Bario's Sequenza III An Aesthetics of Otherness
Date of Award
2007
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Bachelors
Department
Humanities
First Advisor
Flakne, April
Keywords
Aesthetics, Otherness, Berio, Luciano
Area of Concentration
Music
Abstract
Sequenza III is a seminal work of experimental vocal music composed by Luciano Berio in 1966. As a challenging and unconventional piece for an unaccompanied solo vocalist, it prompts a psychological interpretation where a music theoretic account falters. However, the psychological approach is unable to account for many disorienting features without relegating the performer and what she performs to the status of madness. As an alternative, I utilize Barthes distinction between the genotypic and phenotypic elements of song. Unfortunately the promising concept of the genotype remains underdeveloped in Barthes's essay. In an attempt to flesh out, ground, and extend what Barthes merely points towards, I examine the philosophical theories of the Other offered by Merleau-Ponty and Deleuze. These theories provide a means for allowing what is initially disorienting in Sequenza III to become meaningful to the listener. Still, the performer-as- Other is not organized in the same way as ordinary others. She must also be considered in light of her participation in a work of art. I use Deleuze's theory of art in order to consider the performer-as-Other as participating in a becoming-music, This participation reorganizes the performer-as-Other along the lines of performer- as-Artwork in such a way that she becomes a new kind of Other: the Impersonal Other. This Other makes perceptible what usually remains imperceptible in our encounters with others--their structuring effect on our perception--and reveals the thematization of the impersonal as the content of Berio's piece.
Recommended Citation
Vistein, Amber, "Bario's Sequenza III An Aesthetics of Otherness" (2007). Theses & ETDs. 3875.
https://digitalcommons.ncf.edu/theses_etds/3875
Rights
This bibliographic record is available under the Creative Commons CC0 public domain dedication. The New College of Florida, as creator of this bibliographic record, has waived all rights to it worldwide under copyright law, including all related and neighboring rights, to the extent allowed by law.