''Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (English: ''Grand Funeral and Triumphal Symphony''), Op. 15, is the fourth and last symphony by the French composer Hector Berlioz, first performed on 28 July 1840 in Paris. It is one of the earliest examples of a symphony composed for

military band A military band is a group of personnel that performs musical duties for military functions, usually for the armed forces. A typical military band consists mostly of wind and percussion instruments. The conductor of a band commonly bears the ti ...

Introduction

The French government commissioned the symphony for the celebrations marking the tenth anniversary of the

July Revolution The French Revolution of 1830, also known as the July Revolution (french: révolution de Juillet), Second French Revolution, or ("Three Glorious ays), was a second French Revolution after the first in 1789. It led to the overthrow of King ...

which had brought Louis-Philippe I to power, for which it was erecting the

July Column The July Column (french: Colonne de Juillet) is a monumental column in Paris commemorating the Revolution of 1830. It stands in the center of the Place de la Bastille and celebrates the — the 'three glorious' days of 27–29 July 1830 tha ...

in the

Place de la Bastille The Place de la Bastille is a square in Paris where the Bastille prison once stood, until the storming of the Bastille and its subsequent physical destruction between 14 July 1789 and 14 July 1790 during the French Revolution. No vestige of the ...

. Berlioz had little sympathy for the régime, but welcomed the opportunity to write the work because the government had offered him 10,000 francs for it. The ''Symphonie militaire'' (later renamed ''Symphonie funèbre et triomphale''), rather than following the model Berlioz had established in '' Romeo and Juliet'', represents a reversion to an earlier pre-Beethovenian style in the tradition of monumental French public ceremonial music. Berlioz claimed to have completed the entire score in just 40 hours, harvesting much of the musical material for this ''Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' from unfinished works. The first movement, the "Marche funèbre", was constructed from the ''Fête musicale funèbre à la mémoire des hommes illustres de la France'', a massive, seven-movement ceremonial piece begun in 1835 in the hopes of selling it to the French government. According to

Julian Rushton Julian Gordon Rushton (born 22 May 1941) is an English musicologist, born in Cambridge. He has contributed the entry on Mozart in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Opera'' and several other articles in ''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians' ...

, "Berlioz worked best on large projects; when he could see no future for them he preferred not to compose." He apparently abandoned the ''Fête musicale funèbre'' because he couldn't find a sponsor to commission it. The ''Funereal and Triumphal'' Symphony was originally scored for a military band of 200 players marching in the procession accompanying the remains of those who had died fighting in the 1830 revolution on their way to reinterment beneath a memorial column erected on the site of the

Bastille The Bastille (, ) was a fortress in Paris, known formally as the Bastille Saint-Antoine. It played an important role in the internal conflicts of France and for most of its history was used as a state prison by the kings of France. It was stor ...

. On the day of the parade, little of the 3rd movement could be heard over the cheering crowds on the column when the ceremony was about to end as it was about to be reprised while the 1st and 3rd movements were heard during the procession and the 2nd during the dedication proper; but the work was such a success at the dress rehearsal that it was performed twice more in August and became one of the composer's most popular works during his lifetime. Berlioz revised the score in January 1842, adding an optional part for strings and a final chorus to a text by Antony Deschamps. Richard Wagner attended a performance of this new version at the Salle Vivienne on 1 February 1842. On 5 February, he told Robert Schumann that he found passages in the last movement of Berlioz's symphony so "magnificent and sublime that they can be surpassed."

Composition of the symphony

The symphony is in three movements.

Lyrics

Berlioz commissioned Antony Deschamps in 1842 to provide lyrics to be sung by choirs at the end of the final (Apothéose) movement of the symphony.

Instrumentation

Berlioz scored the symphony for a large

with optional

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which sp ...

and string instruments. The following list reflects both the number of instrumental parts and the number of musicians Berlioz intended for each instrument: * piccolos (4 players), flutes (5 players),

oboe The oboe ( ) is a type of double reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites. The most common oboe plays in the treble or soprano range. ...

s (5 players), E clarinets (5 players), 2 B clarinets (26 players total), bass clarinets (2 players), bassoons (8 players), contrabassoon (optional) * 6

horns Horns or The Horns may refer to: * Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells * The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain * ''Horns'' (novel), a dark fantasy novel written in 2010 by Joe Hill ...

in F, A, E, G, D and C (12 players total), 4

trumpet The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitched one octave below the standard ...

s in F, C and B (8 players total), 2 cornets in A, G and B (4 players total), 3

trombone The trombone (german: Posaune, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's vibrating lips cause the air column inside the instrument to vibrate ...

s (3 tenors or alto and 2 tenors, 10 players total), bass trombone (optional), 2 ophicleides (6 players total) * 2 snare drums (8 players total),

timpani Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a membrane called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally ...

(optional), cymbals (3 players), bass drums, tam tam,

turkish crescent A Turkish crescent, (a smaller version is called a çevgen or ''çağana'' (Tr.), Turkish jingle, Jingling Johnny, ' (Ger.), ' or ''pavillon chinois'' (Fr.)), is a percussion instrument traditionally used by military bands internationally. In some ...

s *

and strings (both optional) In addition to the three trombones, a solo tenor trombone appears in the second movement. The choir, if used, only appears in the final movement. The strings, if used, only appear in their entirety in the final movement, with the cellos and basses also appearing in the first movement.

Recordings

* ''Hector Berlioz: The Complete Works'' (27 CD,

Warner Classics Warner Classics is the classical music arm of Warner Music Group. The label began issuing new recordings under the Warner Classics banner in 1991. The company also includes the Erato Records, Teldec Records and NVC Arts labels. Based in France, ...

0190295614447, 2019, disc 5)'', Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (op. 15; H 80B), Chorale Populaire de Paris; Musiciens des Gardiens de la Paix; conducted by Désiré Dondeyne (LP,

Erato Records Erato Records is a record label founded in 1953 as Disques Erato by Philippe Loury to promote French classical music. Loury was head of éditions musicales Costallat. His first releases in France were licensed from the Haydn Society of Boston, a ...

)Dondeyne recording details, sound file
BnF 1959. *''Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (op. 15; H 80B), Requiem'' :

John Alldis Choir John Alldis (10 August 192920 December 2010) was an English chorus-master and conductor. Biography Alldis was educated at King's College School, Cambridge and Felsted. He then returned to King's College, Cambridge as a choral scholar under Bo ...

London Symphony Orchestra The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's Hall Orc ...

, conducted by

Sir Colin Davis Sir Colin Rex Davis (25 September 1927 – 14 April 2013) was an English conductor, known for his association with the London Symphony Orchestra, having first conducted it in 1959. His repertoire was broad, but among the composers with whom h ...

(Philips 416 283-2) 1969 1970. * ''Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (op. 15; H 80B), "La Voie Triomphale"'': Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces, conducted by

Ole Kristian Ruud Ole Kristian Ruud (born 2 October 1958) is a Norwegian conductor. Ruud was born in Lillestrøm. He studied clarinet with Richard Kjelstrup at the Norwegian Academy of Music. He studied conducting at the Sibelius Academy and made his debut in Os ...

2012. *''Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (op. 15; H 80B), The Wallace Collection, conducted by John Wallace . CD Nimbus records 1989. *''Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (op. 15; H 80B), Orchestre d'harmonie des gardiens de la paix de la Préfecture de Police de Paris, conducted by Philippe Ferro. CD Calliope 2003. *''Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale'' (op. 15; H 80B), ''Te Deum'' op.22,

Simon Preston Simon John Preston (4 August 1938 – 13 May 2022) was an English organist, conductor, and composer.
...

, organ, The BBC National Orchestra of Wales, conducted by Thierry Fisher, Susanna Mälkki. CD BBC Music Magazine 2010.

References

Notes

Sources

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grande symphonie funebre et triomphale Compositions by Hector Berlioz Choral symphonies Symphonies for wind orchestra 1840 compositions Funerary and memorial compositions