Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique…A Work Worth Knowing?
Hector Berlioz was a man with a story to tell. In his Symphony Fantastique, whose premiere was on December 5, 1830 in Paris, France, Berlioz told a story of a man in love, a man whose intense emotional desires led him to poison himself with opium. This dose, which was not lethal enough to kill him, caused him to witness his own execution and to see himself at a witches’ sabbath. After reading this opinion piece found in the Times Digital Achieves written by the Times music critic Richard Morrison, I was struck by details about the symphony that Morrison recounted in which I would like to elaborate on further.
This title of the article is “20 classical works you should know” and was published on September 20, 2013. The article lists some other favorites such as Monteverdi’s L’Orfeo, Handel’s Messiah, Beethoven’s Ninth Symphony, and Stravinsky’s The Rite of Spring, and Morrison placed Berlioz’s Symphony Fantastique at number 10. The article gives brief descriptions for each work which causes Morrison to not clearly explain why he placed Symphony Fantastique squarely in the middle of history’s greatest classical works, but the details he leaves us allow room for discussion of the composition and premiere itself.
The first detail that Morrison mention was the fact that Berlioz composed for the “largest orchestra ever assembled” at the time. This fact seems to hold up and has some interesting controversy behind it. In Berlioz’s recount of the intended premiere for the Symphony Fantastique on May 5, 1830, Berlioz stated he “engaged a further eighty players” in addition to the 50 musicians employed by the Théâtre des Nouveautés where the premiere was supposed to take place. Berlioz’s ideal Symphony ultimately would have consisted of 248 musicians which is an absurd number for any musical project but he was left with a measly 130. Untimely this premiere was cancelled due to the sheer size of the orchestra, lack of logistical planning regarding space, seats, and stands, and owners who had “no idea so many arrangements were required for a symphony.” The premiere in turn was delayed by eight months. The grand scale of this work seems to be a reason Morrison rates it highly.
Another detail Morrison hinted at is this idea of obsession felt in the Symphony. Morrison mentioned Berlioz’s love fascination Harriet Smith and how he poured these fervent emotions for her into this “extraordinary orchestral melodrama.” This melodrama is heard throughout the work and manifests itself in the musical thought of the woman the protagonist is deeply in love with. This theme is called the idée fix. Whether it be at an elegant ball, in the bucolic countryside, at the scaffold of decapitation, or at the witches’ sabbath, this thought is the main driving force behind the audience’s perception of the protagonist’s emotions. I would go as far as to argue that obsession is the main foundation of the entire work. The protagonist poisons himself with opium because of his false deception he felt after thinking his love, who we have no idea he has even interacted with, deems his love for her unappreciated and his obsession is felt from the first to the uncommon fifth movement of the work. As for Berlioz, he ultimately married and divorced Harriet Smith. The emotional aspect adds to Morrison’s argument.
The last detail Morrison mentioned was how Berlioz used “instruments in combinations that shocked his Paris Conservatoire professors.” A specific moment that this is heard is in the fifth movement which takes place at the witches’ sabbath. Berlioz implemented an instrument he thought was absolutely horrid sounding. The serpent, which Berlioz stated was “cold and abominable,” is heard in combination with church bells and the ophicleide. Berlioz uses these instruments to communicate the Dies irae, which is a religious theme that tells of the Day of Wrath. Talk about being sacrilegious. Also in this movement, Berlioz has the strings play con lento (with the wood) to represent devilish starches which I found interesting. This instrumental combination and usage of the Dies irae in a manner which could be interpreted as disrespectful conveys how far Berlioz was willing to push this work to achieve his musical goals.
Morrison, as mentioned earlier, offers brief details regarding his placement of the Symphony Fantastique on his list. My main question, and I guess ultimate goal in writing this, was to understand and further elaborate on Morrison’s concise points and his interpretation of musical details. I for one am a fairly recent discoverer of this magnificent symphony, but after learning more about it, I would argue it is a most know classical work because of the elements mentioned here and the various others left to be discussed (there is a lot to talk about). I especially appreciate Leonard Bernstein’s remark on how “Berlioz tells it like it is.” How else would we find a story of a man in love finding his way to a witches’ sabbath? Berlioz sure knows how to tell a story.
#mus 130b
