Symphonie Fantastique (Fantastical Symphony) by Hector Berlioz
Symphonie Fantastique (Fantastical Symphony) written by the French composer Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) in 1830. It is an important piece of the early Romantic period. The first performance was at the Paris Conservatoire on 5th December 1830. In 1833, Franz Liszt made a piano transcription of the symphony. The symphony contains five movements which tells the story of an artist`s self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman. (Barzun, 2020)
IV. Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold)
In the fourth movement Berlioz begins to reveal the sinister side of his imagination. The artist poisons himself with opium which did not kill him, instead it plunges him into a deep, heavy sleep accompanied with strange visions. He dreams that he killed his beloved, then he condemned and finally brought to the scaffold and executed. The movement proceeds as a march which sometimes sombre and wild, and sometimes brilliant and solemn. It filled with blaring horns, rushing passages, and scurrying figures which later returns in the last movements.
The fourth movement begins with an introduction where the lower strings establish a foreboding beat. The timpani play sextuplet rhythm and the horn plays an answering phrase which based on the March Theme. This opening evokes a sense of impending doom as the crowd are approaching and demanding his execution. The intensity builds as we move to the exposition and our first theme which is a two-octave descending scale in cellos and basses played in monophonic texture. This two-octave descending theme returns with the violas join in harmony, while the bassoon has countermelody in polyphonic texture which rises before falling away. The third and fourth repetition of the theme can be heard in the violin lines and the countermelody played by the viola and cello in polyphonic texture. The timpani also return, and the brass and woodwind punctuate the music with fortissimo chords. After a short transition, the first theme repeats again, this time in the double bass and cello played in pizzicato. The upper strings are also playing the theme in inversion (contrary motion) and in pizzicato as well. The quaver idea moves to the bassoon and the procession to the guillotine continues. The second theme (March Theme) is introduced. It is a transformation of the Pastoral theme from the third movement. The theme has syncopated and dotted rhythms. It is scalic and ends on an imperfect cadence. In this theme there are no strings. At the second repetition of the March Theme, strings join in with punctuated chords and also the composer used chromaticism in the bass line. It ends with a perfect cadence. Trombones play their lowest notes which is an example of Berlioz using the orchestra to its full range. It also represents the heavy footsteps and loud outbursts from the crowd. This is followed by a transition passage which made up of the 2nd theme March music. Timpani motif in strings returns heightening anticipation for the March Theme. This is followed by a section from the 1st theme`s falling scale. The transition section continues, leading to a return of the 2nd theme (March Theme). We can hear new orchestral texture in this repeat. Theme is in same instruments as before. The composer added strings with syncopated chords. He also used triplet arpeggios and semiquaver decorations. The March Theme repeats again, except with a different ending. This time the composer used chromatic bass line and perfect cadence. The transaction section returns with the March Theme. It has an antiphonal dialogue between brass and woodwind. It also has a fragmented version of the descending theme in strings and woodwind. We can hear the timpani motif from intro in Strings. Also strings alternate between arco and pizzicato. The descending crotchet triplets bring us into the development section. In the development section the descending theme (first part only and in sequence) is in the brass line. Winds and strings accompany with rising motifs. The descending theme returns with a dramatic dynamic change from fortissimo (ff) to pianissimo (pp). This is the climax of the piece. The theme is in Db major and it is inverted in woodwind and brass. It is also the tri-tone of the home key G minor and it sounds dramatic. Sequence in strings modulates back to G minor just before the Coda. In the Coda Berlioz use string accompaniment (with dotted quavers) and it is reminiscent of the 2nd counter subject, while the woodwind above is reminiscent of the bassoon`s 1st counter subject. The melody is almost completely removed. In strings there is a descending scale appears played in staccato. Winds plays Db chord which is juxtaposed with G minor (the interval of a tri-tone) in the strings. In this section the Db becomes C# which is leading naturally to D major chord and finally the composer brings the music back to G minor. Before the musical depiction of the artist`s execution, there is a brief, nostalgic recollection of the idée fixe in a solo clarinet. This represents the artist`s last thoughts as he stands on the scaffold. A single, short G minor chord following this immediately, which portrays the fatal blow of the guillotine blade. The series of pizzicato notes representing the rolling of the severed head into the basket. A triumphant G major chord in the full orchestra, the rolling of the snare drums, the blaring brass and crashing cymbals represents the crowd as they applaud the successful execution.
The composer revolutionized the symphony on several occasions. Berlioz cared about every detail when he composed this piece. The illustration of the events and images go well beyond anything a listener ever imagined. The music well portrayed every elements of the procession of the scaffold. It also helped to picture the story while I was listening this exceptional composition.
Reference:
Berlioz, H., 1830. Berlioz – Symphonie Fantastique – March To The Scaffold. Available at: <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QwCuFaq2L3U> [Accessed 30 September 2019]
Austin, M., n.d. Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. [online] Hberlioz.com. Available at: <http://www.hberlioz.com/Scores/fantas.htm> [Accessed 30 September 2019].
Barzun, J., 2020. Hector Berlioz | French Composer. [online] Encyclopedia Britannica. Available at: <https://www.britannica.com/biography/Hector-Berlioz> [Accessed 30 September 2019]
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