Hector Berlioz

1803-1869 By Abby J. Zarimba

Born in France in 1803, Louis-Hector Berlioz was a leading French composer of the Romantic Era. With a penchant for the monumental, Berlioz is perhaps best known for his large scale orchestral works such as Symphonie Fantastique and his choral and orchestral combined pieces, such as Grande Messe des morts (Requiem). He also wrote numerous large-scale choral and operatic works, and surprisingly, a number of smaller songs written for voice and piano. In his own time, however, he may have been more well-known for his writings as a music critic. Berlioz seemingly had a late start to his musical career. His father was a physician and scholar, and pushed his young son to study medicine. Though he began music lessons at age 12, Berlioz did not learn to play the piano, due to his fathers discouragement. He did, however become well-learned on the flute and the guitar. After a 2-year attempt at medical school, and general disgust for the process of human dissection, Berlioz came to study composition in 1822 and began attending the Conservatoire in Paris in 1826 as a composition student. It was during his time as a student that Berlioz became acquainted with works by two different men which inspired him as a composer. Upon seeing both Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet, written by William Shakespeare, Berlioz became obsessed with Shakespeares writing, which spurred his decision to learn how to read English so he could read The Bards works. Berliozs love of Shakespeares works is reflected in the titles, themes, and texts of many of his compositions. While a student in France, he also had the chance to hear Ludwig van Beethovens third and fifth symphonies, the immensity of which moved him and inspired the writing of his Symphonie Fantastique in 1830. By the time Berlioz had written Symphonie Fantastique, he had already written over 40 other pieces mostly songs, overtures, and chamber pieces. In 1831, he travelled to Italy for 2 years because of a clause attached to a composition prize he won in 1830. Though he didnt enjoy his time in Italy, later works were inspired by his time there, both in setting (Harold in Italie(1834)), and in feeling while in Italy he had found out that his fiance had called off their engagement and he devised an elaborate plan to travel to France to kill his fiance, her lover, and her mother. Though the murder plan failed due to a forgotten article of clothing, Berlioz still carried with him the pain and anguish of the ordeal, possibly deepening the romantic nature of his future compositions.

Back in Paris, Berlioz wrote many of his most popular works, including Grande Messe des Morts (1837) and Romeo et Juliette (1839). Even so, he didnt feel that he was receiving the kind of accolades (and commissions) he deserved in Paris, and he took to touring Europe between 1842 and 1863. As he toured Germany, England, Austria, Russia, and other countries, Berlioz was becoming more and more recognized as a composer and a conductor. He continued to write as he travelled on concert tours, composing the epic opera Les Troyens (1858), based on Virgils Aeneid. The 5 hourlong opera could not be performed at the Paris Opera due to its length, so he split it into two parts and very successfully performed the latter portion, Les Troyens a Carthage. Berlioz success in his later years, particularly with 2 very successful concert tours to Russia, greatly improved his financial situation after a few unsuccessful compositions. Unfortunately, his later years were wrought with health problems, leaving Berlioz unable to take concert tours and with unfinished compositions. He died at home in 1869, bitter about his lack of recognition as a composer in France.

Grande Symphonie funebre et triomphale (1840)

Written in 1840, Berliozs last symphonic work, Grande Symphonie funebre et triomphale, followed very much along the lines of his fascination for big music. Berlioz was offered a commission of 10,000 francs to compose a ceremonial piece to be played at the commemoration of the tenth anniversary of the three-day revolution of July 1830. During the ceremony, the remains of the victims were to be exhumed and moved to a monument in the Place de la Bastille. Berlioz was given free reign on the piece, given no direction on form or instrumentation. Thanks to Berliozs own memoirs, we do not need to guess much about his process in writing the piece. He was concerned about performing an open-air piece, and knew that he had to use a large military band instrumentation in order for the sound to be heard during the outside ceremony the piece calls for 200 musicians. He wanted the piece to have three movements: the first would be a processional, to recall the conflict of those who died, and serving to get the band to the monument; the second would be an oration, or farewell address to the fallen; the third would be a hymn of praise, which he named Apotheose, meaning glorification of an individual to a divine level. Berlioz was able to borrow much of his material for the ceremonial work from previous unfinished works. He had a previous preoccupation with military music, and as such had sketches for a couple military symphonies, and even had two movements of a symphony already written, though never completed. He also utilized material from an abandoned opera, Les Francs-Juges for the main theme in his second movement of the Symphonie funebre. He wrote to his father in July of 1840 and reported that the entire 35-minute long symphony only took him 40 hours to compose. Certainly, his previous incomplete works were beneficial to this end. The Symphonie was very well received, though the difficulties of performing outside left many listeners without the full effect of the piece at the ceremony. However, Berlioz had enough forethought to invite an audience to the dress rehearsal of the piece indoors 2 days earlier. The general public was pleased enough with the preview of the performance that he was asked to perform it 4 more times, indoors. Berlioz happily reported that a lot of money was taken for the concerts. Supporters and critics alike deemed this to have been the best thing he had written to date.

In 1842, Berlioz added string parts to the first and third movements, as well as a chorus to the third movement, in order to facilitate concert performance. The text for the chorus, written by Antoni Dechamps, expresses the glory and triumph dedicated to the heroes who had lost their lives.

Hector Berlioz

1803-1869
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For more information on Berlioz: ______________________________

On the Web: http://hector.ucdavis.edu/Berlioz2003/00Home.htm The Complete Berlioz http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hector_Berlioz Hector Berlioz, Wikipedia entry In a Book: Berlioz, by J.H. Elliot, Edited by Sir Jack Westrup Berlioz on Bands: A Compilation of Berlioz Writings on Bands and Wind Instruments, Compiled by David Whitwell The Billboard Encyclopedia of Classical Music, Edited by Stanley Sadie The Cambridge Companion to Berlioz, Edited by Peter Bloom The Memoirs of Hector Berlioz, Translated and Edited by David Cairns