Circles (Berio)

Circles is a composition for female voice, harp and two

percussionists by the Italian composer Luciano Berio.
Written in 1960 Circles is a setting of three poems by E. E.
Cummings,[1] including the poems Stinging, Riverly Is
a Flower, and N(o)w.

Context of the composition

Circles was written for Berios wife, the American mezzosoprano Cathy Berberian. The work followed by two
years the landmark composition Thema (Omaggio a
Joyce) in which Berio deconstructed Berberians voice
through the use of innovative electronic manipulation.[2]
Throughout Circles Berio explores similar sound textures
while limiting himself exclusively to acoustic means. The
work was commissioned by the Fromm Foundation, with
a dedication in the score to Mrs Olga Koussevitsky.

Musical style and form

Berio follows an A-B-C-B-A arch form in Circles (the text

from the rst two poems being repeated with a dierent
setting).[1] In this way to form of the composition itself
expresses a circle. Berio gives precise instructions in the
score for the location of the performers and percussion
instruments on stage. Throughout the course of the work
the singer moves backwards as if receding into the ensemble. She is also required to perform on specic percussion instruments such as nger cymbals, claves, and
various kinds of chimes.

See also
List of compositions by Luciano Berio

References

[1] "Circles, Luciano Berio", by Jerey Oliver (Retrieved 4

May 2016)
[2] Music Since 1945 by Elliot Schwartz and Daniel Godfrey
(1993), (ISBN 0-02-873040-2)

5 TEXT AND IMAGE SOURCES, CONTRIBUTORS, AND LICENSES

Text and image sources, contributors, and licenses

5.1

Text

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5.2

Images

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5.3

Content license

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