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Berlioz - Symphony Fantastique - Coggle Diagram
Berlioz - Symphony Fantastique
Instrumentation
Large symphony orchestra - Ground-breaking for compositions in 1830
1st & 2nd Vlns. - 15
10 violas
11 celli
9 doubles bass
Large brass and woodwind - Unique sonority. Later expanded as more instruments were added.
Orchestra often re-layed to give a stereo effect/dialogue between parts.
Reflected on the size of music being produced in the romantic period.
Typically where written large to push the boundaries of live performances
Wider Listening
Harold en Italie - Berlioz - Also large orchestra
Melody
Based around a idee fixe - Heard in all 5 mvts
Starts on dominant, leaps of perfect 4ths and maj 6ths
Breif 2nd subject. Shares similarites with main idee fixe - perfect 4ths and maj 6ths
Constant use resembles endless obsession for an actress he saw in Paris.
Melody floats and morphs into different feelings as the symphony progresses - reflects on his feelings.
Recurring motif
Commonly used to bring a sense of intensity
Evoke emotions that the listener may associate with the motif as it develops.
Wider Listening
Tchaikovsky - Romeo ad Juliet's Love Theme.
Appears as a contrast of a minor passage.
Opening with a clarinet and bassoon which is repeated but in a different emotion.
Rhythm, metre and tempo
Variety of tempi, metres and rhythms
Reflects on different emotions and feelings while chasing the love of his life.
3rd mvt has frequent pauses and swelling tempo
Gives a sense of movement of time speeding up and slowing down with his time with the actor
Wider Listening
Nearly all composers in the romantic period - Most piano pieces by Chopin, Schumann, Strauss and Liszt
Harmony and Tonality
Not obvious key - Chromatism obscuring the overall tonality
Functional harmony - perfect cadences being a frequent feature. Often a new key afterwards
Harmonic rhythm links to overall rhythm of the piece
When tempo slows, so does the harmonic rhythm enhancing the feeling of time
Wider Listening
Harold en Italie - Berlioz - Uses chromatic harmony to also portray a similar emotion
Texture
Highly varied texture - constantly changes
Typically homophonic, with developments being polyphonic
Can also be unstructured to reflect the constantly changing of emotion and instability that the composer or main character is feeling.
Wider Listening
Dvorak - Symphony No.9 - Constantly changing texture to reflect the mood
Beginning only has a couple of instruments, then swells up to the tutti then diminishes back to 3 instruments