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Hector Berlioz (1803-1869)
One of the differences between literature and music is the way it is precipitated by its audience. Literature acts through words, thus our conscious mind, to produce feelings and thoughts; Music does not require any conscious effort of the audience to feel. Anyone hearing Albinoni’s Adagio feels its somber mood. However, poems have the ability of producing mental images, they describe and enhance our visual understanding of the scene which the poem is played upon. Many efforts has been made to insert thematic illustrations in music. The first ones being operas, and other form of music including songs. But the best form without any human language that can actually make the audience to hear a colorful story in pure music is symphonic poem. The actual inventor of symphonic poem is Franz Liszt, the Hungarian composer who is most famous for his rhapsodies and liebestraums. However, every creative form in music, like scientific theories, are built upon some older forms. There is a symphony which shows many qualities of symphonic poem before Liszt’s, it is the Fantastic symphony by Hector Berlioz. Symphonie fantastique, is the popular name for An Episode in the Life of an Artist, (Op. 14). This peace written in 1830, is composer’s imaginary autobiography. It has 5 movements, which the first 3 is probably based on an episode in Berlioz’s true life. The other 2 are imaginary epilogue to this real story. The motivation and the story of this peace is the passion of the artist to Harriet Smithson, an actress whom Berlioz saw first on stage, playing Ophelia. The first movement (Rêveries – Passions) clearly describes the feelings of the artist, which is deeply in love (and all the feelings that follows when you don’t get her! Berlioz wrote to Smithson many times and got no answers, actually). This movement is a breakthrough in symphony writing, for it’s romantic scheme and non symmetrical harmonizing. The second movement is also a creative one, it has a waltz within the movement. The name A Ball, clearly describes the presence of the artist in a ceremony, and the dance which follows. The movement starts with a stressful theme, followed by a waltz (in ¾ scale like all other waltzes, hear Chopin’s to compare). The melody of passions continue to repeat in this movement, producing the sensation that wherever the artist goes, the feeling follows him. The third movement, which is the most complex, produce an image of the country. The stillness and solitude surrounding the artist. I didn’t quiet understood this movement, so here is the program notes of Berlioz himself about it:“One evening in the countryside he hears two shepherds in the distance dialoguing 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” From the forth movement, March to the Scaffold, the story goes beyond reality, It is dreamlike. The artist kills his love, and he is executed after a march to his death site. The last part of this movement represents the moment of the blade fall. In the fifth movement, his soul is tortured by witches and other dead. The Totentanz by Liszt is transcribed from the demonic melody of this movement. The movement finishes in pain when the passion joins not for comfort, but for more agony. Despite the tragic end of his symphony, Berlioz had the chance to live, to play his symphony in public, and finally after 5 years, gain the trust of Harriet, and marry her!(note to the reader: don’t give up hope!), and it draw attention of composers like Liszt, Mendelssohn, and others. Liszt’s Ein-Faust symphony, Dante Divina comedia Symphony and some other works are probably inspired by this work. Mendelssohn Fingal's Cave and other compositions has the form of symphonic poem. Symphonic poem is a good form of classical music for amateur listeners, it helps to watch the meaning and story in a music and get used to plural melodies at the same time. For those who are aiming to enjoy operas, peaces mentioned above are excellent warm ups. Enjoy the feeling, to be told a story without hearing a single word.
Arootin Gharibyan
