''Tristia'', Op. 18 is a musical work consisting of three short pieces for chorus and

orchestra An orchestra (; ) is a large instrumental ensemble typical of classical music, which combines instruments from different families. There are typically four main sections of instruments: * bowed string instruments, such as the violin, viola, c ...

by the French composer Hector Berlioz. Apart from its title, it has nothing to do with the collection of

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

poems by

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

(the word ''tristia'' in

means 'sad things'). The individual works were composed at different times and published together in

1852 Events January–March * January 14 – President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte proclaims a new constitution for the French Second Republic. * January 15 – Nine men representing various Jewish charitable organizations come tog ...

. Berlioz associated them in his mind with

Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's natio ...

's ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

'', one of his favourite plays. They were never performed during the composer's lifetime.

Details of the work

The three movements are:

References

*David Cairns: ''Berlioz: Servitude and Greatness'' (the second volume of his biography of the composer) (Viking, 1999) *Hugh Macdonald: ''Berlioz'' ("The Master Musicians", J.M.Dent, 1982) *Berlioz: ''Memoirs'' (Dover, 1960)

External links

Information on the Funeral March
{{Authority control Compositions by Hector Berlioz Choral compositions 1852 compositions