An exploration and systematic approach to the temporal and compositional structures in Berio’s Sequenza VII for oboe By Olivier Barrier Student number 20175443 Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree MMus in Performance Department of Music Faculty of the Humanities Dr. Clorinda Panebianco November 2017 Abstract Berio’s Sequenza VII is the most famous piece in the modern repertoire for solo oboe, written in 1969 for the renowned Swiss oboist Heinz Holliger, it retains pole position in sales and performances in its genre. It is a challenging piece to approach, comprehend and perform; not so much because of the technical difficulties involved but more because of the overall form and structure of the composition. Indeed, it mixes two concepts: conventional musical notation, which is easily grasped even if riddled with local micro technical challenges, and large sections in proportional writing. These sections in a different musical notation pose a problem as to the approach needed. There seems to be a tendency, when comparing contemporary and well-established recordings to be rather liberal with the sections that are written in freer notation. Berio gives the interpreter a grid that contains freedom to a limited extent; the freedom lies within the expression of the musical material contained in each bar, but the macro-structure seems set and almost immutable. Immutable in the sense that 1.8 seconds is 1.8 seconds but what happens within can be subject to interpretation, debate or discussion. This study will take as a starting point this idea of an immutable structure and will discuss the micro events within this structure to the finest observational and analytical capabilities. Will be discussed means to arrive at a more than convincing performance/interpretation and derived considerations. The way to reach this goal is through a systematic and indeed systemic approach of the musical text, finding and naming beacons of reference, a somehow hermeneutic approach to the text where taking apart and reassembling in an iterative process yields repetitive insight into the teleology of Berio’s composition. This is a living work that will continue to be performed, so all this research is carried through with this central beacon never out of sight: how to interpret Berio’s Sequenza VII being as close as possible to the composer’s intent, where knowledge gained is knowledge applied as a performer and offered to others, be it to an audience or to a fellow oboist grappling with the same difficulties that have led me to devise this method. i Keywords Oboe solo Modern technique Berio’s Sequenza VII Compositional structure Temporal structure Analysis Auto ethnographic Practice-based research ‘Absolute’ performance ii Contents Abstract .............................................................................................................................. p. i Keywords ........................................................................................................................... p. ii List of tables, figures, graphs, equations, lists and musical examples ............................... p. vii Chapter 1: Background to the study 1.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. p. 1 1.2 Statement of the research problem and research objectives ........................................ p. 5 1.3 Research questions ....................................................................................................... p. 6 1.4 Rationale and value of the study .................................................................................. p. 7 1.5 Thesis statement ........................................................................................................... p. 7 1.6 Delineations and limitations ........................................................................................ p. 8 1.7 Notes to the reader. The following concepts and symbols will be used throughout the dissertation ................................................................................................................... p. 8 1.8 Chapter overview ......................................................................................................... p. 9 Chapter 2: Literature review 2.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. p. 11 2.2 The interviews .............................................................................................................. p. 11 2.3 Literature about Sequenza VII ..................................................................................... p. 14 2.4 Articles by oboe virtuosos about their approach to Sequenza VII ............................... p. 24 2.5 The scores relating to Sequenza VII ............................................................................. p. 26 2.6 Leclair’s published interpretation: Sequenza VIIa ....................................................... p. 28 2.7 Conclusion p. 29 Chapter 3: Methodology 3.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. p. 30 3.2 Research approach and design ..................................................................................... p. 30 iii 3.3 Data sources ................................................................................................................. p. 31 3.4 Data analysis and interpretation ................................................................................... p. 31 3.5 Iterative learning process ............................................................................................. p. 33 3.6 Rules and axioms ......................................................................................................... p. 33 3.7 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... p. 35 Chapter 4: Results of pulse combinations and duration calculations 4.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. p. 36 4.2 Dealing with time increment measurements ................................................................ p. 36 4.3 The temporal structure - calculating useable pulse combinations ............................... p. 37 4.3.1 The case of 1" - a demonstration .................................................................. p. 38 4.3.2 Pulse combinations - 1.3" ............................................................................. p. 40 4.3.3 Pulse combinations - 1.5" ............................................................................. p. 41 4.3.4 Pulse combinations - 1.8" ............................................................................. p. 42 4.3.5 Pulse combinations - 2" ................................................................................ p. 43 4.3.6 Pulse combinations - 2.7" ............................................................................. p. 44 4.3.7 Pulse combinations - 3" ................................................................................ p. 45 4.3.8 Hybrid solutions to the 2.7" time increment ................................................. p. 46 4.3.9 Combinations of three pulses ........................................................................ p. 48 4.4 Applying these pulse combinations to the score .......................................................... p. 49 4.5 Calculating the empirical duration of Sequenza VII .................................................... p. 50 4.5.1 First method of duration calculation ............................................................. p. 51 4.5.2 Second method of duration calculation ......................................................... p. 52 4.5.3 Shape of Sequenza VII .................................................................................. p. 56 4.6 Conclusion ................................................................................................................... p. 57 Chapter 5: Implication of the results 5.1 Introduction .................................................................................................................. p. 59 5.2 Instructions for the first Set: the deterministic units .................................................... p. 60 5.2.1 Layer one: units containing writing in conventional notation at 60 bpm ..... p. 62 5.2.2 Layer two: units containing a mixture of notations also in pulsation of 60 bpm ................................................................................................................................. p. 65 iv 5.2.3 Layer three: same criteria as layer two but this time in a context other than 60 bpm ........................................................................................................................ p. 66 5.3 Subset one: units containing conventional notation in a non-deterministic environment, links to the next set ............................................................................................................ p. 70 5.4 Instructions for the second set: the more interpretative units ...................................... p. 73 5.4.1 Set two, layer one: units introducing new pitches .................................................... p. 74 5.4.2 Set two, layer two: units showing moments of stasis or zones of stasis