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Sequenza VII (composed 1969) is a composition for solo oboe by Luciano Berio, the seventh of his fourteen Sequenza. The sequenza calls for extended technique. In 1975, Berio used Sequenza VII as part of Chemins IV, which included an orchestra of eleven string instruments. In 1993, Claude Delangle adapted the work for soprano saxophone, naming the revised work Sequenza VIIb.
Sequenza VII was written for Heinz Holliger.
For much of the piece, Berio notates measures in instead of bars, although there are some sections of the work that use traditional rhythmic notation. The piece calls for various forms of advanced and extended technique, including using five alternate fingerings for one note in a single measure, multiphonics, tonguing, trills on multiple notes at a time, overblowing, flutter-tonguing, traditional harmonics, and microtonal music trills.
Jacqueline Leclair breaks down the piece into three sections. The first section goes from measure 1 to measure 92, and is primarily written in temporal notation, leading it to have a "free or improvisatory" quality. The second section goes from measure 92 to measure 121, and it alternates between temporal and rhythmic notation. Leclair argues that the beginning and end of the section are "very similar to the beginning and end of the piece" and that the middle part of it is "the most sustained and calmest section of Sequenza VII. The third and final section lasts from measures 121 to 169. According to Leclair, it contains the climax of the work, and the part after the climax "can be thought of as a large-scale ritardando or calming front he first 2 sections' much more frenetic character."
A strict interpretation of Berio's markings would make the piece be just under seven minutes, but performance times can vary, with the dedicatee, Heinz Holliger, performing it in between eight and eight and a half minutes.
In 1993, saxophonist Claude Delangle adapted Sequenza VII for soprano saxophone, naming the revised work Sequenza VIIb. The piece was premiered on May 20, 1993, at the Conservatoire de Strasbourg. The adaptation was included on Naxos Records's complete recording of the sequenzas, and Delangle also adapted Chemins IV for solo soprano saxophone, titling it Chemins IVb. Berio enjoyed the soprano saxophone adaptation more than the original oboe version and planned to revise the original version, but he was unable to do so before his death in 2003. In 2000, oboist Jacqueline Leclair published a new "supplementary" edition of the sequenza, retitled Sequenza VIIa in light of the soprano saxophone adaptation. The edition includes the original and an edited version by Leclair.
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