Thema (Omaggio a Joyce)
Encyclopedia
Thema is an electroacoustic
composition by Luciano Berio
, for voice and tape. Composed between 1958 and 1959, it is based on the interpretative reading of Sirens poem (from the XI chapter of the Ulysses
by James Joyce
) by Cathy Berberian
and on the elaboration of her recorded voice by technological means.
elaboration of it can be listened in the second part (6 minutes and 13 seconds); the complete length of the definitive composition is 8 minutes and 9 seconds.
The piece was originally composed to be part of a never broadcasted radio program by Luciano Berio
and Umberto Eco
titled Omaggio a Joyce. Documenti sulla qualità onomatopeica del linguaggio poetico.
Subsequently, the piece, conceived for four channels, was recorded in stereo in two versions, the first titled Thema (Omaggio a Joyce) (LP Turnabout TV 34177), 1958; the second titled Omaggio a Joyce (LP Limelight LS 86047), 1959. In 1995 it was digitally restored in stereo (CD BMG 09026-68302-2) and this is the version Berio declares as definitive (8 minutes and 9 seconds).
during the first stages of Studio di Fonologia in Milan
; these studies were focused on one hand on the sonorous relationships between many different European
languages; on the other hand, on the pure vocalism from several point of view: linguistic
, phonetic
, anthropological
, musical. In particular, the construction of a new musical form based on the oscillation between music, literature
and multimedia
languages can be seen as the result of the interdisciplinary studies carried on at Studio di Fonologia.
Luciano Berio
aimed to the synthesis of different fields to break down the borders of the artistic and scientific specializations between music, poetry and technology. So first of all, the main feature of the composition is the oscillation between oblivion and construction which reminds directly to the poetic writing form. The work is based on the idea of the electroacoustic
montage
of sounds as well.
This is the first time in history of music a recorded intelligible text was literally "broke into pieces".
In particular, the composer had classified the recorded words included in Sirens according to their resonance colors, in relation to the resonance point of the vocal apparatus.
The colors are chosen in considerations of the phonetic and their sonorous matter and then elaborated and mixed by the analogical technology of the Studio di Fonologia consisting of nine oscillators during a very long work which was handmade as technological.
The compositional cathegory of the contemporary
musical art, using words
and vocals as a primary source, playing with the tension between semantic
and musical characteristics, through the technology, has been constituted from this moment on.
The intrinsic musicality of the language
and the research of infinite possibilities of combining phonemes
are very important in this work as well. The tension/relationship between construction of the words and a new elaboration of them and meaning of sounds, which is a peculiar element of the Joyce's writings, is transposed from the silent written form to a new musical, electroacoustic
form.
In this way, Berio fragments the Joyce's text read by Berberian to recompose it in a new technologically elaborated form. The electroacustic
elaborations and the montage
are realized in the words and texts as on the sounds and noises produced by the voice.
The composition features a very peculiar structure away from every know musical theory, to create a poetical-musical opera done not through themes but with the forms of language it-self.
In this oscillation and in the deconstruction of the meaning of the words, in the research of pure timbre and resonances, "the sound becomes meaning" and the voice becomes the symbol of the human body it-self and its expressive sign, as the "symbol of language" or the principle of the "languages of things", according with the well known Walter Benjamin theory.
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
composition by Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
, for voice and tape. Composed between 1958 and 1959, it is based on the interpretative reading of Sirens poem (from the XI chapter of the Ulysses
Ulysses (novel)
Ulysses is a novel by the Irish author James Joyce. It was first serialised in parts in the American journal The Little Review from March 1918 to December 1920, and then published in its entirety by Sylvia Beach on 2 February 1922, in Paris. One of the most important works of Modernist literature,...
by James Joyce
James Joyce
James Augustine Aloysius Joyce was an Irish novelist and poet, considered to be one of the most influential writers in the modernist avant-garde of the early 20th century...
) by Cathy Berberian
Cathy Berberian
Catherine Anahid Berberian was an American soprano and composer. She interpreted contemporary avant-garde music composed, among others, by Luciano Berio, Bruno Maderna, John Cage, Henri Pousseur, Sylvano Bussotti, Darius Milhaud, Roman Haubenstock-Ramati , Igor Stravinsky.She also interpreted...
and on the elaboration of her recorded voice by technological means.
History and context of the composition
According to the definitive piece published in 1995 (CD BMG 09026-68302-2), the text and the interpretation of it by Berberian can be listened in first part (1 minute and 56 seconds), the electroacousticElectroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
elaboration of it can be listened in the second part (6 minutes and 13 seconds); the complete length of the definitive composition is 8 minutes and 9 seconds.
The piece was originally composed to be part of a never broadcasted radio program by Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
and Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
titled Omaggio a Joyce. Documenti sulla qualità onomatopeica del linguaggio poetico.
Subsequently, the piece, conceived for four channels, was recorded in stereo in two versions, the first titled Thema (Omaggio a Joyce) (LP Turnabout TV 34177), 1958; the second titled Omaggio a Joyce (LP Limelight LS 86047), 1959. In 1995 it was digitally restored in stereo (CD BMG 09026-68302-2) and this is the version Berio declares as definitive (8 minutes and 9 seconds).
Musical form
The work resumes the linguistic studies the composer has been carried on for some years in collaboration with EcoUmberto Eco
Umberto Eco Knight Grand Cross is an Italian semiotician, essayist, philosopher, literary critic, and novelist, best known for his novel The Name of the Rose , an intellectual mystery combining semiotics in fiction, biblical analysis, medieval studies and literary theory...
during the first stages of Studio di Fonologia in Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
; these studies were focused on one hand on the sonorous relationships between many different European
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
languages; on the other hand, on the pure vocalism from several point of view: linguistic
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, phonetic
Phonetics
Phonetics is a branch of linguistics that comprises the study of the sounds of human speech, or—in the case of sign languages—the equivalent aspects of sign. It is concerned with the physical properties of speech sounds or signs : their physiological production, acoustic properties, auditory...
, anthropological
Anthropology
Anthropology is the study of humanity. It has origins in the humanities, the natural sciences, and the social sciences. The term "anthropology" is from the Greek anthrōpos , "man", understood to mean mankind or humanity, and -logia , "discourse" or "study", and was first used in 1501 by German...
, musical. In particular, the construction of a new musical form based on the oscillation between music, literature
Literature
Literature is the art of written works, and is not bound to published sources...
and multimedia
Multimedia
Multimedia is media and content that uses a combination of different content forms. The term can be used as a noun or as an adjective describing a medium as having multiple content forms. The term is used in contrast to media which use only rudimentary computer display such as text-only, or...
languages can be seen as the result of the interdisciplinary studies carried on at Studio di Fonologia.
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio
Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI was an Italian composer. He is noted for his experimental work and also for his pioneering work in electronic music.-Biography:Berio was born at Oneglia Luciano Berio, Cavaliere di Gran Croce OMRI (October 24, 1925 – May 27, 2003) was an Italian...
aimed to the synthesis of different fields to break down the borders of the artistic and scientific specializations between music, poetry and technology. So first of all, the main feature of the composition is the oscillation between oblivion and construction which reminds directly to the poetic writing form. The work is based on the idea of the electroacoustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
montage
Montage
-Filmmaking:*Montage , a technique which uses rapid editing, special effects and music to present compressed narrative information*Soviet montage theory in the 1920s-Other:* Montage , Documentary television series from 1960s and 1970s...
of sounds as well.
This is the first time in history of music a recorded intelligible text was literally "broke into pieces".
In particular, the composer had classified the recorded words included in Sirens according to their resonance colors, in relation to the resonance point of the vocal apparatus.
The colors are chosen in considerations of the phonetic and their sonorous matter and then elaborated and mixed by the analogical technology of the Studio di Fonologia consisting of nine oscillators during a very long work which was handmade as technological.
The compositional cathegory of the contemporary
Contemporary classical music
Contemporary classical music can be understood as belonging to the period that started in the mid-1970s with the retreat of modernism. However, the term may also be employed in a broader sense to refer to all post-1945 modern musical forms.-Categorization:...
musical art, using words
Spoken word
Spoken word is a form of poetry that often uses alliterated prose or verse and occasionally uses metered verse to express social commentary. Traditionally it is in the first person, is from the poet’s point of view and is themed in current events....
and vocals as a primary source, playing with the tension between semantic
Semantics
Semantics is the study of meaning. It focuses on the relation between signifiers, such as words, phrases, signs and symbols, and what they stand for, their denotata....
and musical characteristics, through the technology, has been constituted from this moment on.
The intrinsic musicality of the language
Language
Language may refer either to the specifically human capacity for acquiring and using complex systems of communication, or to a specific instance of such a system of complex communication...
and the research of infinite possibilities of combining phonemes
Phoneme
In a language or dialect, a phoneme is the smallest segmental unit of sound employed to form meaningful contrasts between utterances....
are very important in this work as well. The tension/relationship between construction of the words and a new elaboration of them and meaning of sounds, which is a peculiar element of the Joyce's writings, is transposed from the silent written form to a new musical, electroacoustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
form.
In this way, Berio fragments the Joyce's text read by Berberian to recompose it in a new technologically elaborated form. The electroacustic
Electroacoustic music
Electroacoustic music originated in Western art music during its modern era following the incorporation of electric sound production into compositional practice. The initial developments in electroacoustic music composition during the mid-20th century are associated with the activities of composers...
elaborations and the montage
Montage
-Filmmaking:*Montage , a technique which uses rapid editing, special effects and music to present compressed narrative information*Soviet montage theory in the 1920s-Other:* Montage , Documentary television series from 1960s and 1970s...
are realized in the words and texts as on the sounds and noises produced by the voice.
The composition features a very peculiar structure away from every know musical theory, to create a poetical-musical opera done not through themes but with the forms of language it-self.
In this oscillation and in the deconstruction of the meaning of the words, in the research of pure timbre and resonances, "the sound becomes meaning" and the voice becomes the symbol of the human body it-self and its expressive sign, as the "symbol of language" or the principle of the "languages of things", according with the well known Walter Benjamin theory.