A performance of Luciano Berio’s Coro is always visually striking: instead of sitting on stage as two detached blocks, singers of the choir and instrumentalists of the orchestra are grouped into pairs, separated from their usual colleagues and stand partners.
This layout, which was defined by the composer himself, opens up a new sound world for all musicians on stage as they – both singers and instrumentalists – learn to hear and interact with each other and with the conductor on a whole new level.
For the MCO’s second tour featuring Coro, a few instrumentalist-singer duos shared their experiences of working together as a duo, being placed in a different section of the stage, and approaching music from the perspective of someone who communicates through music in a very different way.
Martijne van Dijk, saxophone & Elena Shestakova, mezzo-soprano
What is your part?
MvD: I play alto saxophone in Coro.
ES: I sing the part of alto #4 (I’m a mezzo-soprano)
How closely do you work with your partner?
MvD: We are a real duo. There is a lot of counterpoint that goes on between our parts. It’s comfortable to sit next to someone who works so closely with you.
ES: My partner in this piece is a saxophonist and we collaborate and communicate pretty well. She is sitting to my right, and that is very comfortable as nobody separates me from the other altos.
What is it like to sit next to a musician who doesn't play your instrument/sing your part?
MvD: It’s refreshing. There is such a strong musical connection between our parts. There is a lot of trust needed. It’s an incredible experience!
Usually, we [saxophonists] sit next to the clarinets. This time, they are spread out everywhere. From where I sit, the orchestra sounds more transparent and less dense. This setup also accentuates the fact that there’s nowhere to hide. It’s like a theatrical play, and we musicians have individual roles.
ES: I remember that the first rehearsal of Coro was very unusual and quite difficult, but now I feel myself well in it.
Asya Rakhmatullina, alto & Raphaël Schenkel, clarinet
What is your part?
AR: I’m an alto and in Coro I sing the part of “alto 2”.
RS: I play the clarinet 2 part.
How closely do you work with your partner?
AR: For sure it's something absolutely unusual. We performed Coro with the MusicAeterna orchestra in Perm in February 2017 so we'd worked a lot on this piece before our arrival to Ferrara so we didn't have to face such unconventional music and a wonderful but unknown to us orchestra at the same time. I communicated a lot with Raphaël who is amazing as a musician as well as a person. Also I interacted with other altos next to me.
RS: We share quite a few parallel voices. As a wind player, there is a lot I can learn from singers: how they breathe, phrase… there have been so many beautiful moments on these two projects that have given me goosebumps!
What is it like to sit next to a musician who doesn't play your instrument/sing your part?
AR: Sitting next to a musician you can work more on your ensembles, it helps to tune and but also to get to know the orchestra you work with better.
RS: It allows me to approach the music in a completely new way. Also, this setup is certainly a break from routine, something completely different. The clarinets are usually in the back, and all of a sudden, in this piece, I am in front. And you see the conductor from a new angle too.
Mette Tjaerby Korneliusen, violin & Olga Malgina, soprano
What is your part?
MTK: I play the violin 3 part.
OM: I’m a soprano and sing part 10.
How closely do you work with your partner?
MTK: We have separate parts, but here and there, there are a few unison sections. We also share a few rhythmical bits together, which is great.
OM: We work a lot together, especially in our duetto in the 16th number. Even though sometimes it's very difficult not only to work with your partner but even to hear yourself. Often, I take cues from the trumpet and the clarinet and also from the soprano who sings part #6.
What is it like to sit next to a musician who doesn't play your instrument/sing your part?
MTK: In the first rehearsal, it was interesting to see many of the singers working with a keyboard on their phones to get their notes. That was unexpected – although I guess that is the modern form of tuning forks!
OM: It's not easy to be surrounded by brass section (they are really loud) but still it's something new to be inside the orchestra.
Noemí González Medina, horn & Sergey Kostarev, tenor
What is your part?
NGM: I play horn 3.
SK: I sing the part of tenor #3.
How closely do you work with your partner?
NGM: We share some notes together, some rhythmical parts. We give each other support and help along the piece.
SK: I sit next to the 3rd French horn. We worked in unison, complementing each other extremely well. I was very happy to work with such a professional musician and nice person.
What is it like to sit next to a musician who doesn't play your instrument/sing your part?
NGM: It’s fascinating to see how the singers project their voices. For me, personally, it was an incredible experience to be within the choir when the singers sang their encore. What is also interesting is that, depending on the size and structure of the hall, we sit slightly differently and you hear new things. For me, it’s nice to have the first horn close by.
SK: On first sight Coro seemed to be extraordinary (and well it is) and in some way frightening, but then I really enjoyed it. I would work like this again. When we came to Ferrara there were a choir and an orchestra but after all the rehearsals and concerts, I feel like we are one big team, an unified whole and it's great!
Elena Iurchenko, soprano & Diego Aceña Moreno, flute
What is your part?
EI: I sing the second soprano part.
DAM: I play the flute 2 part.
How closely do you work with your partner?
EI: Coro is something absolutely new to me. I work a lot in unison with the flutist and it's a very unusual experience for me. The flute player helps me quite a lot but often I tune to the trumpet behind me as we have many notes in common.
DAM: My partner and I work very closely together. She amplifies what I play. We share very many melodic lines; it’s almost like listening to yourself!
What is it like to sit next to a musician who doesn't play your instrument/sing your part?
EI: It's comfortable to work next to a musician. For the first time in our career, choir and orchestra are mixed on the stage. Normally we are separated (especially in opera productions when the orchestra is in the pit and we act on the stage).
It is a great pleasure to work with this highly professional orchestra but it's also a challenge, in a way.
DAM: I find myself playing more openly. In that way the singers definitely influence my playing. We blend together, and there is also a higher awareness of what is going on. Because I don’t sit where I normally sit, I get a different view, a different perspective: for once, I have a bass trombone and violins around me.
Elena Podkasik, soprano & Geoffroy Schied, violin
What is your part?
EP: In Berio's Coro I sing soprano part 9.
GS: I play the Violin 2 part.
How closely do you work with your partner?
EP: I sit between two violins, so I'm separated from my colleagues. Unfortunately I can't always hear my colleagues from my group. At first it was difficult to tune but after rehearsing this piece many times I could “forehear” with my vocal cords the right note and the harmony of the piece in general. In some numbers I listen to different musicians around me like to the trumpet behind me.
GS: There’s not a lot that we perform together, unfortunately! This piece isn't written in the traditional way, with large groups of musicians and singers sharing the same lines; I think it’s more like a chamber music piece, or a collection of small chamber pieces, in which each musician is responsible for his or her own part. I wouldn’t even necessarily see this as an orchestral piece.
What is it like to sit next to a musician who doesn't play your instrument/sing your part?
EP: Step by step I learned to feel myself comfortable in this cacophony and to have some kind of catharsis singing this piece. The more I sung it the easier and more understandable it was to me.
I was very glad to work with musicians and feel their support.
GS: Coro is really a piece that puts the characteristics of individuals in the spotlight. Especially with this choir, the singers all work at such a high level, with such different colours and expressivity, they push us to go further musically and match their extravaganza.
Ivan Gorin, tenor & Martin Leo Schmidt, cello
What is your part?
IG: I sing the tenor 10 part in Coro.
MLS: In Coro, I play the cello 3 part.
How closely do you work with your partner?
IG: We do interact quite a lot during the piece, though mostly for my part. It is a very difficult piece of music and even though most of the singers use tuning forks, sometimes during the performance you can't even hear it. In that case you listen to your partner. If you're somehow lost you can also find what bar it is in their parts. This works both ways though. Concerning other musicians I can say that most of the male voices in Coro envy alto and soprano. They sit among strings mostly, while we sit next to brass. And I can tell you, sitting next to a horn or a trombone playing forte doesn't improve your pitch!
MLS: We share the same lines in some sections, but that doesn’t happen very often. My partner has a lot to sing, and it’s great to have the opportunity to watch each other work. The singers are very impressive.
What is it like to sit next to a musician who doesn't play your instrument/sing your part?IG: Sitting next to a musician in Coro is an interesting experience. Choir singers usually have a full piano score, so normally we navigate through a piece knowing what's around us. And in Coro, due to enormous number of parts, we sometimes see our part only and feel like an orchestra musician when you need to count bars and rely on others. It is a very interesting orchestra-like experience for a choir singer.
MLS: It’s interesting to see how singers cope with pitch-related challenges: I can see how they always find a way to produce the right now at the right moment. They really concentrate on their voice and how they breathe.
In this piece, the musicians are more spread out. As a cellist, I usually sit up front. In this piece, I have to adjust to not having the conductor immediately in front of me. At the same time, it’s an eye-opening experience to be seated so far away from the conductor. From where I sit, I have a nice overview of the sea of musicians before me.
The MCO and the MusicAeterna Choir rehearsing Coro in Ferrara's Teatro Comunale Claudio Abbado in March.
Photos: Geoffroy Schied
Stage plan: Matthias Mayr
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