Berio: Coro & Voices of London (Version for 8 Voices)

Featuring

Grete Pedersen
The Norwegian Soloists' Choir
Norwegian Radio Orchestra
Luciano Berio

Did you know?

1/7

Compositional Technique

In Coro, Berio specifies an unusual arrangement of 40 singers and 44 instrumentalists on four different levels to achieve maximum blending of vocal and instrumental timbres.

Performer Biography

The Norwegian Soloists' Choir, founded in 1950 by Knut Nystedt, is an innovative ensemble of 26 professional singers and is one of Europe's leading chamber choirs.

Historical Context

The texts in Coro, particularly those by Pablo Neruda, confront human reality and social/political developments, reflecting the aftermath of events like General Pinochet's military coup in Chile in 1973.

Composer's Artistic Vision

Berio's Coro uses texts from various cultures, including folk poetry and poems by Chilean poet Pablo Neruda, all fulfilling the basic poetic purpose of invocation.

Compositional Technique

The intricate polyphony in Coro is influenced by techniques associated with the Central African Banda Linda people, which Berio studied through ethnomusicologist Simha Arom's analysis.

Composition History

Berio's work Coro was originally written for the 1976 Donaueschingen Festival and later slightly extended for performances at the Salzburg Festival and the BBC Promenade Concerts in 1977.

Composer Biography

Luciano Berio, along with Luigi Nono, Franco Donatoni, and Bruno Maderna, was part of a formidable generation of Italian modernist composers born in the 1920s.