I. Rêveries – Passions (Daydreams – Passions)
II. Un bal (A ball)
III. Scène aux champs (Scene in the Country)
IV. Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold)
V. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (Dream of a Witches' Sabbath)
This composition is considered by many to be one of the greatest orchestral works of the 19th century. Why? Probably due to the innovative and imaginative approach Berlioz took, and it's interesting back-story.
In the 19th Century, as Europe's city's bustled and were industrialized, they enjoyed increased population, expansion, and pollution. It is no wonder that one of the favorite themes of the Romantic's was nature. Many Romantics sough to convey and celebrate the concepts of "Man vs. Nature" and the "Artist as Hero."
Berlioz is no exeption. Symphonie Fatastique was not only his magnum opus, but autobiographical.
In writing this work, Belioz's muse was an Irish actor named Harriet Smithson, whom he fell madly in love with and quickly became obsessed with. Berlioz created a theme, or short musical melody, meant to represent her. It is hauntingly beautiful, and based on a song sang in his youth. Using that same theme throughout all five movements of this massive work, and reworking it differently for each mood and context, serves as the compositional glue that binds the whole together.
With it's themes of obsessive love, nature, drugs, fantasy, self-reference, and execution, this work still manages to ring true over 180 years later. How is this piece like modern music? Can you think of examples of modern music that many can identify with? How did the composer/singer/writer achieve that?
In class, you will see an episode of an excellent program called Keeping Score with the San Francisco Symphony and Maestro Michael Tilson Thomas. The video will take up the entire class time, so we will not hold a discussion. Please make sure you arrive to class on time, or early.
In many ways, Berlioz was an innovator. He wrote the work in five movements, as opposed to just the original four, and for a larger, louder orchestra than ever before. Obviously he intended to make an impact on a grand scale. Can you think of modern innovators in music, art, literature, or science that can be compared to Berlioz?
Connections and Directions:
- Nature in Art
- Obsession
- Autobiographical Arts
- Controversial Innovators
