Cries of London
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| Cries of London | |
|---|---|
| by Luciano Berio | |
 Luciano Berio, at the time of the composition. | |
| Composed | 1973–4 (rev. 1976) |
| Published | Universal Edition |
| Duration | 15 minutes |
| Movements | 7 |
| Scoring | Eight voices |
| Premiere | |
| Date | 1976 |
| Location | La Rochelle |
Cries of London is a composition for eight voices by Italian composer Luciano Berio. Originally composed for six voices in 1974, it was expanded in 1976.
1974 version
The preliminary version of Cries of London was composed between 1973 and 1974. It was composed for The King's Singers, an all-male British vocal ensemble whose programmes offered some elements from cabaret in them. The whole piece consisted of four movements scored for six voices (two countertenors, one tenor, two baritones, and one bass) and was premiered in Edinburgh in 1975.[1][2]
1976 version
One year later, Berio reworked and expanded the cycle to a total of seven movements and eight voices. Each of the movements in the final version of the piece were dedicated to different people. A preliminary version was premiered in La Rochelle in 1976; however, Swingle II officially premiered and recorded the piece in 1977.[3] Both the early version and the revision were published by Universal Edition, in 1973 and 1976 respectively.[4] The main melody used in the first and fifth movements of the cycle were also used with a different text in Coro, which was also written and premiered around 1974–76.[5]
