The audience was initially taken aback by the unorthodox vocalizations. Some giggled, others looked aghast, but Berberian's infectious enthusiasm soon won them over. She moved with abandon, her body a dynamic instrument as she employed extended vocal techniques to conjure an aural world both primal and futuristic.
For vocalists, musicologists, and avant-garde enthusiasts, finding and understanding the is the first step toward mastering this foundational work of extended vocal technique. What is Stripsody?
Stripsody is essentially a . It is a collage of sounds, a journey through the silent world of comics made audible. The score is not a collection of traditional notes on a staff; it is a series of vivid, cartoonish graphic panels that instruct the performer on what to sound like and when . Berberian described the performance goal as being "as if by a radio sound man who must provide all the sound effects with his voice".
To help you navigate the score, here are some general insights: Cathy Berberian Stripsody Score.pdf
The score is structured around three horizontal parallel lines that indicate relative pitch:
was Berberian's first solo composition. She took the "low-brow" language of comic strip onomatopoeia —words like
: There are no traditional time signatures; instead, the physical spacing of words and images on the page dictates the rhythm and duration. Performance and Vocal Mastery The audience was initially taken aback by the
A drawing of a radio implies singing a brief, stylized operatic or pop fragment.
Stripsody solidified Cathy Berberian’s reputation not just as an interpreter of avant-garde music, but as a creator in her own right. It bridged the gap between "high art" vocal music and popular culture.
The piece was born from a creative collaboration with the Italian semiotician Umberto Eco and the artist Eugenio Carmi. It was Eco who encouraged Berberian to formalize her interest in comic sounds, and Carmi created a series of fourteen silkscreen prints inspired by her vocal glossary. This interplay between sound and image makes Stripsody a quintessential pop-art piece, a musical pendant to the works of Andy Warhol and Roy Lichtenstein. It is a collage of sounds, a journey
"Bang," "Pow," and "Whack" require explosive plosives.
Sneezing, coughing, gasping, crying, laughing, and yawning.
The cultural impact of Stripsody extends far beyond the concert hall. It is a landmark of musical Pop Art and a pioneering work of performance art.
To aid your study, you may want to explore:
"Woof," "Meow," and "Ribbit" dictate literal imitations.