jan 1, 1830 - Symphonie Fantastique

Description:

Berlioz’s Fantastic First Symphony
1. The Symphonie fantastique aligns with many aspects of Romanticism, particularly the
grotesque and supernatural.
2. The “hero” of the five-movement symphony is a musician (“un artiste”), who is in love
with a woman. She is represented by the idée fixe.
3. The Symphonie fantastique is considered autobiographical, but the extent of its relevance is unknown.
4. The program to Symphonie fantastique circulated prior to the premiere. This was
unusual because most performances did not even have anything like a program or notes
distributed at the concert itself.
5. The five-movement work harkens back to Beethoven’s Sixth.
6. The orchestra required was larger than any that had been needed outside of an opera house.
a. Woodwinds are particularly prominent, noticeably the four bassoons and new types of clarinets.
b. Four harps are required in the score.
c. Berlioz wanted an orchestra of 220 performers, but only had 130 at the
premiere.
7. The manner in which the instruments play was also novel.
a. Berlioz published a manual on orchestration in 1843.

Following the Idée Fixe
1. Berlioz’s use of a motive to cause the listener to remember a particular character derives from opera.
2. Here it is a physiological reaction.
3. The appearance of the idée fixe at various times functions as a juxtaposition of “real
time” and “aria time,” and draws the listener’s attention to a specific “moment out of time” that was characteristic in opera of the period, but not instrumental music.
4. The Fifth movement includes the Dies irae to represent the sacred, including an academia represented by counterpoint.
Discriminating Romanticisms
1. Schumann’s longest critique was devoted to the Symphonie fantastique.
2. Schumann did not focus on the program, but on the music independent of the program.
3. Schumann finally stated that music should require some involvement on the part of the
listener, whether with the program or not.
4. Berlioz did not write another detailed program for instrumental pieces after this one

Rough Plot Overview of the work:
1st movement: falls in love
2nd: main character cannot take mind off of love despite the beautiful nature around him
3rd: broods lovesick while two shepherds sing a pastoral-like duet in the background
4th: the artist poisons himself with narcotics
5th: sees himself at a witch's sabbath, which is his own funeral

Key terms:

idée fixe: an idea or desire that dominates the mind; an obsession

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