Berlioz - Grande Messe Des Morts (Requiem) Opus 5

The political climate in the second decade of the 19th century in France was precarious at best. Napoleon had been exiled to Elba in 1814 after his abdication as Emperor, and the house of Bourbon was restored to power with King Louis XVIII, younger brother of King Louis XVI (who had been executed during the French Revolution of 1789-1799).

But with Napoleon's escape from Elba and return to France in February of 1815, the new King had to go into hiding. Napoleon ruled for a period called The Hundred Days before he was defeated for good. King XVIII came out of hiding and ruled until 1824 when he died. Yet another Bourbon brother then came into power, Charles X. He was to rule until 1830 when the July Revolution forced him to abdicate.  Yet another monarch was brought into power, this time a cousin of the Bourbon family, Louis Philippe I.  His reign was known as the July Monarchy and lasted until 1848, when he also became another member of French royalty that was forced to abdicate on France's long and convoluted evolution to a more democratic form of government.

It was in 1837 during the reign of Louis Philippe I when the Minister Of The Interior Adrien de Gasparin approached Hector Berlioz with a request to compose a Requiem Mass in honor of  those who died in the 1830 Revolution, but after Berlioz had composed the work and hired copyists, an official informed him that the ceremony was to be held without music (possibly at the instigation of one of Berlioz's enemies).  For the next few months Berlioz pestered and complained to the authorities until the news came that the Battle Of Constantine in Algiers had been won by the French, but that General Damrémont had been killed in the battle. Plans were then changed once again, and the Requiem was to be performed at a memorial concert in the church of Les Invalides for the General and soldiers that died in the battle.

Dome of  Les Invalides

Berlioz's Requiem reflects the contemporary improvements of intonation and mechanics of the woodwind and brass. Older versions of these instruments could be notoriously difficult to keep in tune and play. Berlioz uses a huge complement of instruments and makes great demands of the entire ensemble.  Berlioz had already shown his proclivity for using large forces in his Symphonie Fantastique of 1830, but he went even further with the orchestration of his Requiem. In the score he called for over 100 stringed instruments alone. All the other sections of the orchestra show the same use of large forces, especially the brass. Twenty brass instruments are called for, plus another 38 brass instruments divided into 4 brass choirs, with one placed on the four corners of the stage. In the premiere of the work, over 400 singers and instrumentalists participated, but Berlioz encouraged the use of even more performers if they could be utilized and suggested that all parts should be adjusted accordingly.  Berlioz made two revisions to the work over the years, the final one in 1867.

The church of Les Invalides, where the premiere was given is part of a complex of buildings relating to the military history of France. The acoustics of the large dome of the church had an influence on the Requiem. Berlioz was always concerned with orchestral color and his imagination would run the range of delicate and soft to incredibly robust and loud. The dome of the church was to be Berlioz's soundboard for his musical forces. The premiere of the work was met with success, but for most of Berlioz's career he remained on the periphery of French musical life, although his works were more appreciated in other countries.

The Requiem is in ten sections:

1) Requiem et Kyrie

Berlioz was not a particularly religious man, so his Requiem is not what could be called pious, but it certainly is dramatic.  He begins with a stark theme played in unison. The choir enters with a short fugal section, and then the key turns to major for a brief respite. The fugal texture resumes with interludes of differing moods. The music changes mood and grows quiet, until the Kyrie enters in a hush. The subdued dynamics are maintained until a crescendo brings the music to a climax. After a dissonance, the choir ends their singing and the orchestra ends the movement in quiet poignancy.

Grant them eternal rest, O Lord,

and may perpetual light shine on them

You, O God, are praised in Zion

and unto You shall the vow be

performed in Jerusalem. Hear my

prayer, unto You shall all flesh come.

Hear my prayer,

all flesh comes to you.

Lord have mercy.

Christ have mercy.

Lord have mercy.

2) Dies Irae - Tuba Mirum

The ancient dies irae is sung in counterpoint by the choir and is interrupted twice by the orchestra as it plays an upward sweeping chromatic scale. After each orchestral interruption. the choir becomes more dramatic, until another orchestra interruption brings on the tuba mirum.

All four of the brass choirs, joining in one by one, blare out in a tremendous wall of sound that must have shook the church of Les Invalides, but then Berlioz summons the choir as well as 16 timpani, 4 tam-tams, and two bass drums in a section that no recording can do justice to. After this tremendous barrage of sound, the choir continues the text that is set to eerie, otherworldly themes. The fanfares of the beginning of the section return as well as the massed percussion as the choir roars out the remaining text. The music grows quiet as the choir continues in muffled tones. The movement ends as the first movement did, quietly.

In his Memoirs, Berlioz described the playing of the tuba mirum section at the premiere, and the steps Berlioz himself took to ensure that it came off properly:

François Habeneck

"Because of my habitual suspicion, I had posted myself behind [conductor François] Habeneck. With my back to his, I was watching the group of timpani players, which he could not see, as the moment approached when they were to take part in the general mêlée. There are perhaps a thousand bars in my Requiem. At precisely the point I have been speaking of, when the tempo broadens and the brass instruments launch their awesome fanfare, in the one bar where the role of the conductor is absolutely indispensable, Habeneck lowered his baton, quietly pulled out his snuff box and started to take a pinch of snuff. I was still looking in his direction. Immediately I pivoted on my heels, rushed in front of him, stretched out my arms and indicated the four main beats of the new tempo. The orchestras followed me, everything went off as planned, I continued to conduct to the end of the piece, and the effect I had dreamed of was achieved. When at the last words of the chorus Habeneck saw that the Tuba mirum was saved: "What a cold sweat I had, "he said, "without you we were lost!"  Yes, I know very well," I replied, looking straight at him. I did not add a word … Did he do it on purpose?… "

Day of wrath, that day

the earth will dissolve in ashes,

as witness David and the Sibyl.

What dread there will be,

when the Judge shall come

to strictly judge all things.

A trumpet, spreading a wondrous sound

Through the graves of all lands,

Will drive mankind before the throne.

Death and Nature shall be astonished

When all creation rises again

To answer to the Judge.

A book that is written in will be brought forth

In which is contained everything that is,

Out of which the world shall be judged.

When the judge takes his seat

Whatever is hidden will reveal itself.

Nothing will remain unavenged.

3) Quid Sum Miser

A short movement that conjures up the after effects of Judgement Day by including fragments of the dies irae that sound in the orchestra as the choir sings the text.

What then shall I say, wretch that I am,

What advocate will entreat to speak for me,

When even the righteous may hardly be secure?

Remember, blessed Jesu,

That I am the cause of Your pilgrimage.

Do not forsake me on that day.

I pray in supplication on my knees.

My heart contrite as the dust,

Take care of my end.

4) Rex Tremendae

The music begins by sounding majestic, and then changes to pleading. This alternation of moods runs throughout the movement. The movement ends with one last plea for saving from the abyss.

King of awful majesty.

Who freely saves the redeemed,

Save me, O fount of goodness.

Remember, blessed Jesu,

That I am the cause of Your pilgrimage.

Do not forsake me on that day.

When the accursed have been confounded (Jesu)

And given over to the bitter flames.

Call me...

And from the bottomless pit.

Deliver me from the lion's mouth.

Lest I fall into darkness

And the black abyss swallow me up.

5) Quaerens Me

This movement is performed by the choir without orchestra.  A middle section is in multiple part counterpoint. The music ends gently.

Seeking me You did sit down weary

You did redeem me, suffering death on the cross.

Let no such toil be in vain.

Just and avenging Judge.

Grant remission

Before the day of reckoning.

I groan like a guilty man.

Spare a suppliant, O God.

My prayers are not worthy,

But You in Your merciful goodness grant

That I burn not in everlasting fire.

You who did absolve Mary Magdalen

And hearken to the thief,

To me also has given hope.

Place me among Your sheep

And separate me from the goats.

Setting me on your right hand.

6) Lacrymosa

A restless rhythmic pulse begins the movement, and the texture of the music grows in density, passion and volume until the 4 brass choirs join in (for the last time in the work) near the end of the movement for a climax that fades to silence to end the movement.

Mournful that day

When from the dust shall rise

Guilty man to be judged

Merciful Jesu, Lord

Grant them eternal rest.

7) Domine Jesu Christe

The chorus sings a three-note motive throughout the movement that consists of but two different notes- A, B-flat, A. Berlioz added a subtitle to this movement in the second edition of the Requiem  -Choeur des âmes du purgatoire (chorus of the souls in purgatory) which was removed from the third edition.  The orchestra plays various themes in counterpoint over the chorus' mournful chanting. This movement struck many of Berlioz's contemporaries with its form and the effect of the chorus' incessant chant.  The movement winds down with the mood of the music changing as the choir finally changes their chant to a different theme. The three-note motive returns, except this time the notes are A, B natural, A, and are sung to an amen.

Lord Jesus Christ, King of glory,
deliver the souls of all the
faithful departed from the pains
of hell and from the bottomless pit.
And let St. Michael Your standard
bearer lead them into the holy
light which once You did promise
to Abraham and his seed,
Lord Jesus Christ. Amen.

8) Hostias

An example of Berlioz's feel for orchestral color is in the scoring of this short movement for male voices, flutes, trombones and strings. The ending of this movement has some of the most unique sounds heard in the orchestra as the trombones play very low notes that alternate with the high notes of the flute.

We offer unto You
this sacrifice of prayer and praise.
Receive it for those souls
whom today we commemorate.

9) Sanctus

This movement features a solo tenor that begins the movement and is answered by the female voices of the choir until the choir sings a fugue on Hosanna. The tenor returns along with the women's choir.  The Hosanna fugue returns and ends the movement.

Holy, holy, holy, God of Hosts.
Heaven and earth are full
of Your glory. Hosanna in the highest.

10) Angus Dei

Woodwind chords that are repeated by the violas begin this movement. Berlioz brings back themes and orchestral effects heard in the other movements, with an extended repeat (with some variations) of much of the first movement. The movement ends with a series of peaceful amens from the choir and gentle taps from the timpani.

Lamb of God, who takes away the sins
of the world, grant them eternal rest.
You, O God, are praised in Zion
and unto You shall the vow be
performed in Jerusalem. Hear my
prayer, unto You shall all flesh come.
Grant the dead eternal rest,
O Lord, and may perpetual light shine
on them, with Your saints for ever,
Lord, because You are merciful.
Amen. 

Berlioz - Harold In Italy

After a performance 1833 of his Symphonie Fantastique and other works, Hector Berlioz was approached by Nicolo Paganini with a request to write a piece for viola and orchestra for him.  Paganini had just obtained a  Stradivarius viola and wanted to show it off in a concerto.  Berlioz began the concerto, but when Paganini saw the first movement he complained that there were far too many rests for the viola, that he needed to be playing constantly throughout the concerto.

Paganini lost interest in the work, and Berlioz didn't have much interest in writing a piece for Paganini to show off with. Berlioz continued in the direction the music was taking him. It became a set of scenes for orchestra and viola obbligato that were based on Lord Byron's popular poem Childe Harold's Pilgrimage.  Byron's work is a long poem that describes the travels of a world-weary young man. Much of the poem is thought to be autobiographical as Byron himself wandered Europe and the Mediterranean area also. Berlioz used the poem very loosely as inspiration for his piece. He used his travels in Italy in 1830 in combination with the general feeling of the poem  to devise the four orchestral scenes.
The four scenes are :

• Harold in the mountains -A portrait of the hero, against a background of extraordinarily evocative and varied nature-painting.
• March Of The Pilgrims
• Serenade - An Abruzzi mountaineer plays a serenade to his mistress.
• Orgy of the Brigands -A furious orgy wherein wine, blood, joy, all combined, parade their intoxication-where the rhythm sometimes seems to stumble along, sometimes to rush on in fury, and the brass seems to vomit forth curses and to answer prayer with blasphemies; where they laugh, drink, fight, destroy, violate, and utterly run riot.

Berlioz ended up with nothing like a concerto for viola, but one of his most poetic and lyrical pieces, which is in keeping with Berlioz's reported fondness for the viola. The viola in one sense is an instrument that has attracted some composers over the years because it usually helps to flesh out the harmony whenever it is used. Bach and Mozart both enjoyed playing the instrument in ensemble for this reason. Composers are inspired and gifted individuals, and the great ones are also great craftsmen. So it makes sense that they would like getting inside the music this way.

The viola is also much more than just a bigger violin. Theoretically it should fall between the violin and cello in size and string length, but if it were made true to this scale it would be unplayable on the arm and be very awkward to play like a cello. To compensate for the fact that the strings are not as long as they need be, they are of a thicker diameter and the body is smaller. This gives the viola a more nasal and distinctive tone than the violin, while still being able to blend with the other string instruments The very fact that the viola is a 'compromise' is what makes it unique, and no doubt was the reason for Berlioz being fond of it.

The solo viola wanders through the scenes for orchestra, commenting on the happenings and stating its own special theme called an idee fixe by Berlioz.  

The first performance of the work was a disaster that Berlioz blamed on shoddy conducting by the conductor Girard.. After this fiasco, Berlioz himself conducted most of his own music.  And what of Paganini?  He never did get his viola concerto from Berlioz, never played the work, and he didn't hear Harold In Italy until 1838. When he did hear it, he was overwhelmed, heaped praise upon Berlioz and gave him a gift of 20,000 francs!

Read what Berlioz said about Harold In Italy in this chapter from his Memoirs

Berlioz - Symphonie Fantastique

Hector Berlioz (1803 - 1869)  began to compose Symphonie Fantastique, An Episode in The Life Of An Artist, In Five Parts in 1827 after he saw the famous English/Irish actress Harriet Smithson on stage as Ophelia in Shakespeare's play Hamlet. Berlioz fell deeply in love with her and wrote the symphony in her honor.  Berlioz constantly sent her love letters but they didn't actually meet until 1832 when Berlioz managed to give her some tickets through a mutual friend to an upcoming concert. She went, and after she realized that she had inspired the music, they were wed in 1833.

Berlioz distributed a program at the premiere of the symphony. There is no better way to learn what's behind the symphony than to read the program Berlioz provided:

Part one

Daydreams, passions

  The author imagines that a young musician, afflicted by the sickness of spirit which a famous writer has called the vagueness of passions (le vague des passions), sees for the first time a woman who unites all the charms of the ideal person his imagination was dreaming of, and falls desperately in love with her. By a strange anomaly, the beloved image never presents itself to the artist’s mind without being associated with a musical idea, in which he recognises a certain quality of passion, but endowed with the nobility and shyness which he credits to the object of his love.  This melodic image and its model keep haunting him ceaselessly like a double idée fixe. This explains the constant recurrence in all the movements of the symphony of the melody which launches the first allegro. The transitions from this state of dreamy melancholy, interrupted by occasional upsurges of aimless joy, to delirious passion, with its outbursts of fury and jealousy, its returns of tenderness, its tears, its religious consolations – all this forms the subject of the first movement.

Part two
A ball

The artist finds himself in the most diverse situations in life, in the tumult of a festive party, in the peaceful contemplation of the beautiful sights of nature, yet everywhere, whether in town or in the countryside, the beloved image keeps haunting him and throws his spirit into confusion.

Part three
Scene in the countryside

One evening in the countryside he hears two shepherds in the distance as they dialog with their ‘ranz des vaches’; this pastoral duet, the setting, the gentle rustling of the trees in the wind, some causes for hope that he has recently conceived, all conspire to restore to his heart an unaccustomed feeling of calm and to give to his thoughts a happier colouring. He broods on his loneliness, and hopes that soon he will no longer be on his own… But what if she betrayed him!… This mingled hope and fear, these ideas of happiness, disturbed by dark premonitions, form the subject of the adagio. At the end one of the shepherds resumes his ‘ranz des vaches’; the other one no longer answers. Distant sound of thunder… solitude… silence…

Part four
March to the scaffold

Convinced that his love is spurned, the artist poisons himself with opium. The dose of narcotic, while too weak to cause his death, plunges him into a heavy sleep accompanied by the strangest of visions. He dreams that he has killed his beloved, that he is condemned, led to the scaffold and is witnessing his own execution. The procession advances to the sound of a march that is sometimes sombre and wild, and sometimes brilliant and solemn, in which a dull sound of heavy footsteps follows without transition the loudest outbursts. At the end of the march, the first four bars of the idée fixe reappear like a final thought of love interrupted by the fatal blow.

Part five
Dream of a witches’ sabbath

He sees himself at a witches’ sabbath, in the midst of a hideous gathering of shades, sorcerers and monsters of every kind who have come together for his funeral. Strange sounds, groans, outbursts of laughter; distant shouts which seem to be answered by more shouts. The beloved melody appears once more, but has now lost its noble and shy character; it is now no more than a vulgar dance tune, trivial and grotesque: it is she who is coming to the sabbath… Roar of delight at her arrival… She joins the diabolical orgy… The funeral knell tolls, burlesque parody of the Dies irae, the dance of the witches. The dance of the witches combined with the Dies irae.

**********

Berlioz planned the premiere of the symphony long before it was finished. He worked feverishly to finish the work and rehearse it enough to perform it in May of 1830.  He cobbled the score together, led a few rehearsals before everyone involved deemed it not ready for performance. Berlioz again took up the score, and it had it's premiere in December of 1830 with only two rehearsals!  Nonetheless, the symphony was a success.

It is difficult to know how many composers were influenced by the symphony. It was a very new and daring piece of music in its day. The form of the symphony (inspired by Beethoven's 6th symphony 'the Pastoral ' which is in five movements), the harmonies, the use of  the idée fixe which was further developed by Liszt and Wagner as the Lietmotif , and above all the orchestration of the piece,  all were signs that music was changing.   The  sound of Berlioz's orchestra comes from many causes, but one of the main ones is that Berlioz was not a pianist. Composers who are pianists tend to think in pianistic terms as far as spacing of parts, harmony and form. Even when writing for orchestra many composers make a piano outline of the work. Berlioz did not compose in this way. His musical instrument was the guitar, an instrument where there is a choice of which string will play certain notes. While a note may be the same pitch played on two different strings, the tonal color will be more or less different because of the diameter of the string. Subtle though this distinction may be, in aggregate spread over the large orchestra Berlioz calls for, it can make a difference in pure sound.

Oh, and did Berlioz and his beloved live happily ever after? Hardly. By the time Smithson got around to noticing Berlioz and marrying him she had lost her popularity and was deeply in debt. Berlioz for his part grew tired of his idee fixe  rather fast for being so much in love. They divorced after eight bitter, unhappy years of marriage.

Berlioz - Les Nuits d'été (Summer Nights)

The works of Hector Berlioz that are most well known are works that display his flair for orchestral color such as the  Symphonie Fantastique.  He also composed many works for voice; opera, choral works and songs for soloist. His most popular work for solo voice is set to poems by French poet Théophile Gautier, a neighbor and friend to Berlioz.  The songs were set to poems taken from Gautier's book La comédie de la mort (The Comedy of Death). Berlioz came up with the title Les Nuits d'été for the set of six songs but it is unclear why he used the name.

The songs were written for mezzo-soprano or tenor with piano accompaniment in 1841. He eventually orchestrated all six by 1856 and it is in this form that they are usually heard. The first version with piano accompaniment was not very popular due to the ineffective piano part. Berlioz was not a pianist, a rare thing for composers of his time. His instrument was the guitar, which freed his orchestrations up from the influence of the piano. His orchestrations are for what was a modest orchestra for Berlioz, and his deft use of orchestral color has made this version of the songs one of his most popular works for solo voice.

Country Song
When the new season comes,
When the cold has vanished,
We will both go, my lovely,
To gather lily of the valley.
Gathering the pearls underfoot,
That one sees shimmering in the morning,
We will hear the blackbirds
Whistle.

Spring has come, my lovely,
It is the month blessed by lovers;
And the bird, preening his wing,
Speaks verse from the edge of his nest.
Oh! come now to this mossy bank
To talk of our beautiful love,
And say to me in your sweet voice:
"Always!"

Théophile Gautier

Far, far away, straying from our path,
Causing the hidden rabbit to flee
And the deer, in the mirror of the spring
Bending to admire his great antlers,
Then home, completely happy and at ease,
Our hands entwined round the basket,
Returning carrying strawberries
From the wood.

The Spectre Of The Rose
Open your closed eyelids
Touched by a virginal dream!
I am the ghost of a rose
That you wore yesterday at the ball.
You took me, still pearly
With silver tears, from the watering can,
And in the starlit party,
You carried me all evening.

O you who caused my death
Without being able to chase it away
Every night my rose-colored spectre
Will dance by your bedside.
But fear not, I claim neither
Mass nor De Profundis.
This light scent is my soul
And I come from Paradise

My destiny is enviable
And to have a fate so beautiful
More than one would have given his life;
For on your breast I have my tomb,
And on the alabaster on which I repose
A poet with a kiss
Wrote, "Here lies a rose
Of which all kings will be jealous."

On The Lagoons: Lament
My beautiful love is dead,
I shall weep forever;
Into the grave she takes
My soul and my love.
To Heaven, without waiting for me,
She has returned;
The angel who took her
Did not want to take me.
How bitter is my fate!
Ah! Without love to go over the sea!

The white creature
Lies in a coffin;
How all of nature
Seems to me in mourning!
The forgotten dove
Weeps and dreams of the absent one.
My soul weeps and feels
That it is deserted!
How bitter is my fate!
Ah! Without love to go over the sea!

Over me the vast night
Spreads like a shroud.
I sing my song
That only Heaven hears:
Ah! How beautiful she was
And how I loved her!
I shall never love
A woman as much as her…
How bitter is my fate!
Ah! Without love to go over the sea!

Absence
Come back, come back, my beloved!
Like a flower far from the sun,
The flower of my life is closed
Far from your bright red smile!

Between our hearts what a distance!
So much of space between our kisses!
O bitter fate! O harsh absence!
O great desires unappeased!

Come back, come back, my beautiful beloved!
Like a flower far from the sun,
The flower of my life is closed
Far from your bright red smile!

Between here and there what fields,
What towns and hamlets,
What valleys and mountains,
To tire the hoofs of the horses.

Come back, come back, my beautiful beloved!
Like a flower far from the sun,
The flower of my life is closed
Far from your bright red smile!

The Cemetery: Moonlight
Do you know the white tomb,
Where there floats with a plaintive sound
The shadow of a yew tree?
On the yew a pale dove
Sitting sad and alone at sunset,
Sings its song:

An air morbidly tender
At once charming and deadly,
That hurts you
And that one would like to hear for ever
An air like the sigh in Heaven
Of a loving angel.

One might say that an awakened soul
Weeps under the ground in unison
With the song,
And for the misfortune of being forgotten
Complains, cooing
Very softly.

On the wings of the music
One feels slowly returning
A memory.
A shadow, an angelic form
Passes in a shimmering ray
In a white veil.

The belle de nuit flowers, half closed,
Cast their weak and sweet scent
Around you,
And the ghost in a gentle pose
Murmurs, stretching its arms to you:
Will you return?

Oh! Never again by the grave
Will I go, when evening falls
In a black cloak,
To hear the pale dove
Singing at the top of the yew
Its plaintive song.

The Undiscovered Isle
Tell me, young beauty,
Where do you want to go?
The sail swells its wing,
The breeze begins to blow.

The oar is of ivory,
The flag is of moire,
The rudder of fine gold;
I have for ballast an orange,
For sail an angel's wing
For cabin boy a seraph.

Tell me, young beauty,
Where do you want to go?
The sail swells its wing,
The breeze begins to blow.

Is it to the Baltic?
To the Pacific Ocean?
The isle of Java?
Or perhaps to Norway,
To pick the snow-flower
Or the flower of Angsoka?

Tell, me, tell me, young beauty, tell me, where do you want to go?

Take me, says the beautiful one,
To the faithful shore
Where one loves for ever!
That shore, my dear,
Is almost unknown In the land of love.

Where do you want to go?
The breeze begins to blow .

Berlioz - Les Francs-Juges Overture

The earliest composition for orchestra by Hector Berlioz that is still in the repertoire is the overture to his opera Les Francs-Juges.  Berlioz wrote the opera to a libretto by Humbert Ferrand, a close friend of Berlioz. The name means The Free Judges  and refers to trials held in medieval Germany by a fraternal order of lay judges, or free judges. These Vehmic courts operated in the area of Westphalia in Germany, and sometimes held trials in secret.  They were one of the few organizations that derived their power directly from the Holy Roman Emperor and as such had the power to use the death penalty.

Berlioz tried to get the opera performed shortly after its composition in 1826, but funding was not available to stage it. He revised the opera twice and tried to get it performed, but after 1833 he destroyed most of the work except for the overture and a few excerpts.  The plot of the opera concerns a wicked uncle that tries to cheat his nephew out of his throne and beautiful fiancee. The nephew is brought before the Free Judges who convene in The Black Forest in Germany, and is sentenced to death. The fiancee manages to escape the clutches of the evil uncle and save her beloved.

Berlioz wrote the overture while he was still a student at the Conservatiore and was unsure that his writing for

Humbert Ferrand

the trombone was playable. Berlioz years later wrote,

I was at that time so ignorant of the mechanism of some of the instruments that after I had written the trombone solo in the Introduction in the key of D flat, I feared it might be too difficult to play. So I took it to one of the trombone players of the Opéra who examined it and reassured me by saying that ‘D flat as it happens is one of the best keys for the instrument, and you may count on the passage having a grand effect’.

 The orchestra begins with a slow introduction that includes loud music from the brass that perhaps represents the Free Judges convening. The rest of the overture has main themes that are presented and developed in Berlioz's own style of sonata form.
Berlioz was also one of the great orchestral conductors of his era, and he performed Les Francs-Juges Overture many times in his career.

Even at this early time in his career, Berlioz's penchant for large forces and novel orchestration is evident in this work. Berlioz's reputation for using large forces grew and when Berlioz visited Vienna Prince Klemens von Metternich asked him, “Is it not you who writes for an orchestra of 500 players?” Berlioz replied, “Not always, Monseigneur, I sometimes write for only 450.”

Berlioz - Roman Carnival Overture

In many ways Hector Berlioz was unique among the 19th century classical composers. He was not a child prodigy and only began his musical studies at the age of 12. He was groomed by his father (who was a physician) for a career in medicine, so he was discouraged from learning the piano in his youth and never learned to play the instrument. He learned the guitar and flute on his own, and never had any formal training in harmony and trained himself with text books.

In the France of Berlioz's day there was a government scholarship for artists called the Prix de Rome. It was originally for painters and sculptors but was extended to include music composition in 1803. Many French composers vied for the scholarship as the winner traveled to study at the French Academy in Rome for two years with all expenses paid by the French government. The entrants had to compose a fugue and a cantata to a text supplied by the judges, a group of conservative French musicians. There was also a pension provided to the winner for the duration of their study, which was one of the reasons Berlioz applied for the prize. He tried four different times before he finally won in 1830. This was after he had composed and premiered the first version of the piece he is most well-known for, his Symphonie Fantastique. 

While Berlioz composed very little music while in Rome (he detested the city and took every opportunity to travel

Bust of Benvenuto Cellini

elsewhere in the country), he came to love the surrounding countryside which served to inspire much of his later music such as Harold In Italy. An expectation for a returning Prix de Rome winner was the composition of an opera. Berlioz's first operatic effort was Benvenuto Cellini, with the libretto based on the autobiography of the 16th-century sculptor, poet and musician. Berlioz looked upon Cellini as a kindred spirit which acted as an inspiration to the composer. The opera was premiered in 1838 and received four performances before the rest of the scheduled ones were canceled, as the opera was a complete failure. Berlioz drastically revised the score for a revival of the opera under the direction of Franz Liszt, and made further revisions for another performance by Liszt in 1852 and the opera became a success.  

After the initial premiere of 1838 (and before the successful revival of 1852), not wanting to let some of good tunes go to waste that he had composed,  Berlioz composed a stand-alone overture from some of the themes of the opera in 18.  He called it Le Carnaval Romain  (The Roman Carnival). The second act of the opera does take place in a carnival in Rome. The opening of the overture is a fragment of a saltarello  from the original opera. Berlioz then uses music from a love duet of the opera played by the English horn. He then quotes some choral music, where upon the opening saltarello returns and combines in a dialogue with the love theme. The saltarello overpowers the love theme, and the music gets wilder and wilder until the brass and woodwind loudly trills out the final chord with the strings. 

The Roman Carnival Overture was a success for the composer, and it was used as a prelude to the second act of Benvenuto Cellini in its revival, but it did have its detractors. Berlioz's music could be wild in content and unique in orchestration. His knack for orchestral innovation was not always easy for listeners to comprehend, nor was it easily understood by some contemporary conductors and musicians. Indeed, Berlioz became a conductor initially because he was so dissatisfied with the way his music was performed. As with so many other aspects of this composer, he was self-taught as a conductor.  But through hard work and natural ability, he became one of the best conductors of his era as well as being one of the most important and influential composers of the Romantic era.