Overtures by Hector Berlioz

Overtures by Hector Berlioz

The French composer Hector Berlioz wrote a number of overtures, many of which have become popular concert items. They include overtures intended to introduce operas as well as independent concert overtures.

Contents

Les francs-juges

Les francs-juges Opus 3. Composed 1826. The overture to Berlioz's first, unperformed opera.

Waverley

Waverley: grande ouverture (English: Waverley: Grand Overture) Opus 1. A concert overture composed in 1828. It was first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on 26 May 1828. Berlioz took his inspiration from Sir Walter Scott's Waverley novels.

Le roi Lear

Le roi Lear (English: King Lear), Opus 4. Composed in Nice in 1831 during Berlioz's journey back to France after his stay in Italy (as a result of winning the Prix de Rome). The overture is based on Shakespeare's King Lear, a recent discovery for the composer whose love of the dramatist is evident in many other of his works. It was first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on 22 December 1833.

Rob Roy

Intrata di Rob Roy Macgregor (English: Rob Roy Overture). Composed in 1831 and first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on 14 April 1833. The overture was inspired by Sir Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy. Berlioz was never happy with the piece, regarding it as "long and diffuse", and withdrew it after the premiere.

Benvenuto Cellini

Overture to the opera of the same name, composed in 1838.

Le carnaval romain

Le carnaval romain, ouverture pour orchestre (English: Roman Carnival Overture) Opus 9. Composed in 1843 and first performed at the Salle Herz, Paris on 3 February 1844. A stand-alone overture intended for concert performance, made up of material and themes from Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini, including some music from the opera's carnival scene - hence the overture's title. It is scored for large orchestra, is in the key of A major, and features a prominent and famous solo for the cor anglais.

Le corsaire

Le corsaire (English: The Corsair). Composed while Berlioz was on holiday in Nice in August 1844. It was first performed under the title La tour de Nice (The Tower of Nice) on 19 January 1845. It was then renamed Le corsaire rouge (after James Fenimore Cooper's novel The Red Rover) and finally Le corsaire (suggesting Byron's poem The Corsair).

La fuite en Egypte

Overture to La fuite en Egypte (English: The Flight into Egypt). With two other pieces, L'adieu des bergers and Le repos de la sainte famille, this made up La fuite en Egypte, a short work depicting Jesus and his family fleeing to Egypt to escape the persecution of King Herod, which was first published in 1852. This became the core of the oratorio L'enfance du Christ.

Béatrice et Bénédict

Béatrice et Bénédict. Overture to the opera of the same name, composed in 1862.

Les Troyens à Carthage: Prologue

Les Troyens à Carthage: Prologue (English: The Trojans at Carthage: Prologue) Berlioz's epic opera Les Troyens was never performed complete during his lifetime. In an attempt to have the opera staged by the Théâtre Lyrique in 1863, he split it into two parts, with Acts 1 and 2 becoming La prise de Troie (The Capture of Troy) and Acts 3-5 Les Troyens à Carthage. Only the latter was accepted and Berlioz wrote an orchestral prologue to introduce this version evoking the tragic fate of Troy.

Recordings

The individual overtures have been recorded many times. This is a list of collections exclusively devoted to Berlioz's overtures:

  • Overtures: Les francs-juges, Waverley, Le roi Lear, Le carnaval romain, Béatrice et Bénédict, Le corsaire, Benvenuto Cellini. Staatskapelle Dresden, conducted by Sir Colin Davis. CD, RCA, 1998
  • Overtures: La damnation de Faust, Op.24 (excerpts): Part I Scene 3: Hungarian March/Rakoczy March & Part II Scene 7: Ballet des syphes; Roman Carnival Overture, Op.9; Romeo et Juliette, Op.17 - Love Scene; Le roi Lear; Benvenuto Cellini, Op.23 - Overture; Le corsaire, Overture, Op.21. Polish State Philharmonic Orchestra, Katowice, Kenneth Jean cond. CD, DDD, TT: 1h08m, Naxos. Cat. no. No: 8.550231, barcode 0730099523127
  • Overtures: Benvenuto Cellini, Op.23; Waverley, Op.1; Beatrice and Benedict; King Lear, Op.4; Roman Carnival Overture, Op.9; Rob Roy; Le Corsaire, Op.21. San Diego Symphony, Yoav Talmi. CD, DDD, TT: 1h15m, Naxos. Cat. no. 8.550999, barcode 0730099599924

Sources

  • Booklet notes to the Davis recording
  • David Cairns: Berlioz: The Making of an Artist (the first volume of his biography of the composer) (André Deutsch, 1989)
  • Hugh Macdonald: Berlioz ("The Master Musicians", J.M.Dent, 1982)
  • Berlioz: Memoirs (Dover, 1960)
v · Compositions by Hector Berlioz
Operas
Symphonies
and overtures
Liturgical works
Other choral works
Songs and cantatas

Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем написать курсовую

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ouvertures d'Hector Berlioz — Le compositeur français Hector Berlioz a écrit de nombreuses ouvertures qui sont devenues des morceaux fréquemment joués en concert. Ces ouvertures ont été écrites pour ouvrir des opéras ou en tant que poèmes symphoniques. Sommaire 1 Les Francs… …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Hector Berlioz — Louis Hector Berlioz (December 11, 1803 ndash; March 8, 1869) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande Messe des morts (Requiem). Berlioz made great contributions to the modern orchestra… …   Wikipedia

  • List of compositions and literary works by Hector Berlioz — A list of works by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It includes his literary works as well as his music. The musical compositions are arranged by both opus number and genre. (NB: Many of Berlioz s works resist easy categorisation and assigning …   Wikipedia

  • Berlioz, Hector — ▪ French composer Introduction in full  Louis Hector Berlioz  born December 11, 1803, La Côte Saint André, France died March 8, 1869, Paris  French composer, critic, and conductor of the Romantic period, known largely for his Symphonie… …   Universalium

  • Messe solennelle (Berlioz) — Messe solennelle is a setting of the Catholic Solemn Mass by the French composer Hector Berlioz. It was written in 1824, when the composer was twenty, and first performed at the church of Saint Roch, Paris on 25 July 1825, and again at the church …   Wikipedia

  • Symphonic poem — A symphonic poem or tone poem is a piece of orchestral music in one movement in which some extramusical program provides a narrative or illustrative element. This programme may come from a poem, a story or novel, a painting, or another source.… …   Wikipedia

  • Symphonic Poems (Liszt) — The Symphonic Poems (S.95 107) are a series of 13 orchestral works by Hungarian composer Franz Liszt. The first twelve were composed in the decade 1848 58 (though some use material conceived earlier); the last, Von der Wiege bis zum Grabe ( From… …   Wikipedia

  • La damnation de Faust — Hector Berlioz …   Wikipedia

  • symphony — /sim feuh nee/, n., pl. symphonies. 1. Music. a. an elaborate instrumental composition in three or more movements, similar in form to a sonata but written for an orchestra and usually of far grander proportions and more varied elements. b. an… …   Universalium

  • Symphonie fantastique — Symphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d un Artiste...en cinq parties (Fantastic Symphony: An Episode in the Life of an Artist, in Five Parts), Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is one of… …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
… Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”