

O King was written in memoriam to Martin Luther King--an extremely moving work based on the syllables of King's name. Berio later reorchestrated this movement as part of his Sinfonia.

Circles was one of the landmark works of the 1960s. Ingeniously scored for singer with harp and two percussionists (playing an enormous battery of over 80 instruments). Circles' unique sound is unlike anything heard before or since--providing the perfect foil to the text by e.e. cummings.

The works are superbly performed by soprano Christine Schadeberg backed by Musicians' Accord, one of New York's premier New Music ensembles. They can also be heard performing works by Silver, Kaminsky and Kassel on mode 23."-Mode Records