

Luciano Berio
O King
Short instrumentation: fl, cl, vln, vc, pno
Duration: 5'
Dedication: to Martin Moore
Solos:
mezzo-soprano
Instrumentation details:
flute
clarinet in Bb
violin
violoncello
piano
Berio - O King for mezzo-soprano and 5 players
Translation, reprints and more

Luciano Berio
Berio: O King for mezzo soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and pianoOrchestration: for mezzo soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
Type: Stimmensatz
Language: Vokalisen

Luciano Berio
O KingOrchestration: for mezzo soprano, flute, clarinet, violin, cello and piano
Type: Partitur
Audio preview
Work introduction
Martin Luther King, the American pastor and civil-rights activist, was murdered in 1968. His death moved Berio that selfsame year to write a short piece in memorium, its text consisting of King's name only. (That same year, O King became a movement of [Berio’s] Sinfonia).
The voice is treated as part of the ensemble (flute, B-flat clarinet, violin, cello, piano) until the very end. It floats above the sound which is only as it were “punctured” by piano sforzati until, at the close, the mezzo-soprano emerges from the ensemble with a brief lament.