Page 214 - ESSENTIAL LISTENING TO MUSIC

Berlioz had envisioned an orchestra of 220 players for his Symphonie fan- tastique but had to settle for about 100 at its first definitive performance. The important thing, however, is not how many instrumentalists play but how they sound. Berlioz has orchestrated his score in a radically new and colorful way, one full of sonic special effects. In “March to the Scaffold” (see Listening Cue and Example 12.2), he re-creates the sounds of the French military bands that he heard as a boy during the Napoleonic Wars.
Example 12.2 > “march to the scaffold”
To the beat of a march tempo, exceptionally heavy low brass instruments blare forth (at 2:04), a new sound for a symphony orchestra, one created by the addition of the ophicleide (tuba). More striking, at 2:11 Berlioz assigns to each and every note of a descending scale a different instrumental color. And he writes his climax—drum roll, please—with a crescendo and snare drum announcing the fall of the guillotine. So graphically does Berlioz orchestrate this moment that we hear the severed head of the lover thud on the ground: a musical first (and last).
listening Cue
Hector Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique (1830) Download 36 Fourth movement, “March to the Scaffold”
what to listen for: Rousing marches and an execution at the guillotine—program music at its most graphic—all brought off by a brilliantly inventive orchestration. At the end repeated brass chords signal the cheer of the crowd— executions were once spectator sports!
LiSTeN TO . . . Example 12.2 online.
192
reAD . . . a detailed Listening Guide of this selection online.
LiSTeN TO . . . this selection streaming online.
WATCH . . . an Active Listening Guide of this selection online.
DO . . . Listening Exercise 12.1, Berlioz, Symphonie fantastique, “March to the Scaffold,” online.
fifth movement: dream of the witches’ sabbath
Program: He sees himself at the witches’ sabbath surrounded by a troop of frightful shadows, sorcerers, and monsters of all sorts, gathered for his funeral. Strange noises, groans, bursts of laughter, distant cries echoed by others. The beloved melody returns again, but it has lost its noble, modest character and is now only base, trivial, and grotesque. An outburst of joy at her arrival; she joins in the devilish orgy.
chapter twelve romantic orchestral music
Copyright 201 Cengage Learning. All Rights Reserved. May not be copied, scanned, or duplicated, in whole or in part. Due to electronic rights, some third party content may be suppressed from the eBook and/or eChapter(s). Editorial review has deemed that any suppressed content does not materially affect the overall learning experience. Cengage Learning reserves the right to remove additional content at any time if subsequent rights restrictions require it.
56797_ch12_ptg01.indd 192 29/08/14 3:36 PM