
Dealing out criticism isn't really in this
blog's remit (I prefer to feature things I like), however this is something worth covering, perhaps.
A while ago I started collecting
Berio material, recordings, scores, documentaries, books and so on (previously I just had
Sinfonia on
cd,
sad, I know.)
A primary resource is my
local music library, thankfully they have quite a bit of stuff, however there was a gap in their catalogue. In stock were the scores for
Chemins I and
Chemins IIb/c but they didn't have any recordings of them, the only ones
currently available were on a fairly recent
Col Legno release (
Chemins I and
IIb,
IIc is the same but includes an extra bass clarinet part, not sure a
commercial recording of this exists.)
So I filled in a form on the library's site suggesting they buy this
cd and that I would like to reserve it if they did. I heard nothing back about it for a few months and in the meantime I bought the album as an Mp3 from
ClassicsOnline (link
here), and very good it is too (you can watch the
Chemins I performance on YouTube
here, not a great quality recording but on the plus side, it's free. The
cd also includes
Formazioni and
Concerto For Two Pianos and Orchestra.)
Then the other day I got an email saying the library had bought the
cd and it was reserved for me (I had forgotten all about it), I thought I ought to go and borrow it even though I didn't really need it now (at least I could burn a copy of it and have an uncompressed audio version, I had
paid for an mp3 of it remember.)
On the way home from the library I ran into a musician friend (Mark the
tubist) who on hearing the story said 'at least you'll have the liner notes'. Yes I thought,
good point, I walked the rest of the way home thinking about all the fine words the booklet would surely contain.
However, this was not to be. For some
strange, unfathomable reason, poetry has replaced the usual and
arguably more useful musicological/biographical material. I shall
subject treat you to an example.
Formazioni -:
there's a draft (quake, quote)
that is building up
collectively and thereover
thunder
and above it the little birds
buzzing hissing
the sun rises
mounting darkness
below
a cloud of white birds in the white whey
i acknowledge
i know nothing
pinpricks
pricking pins (pastiche)
then the part
partitioned parts lend it
a sudden whole
nobody's
trump
trumpets fanfare briefly
strike without
knowledge
You, she says, or i, say she
expectation
Ferdinand Schmatz, September 2008I'm no literary critic so
I'm not going to comment on the relative merits of the work, but do think Col
Legno should have included some normal liner notes, with or without the poetry.
To end on a positive note, if you like
Berio's music this
cd is a must-have and I commend Col
Legno for releasing it, just don't expect to learn anything about the music from the booklet.
I've 'stocked' the cd in my shop/store, UK
here, US
here.
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