Theodor Berger
Divertimento
Short instrumentation: 1 0 3 0 - 0 1 1 1 - perc(4)
Duration: 17'
Choir: TTBBBB
Instrumentation details:
picc, cl(Eb), cl(Bb), bass cl, - tpt, bass tuba, bass tuba - perc(4)
Berger - Divertimento for 6 voice male choir, wind instruments and percussion
Work introduction
The title of this work aptly describes its cheerful, adventurous character; experiments abound, especially in the first and third moments, entitled Mattina and Convivium. Between them is a Notturno contrasting with the first movement. The voices are treated like instruments in Mattina, called upon to produce “quasi pizzicato sounds,” whereas legato predominates in Notturno, accompanied by a languorous clarinet solo; then Berger presents Convivium, making it sound like a drinking orgy. Throughout the work, the winds and the percussion are used very sparingly; the male chorus plays the main role, singing wordlessly.