Double Bass Berio Sequenza XIVb

[fergus currie]

Berio Sequenza XIVb

Has anyone here ever looked at this piece? I got a copy from a friend and I started trying to work out what's going on today. It has to be the hardest, strangest piece ever! It took me about an hour to work out how to play the first line, not to play it, just how it should be played.

I have never seen anything like this written down before and a lot of the notation is, if not unfamiliar, certainly not on the tip of my sight reading tongue! It would be intersting to hear if anyone has had a go at this monster and what they thought of it.

This has also led me to discover Stefano Scodanibbio who made the arrangement from the cello version. I think Scodanibbio is in a class of his own as far as avant-guard bass playing goes. I've never heard such clarity and subtlety in modern music anywhere.

Hers a link to hear some of Scodanibbio's playing (the sound level is very low so you'll need speakers):

Stefano Scodanibbio

If you look at the photo you'll see the double-stopping left-hand harmonic pizicato (!) technique used (amongst others) in the Berio piece!

 

[bassist14]

Berio Sequenza XIVb

Has anyone here ever looked at this piece?

yes:

 

[fergus currie]

Thanks for that link!

This guy has obviously lost the six months of his life that I may be about to lose if I chose to make a serious go of learning this bitch.

It's interesting to see how Crosse plays these harmonics. Scodanibbio plays them in '3rd' position, over the neck so to speak.

I also tried doing all the harmonics with my left hand and doing the pizzicato with my right between the nut and the node which almost works but there are some passages which are impossible like this so... back to the drawing board!

 

[bassist14]

Hers a link to hear some of Scodanibbio's playing (the sound level is very low so you'll need speakers):

Stefano Scodanibbio

If you look at the photo you'll see the double-stopping left-hand harmonic pizicato (!) technique used (amongst others) in the Berio piece!

thanks for that link!