This is a welcome reissue of classic performances of some of Italian modernist Luciano Berio’s finest compositions. Differences for flute, clarinet, harp, viola, cello & tape, proceeds in fits and starts, stuttering along until groups of soloists explode in bright tonal colour. The tape is at first difficult to detect, until you notice the instruments doubling back on themselves, leaving traces of reverberation in the other channel.
His Sequenzas are his most well-known work and possibly the most famous virtuosic studies for solo performers of the twentieth century, of which the performance of Sequenza III for voice by Berio’s wife and muse Cathy Berberian is among the finest. There’s something almost dated and sixties about her endless profusion of gasps, wails and glottal stops, but it remains undeniably exhilarating. Heinz Holliger’s take on Sequenza VII for oboe, while doubtless fascinating for oboeists, sounds distinctly lacklustre after Berberian’s blistering rendition. She brings a similar commitment to the lightweight but charming Chamber Music for voice, clarinet, cello and harp, her delivery of the oddball lyrics (in English) nuanced and expertly pitched.
Joshua Meggitt
