Luciano Berio - Chamber Music (after James Joyce)

Luciano Berio (1925-2003)
Chamber Music (1953)

I. Strings in the Earth and Air 0:00
II. Monotone 3:51
III. Winds of May 5:53

Marco Lazzara, contralto
Antonio Plotino/New Music Studium Production

Chamber Music for Mezzo-Soprano, Clarinet, Cello, & Harp (after James Joyce) is an early song cycle, written in 1953 for the voice of Berio's wife, Cathy Berberian. It takes three of Joyce's Chamber Music poems (I, XXXV and IX) and sets them to music. As the composer himself declared, the model is the vocality of Dallapiccola, which inspires the first lyric, Strings in the Earth and Air, accompanied by stressed, meditative notes of the harp. The second lyric, Monotone, definitely sponges out, perfectly coherent with its title, any melodic character in the singing process which, for quite a long while, keeps bended to a sole note. The third title, Winds of May, marked by agile, floreate movements, pleasantly clashes with the "flatness" of the previous lyric and reveals a peculiar treatment of the voice.

Lyrics

I. Strings in the Earth and Air

Strings in the earth and air
Make music sweet;
Strings by the river where
The willows meet.

There's music along the river
For Love wanders there,
Pale flowers on his mantle,
Dark leaves on his hair.

All softly playing,
With head to music bent,
And fingers straying
Upon an instrument.

II. Monotone

All day I hear the noise of waters
Making moan,
Sad as the seabird is, when going
Forth alone
He hears the winds cry to the waters'
Monotone.

The grey winds, the cold winds are blowing
Where I go.
I hear the noise of waters
Far below.
All day, all night, I hear them flowing
To and fro.

III. Winds of May

Winds of May, that dance on the sea,
Dancing a ring-around in glee
From furrow to furrow, while overhead
The foam flies up to be garlanded,
In silvery arches spanning the air,
Saw you my true love anywhere?
Welladay! Welladay!
For the winds of May!
Love is unhappy when love is away!

Category:

Music

Tags:

• luciano
• berio
• chamber
• music
• james
• joyce
• maderna
• cathy
• berberian

[muzikaeuropa]

Great music and also great interpretation - with the pp in the hight tons ! Bravissimo !!!

[66selfed]

Straordinario!

[Nahui0llin]

maravilloso!!!!