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This is an EXACT reproduction of a book published before 1923. This IS NOT an OCR'd book with strange characters, introduced typographical errors, and jumbled words.This book may have occasional imperfections such as missing or blurred pages, poor pictures, errant marks, etc. that were either part of the original artifact, or were introduced by the scanning process. We believe this work is culturally important, and despite the imperfections, have elected to bring it back into print as part of our continuing commitment to the preservation of printed works worldwide. We appreciate your understanding of the imperfections in the preservation process, and hope you enjoy this valuable book. ... Read more

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Few aspects of Berlioz's style are more idiosyncratic than his handling of musical form. This book, the first devoted solely to the topic, explores how his formal strategies are related to the poetic and dramatic sentiments that were his very reason for being. Rodgers draws upon Berlioz's ideas about musical representation and on the ideas that would have influenced him, arguing that the relationship between musical and extra-musical narrative in Berlioz's music is best construed as metaphorical rather than literal - 'intimate' but 'indirect' in Berlioz's words. Focusing on a type of varied-repetitive form that Berlioz used to evoke poetic ideas such as mania, obsession, and meditation, the book shows how, far from disregarding form when pushing the limits of musical evocation, Berlioz harnessed its powers to convey these ideas even more vividly. ... Read more

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Berlioz, the enfant terrible of music if ever there was one, was always a favorite of the late Norman Del Mar.In this volume (seen through the press by his son Jonathan) Norman Del Mar brings all his wide experience to the explanations and elucidation of the more difficult points of conducting these works.The most imaginative orchestrator ever is treated with wisdom and perception and many doubtful technical points are clarified in this invaluable handbook. Anyone wanting to know more about Berlioz's works, be they student or music-loving listener, will find their enjoyment enhanced after reading this indispensable study.

The three extraordinary symphonies are considered in detail, followed by six overtures, and other important works.The volume culminates in chapters on the Grande Messe des morts and Te Deum which give true insight into these major choral pieces.Del Mar's writing style is easily approachable and carries the reader along in eager anticipation as understanding is assimilated from his own infectious enthusiasm. ... Read more

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Hector Berlioz's Les Grotesques de la musique is the only one of his books that has never been translated into English in its entirety. It is by far the funniest of all his works, and consists of a number of short anecdotes, witticisms, open letters, and comments on the absurdities of concert life. Alastair Bruce's fluid translation brings to life this important composer and bon vivant/. He does a wonderful job of conveying all the puns, jokes, and invective of Berlioz's prose as well as the nuances of his stories. He even imitates a Tahitian accent in the translation, as Berlioz does in the original. The notes will give the reader insight into the innuendos and in-jokes that fill the pages. This translation will take its place among other translations of Berlioz's prose writings, bringing to the reader more lively examples of a still misunderstood composer caught up in the musical life of mid-nineteenth century Paris. ... Read more

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This is a translation of the second (1858) edition of Berlioz's landmark treatise by Mary Cowden Clarke, daughter of music publisher Vincent Novello. The book was quick to establish itself as a standard work, reflecting Berlioz's keen understanding of the orchestra as both composer and conductor. It is intended as a textbook on the craft of orchestration and to promote better understanding of the essential character of each instrument. Technical details and sonorities are discussed and illustrated with musical examples from composers Berlioz admired, including Gluck and Beethoven, and from his own compositions. This edition includes a section on new instruments, such as the saxophone and concertina, and on the orchestra, and a discussion on the art of conducting. Today the treatise is an important source of information on musical practices of the time and provides us with valuable insight into Berlioz's imaginative and original thinking as a musician. ... Read more

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Five widely played and recorded overtures by great French Romantic composer: famous Roman Carnival and Corsair Overtures, also overtures to three operas: Benvenuto Cellini, Beatrice and Benedict and Trojans in Carthage. Reprinted from definitive Breitkopf & Härtel Complete Works edition.
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Customer Reviews (2)

Great Value
Dover scores are always a great bargain because they're high quality and economical. This collection of Berlioz Overtures is no exception. I only wish that all of his overtures were included in this collection, otherwise a good value.

Recommended.

and the "other overtures" are...
In additon to Roman Carnival, op. 9 (1844), the other Berlioz overtures in this collection are:Overture to Benvenuto Cellini, op. 23 (1834-37/1852); Le Corsaire, op. 21 (1844); Prelude to Les Troyens a Carthage (1856-63);Beatrice et Benedict (1860-62).From Dover's Bibliographical Note: "This Dover edition, first published in 1995, is an unabridgedrepublication of five works originally published in the section"Ouvertueren (Serie II)" of Hector Berlioz, Werke:Herausgegebenvon Ch. Malherbe und F. Weingartner, Band V, by Breitkopf & Haertel,Leipzig, n.d.Titles are in French, German and English.The Dover editionadds lists of contents and instrumentation, accompanied by informationabout the source of each work, its librettist(s) (where applicable), anddates of composition and first performance." ... Read more

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Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was one of the most original and colourful composers of his generation, whose music in many ways was ahead of its time. He was also a highly respected journalist and critic, producing monthly articles for the Journal des Débats for over thirty years, as well as other writings including his posthumously published autobiographical Mémoires. Unlike journalism, which he disliked, letter-writing was a task which he relished and at which he excelled, producing sometimes four or five in a day and more than 3,500 during his lifetime. The letters reflect the man - exuberant, imaginative, idealistic, opinionated and witty - and give us a fascinating, first-hand, insight into his life. This two-volume selection includes some 300 examples. Volume 2, with a preface by the composer Charles Gounod, is devoted to Berlioz's letters to his lifelong friend, the lawyer and writer Humbert Ferrand. ... Read more

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Two great masterpieces of sacred music in one volume: Requiem Mass (Grande messe des morts), Op. 5, and Te Deum, Op. 22. Requiem unrivaled in the grandeur of its conception, calling for huge orchestral forces and a chorus of at least 200. The Te Deum contains some of Berlioz’s most inspired and original ideas. Reproduced complete and unabridged from the authoritative Breitkopf & Härtel Complete Works edition.
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Customer Reviews (1)

A wonderful, comprehensive narrative
Jacques Barzun is an unapologetic advocate of great men (and women) and, in one of his most subtle philosophical veins, he has here comprehensively treated Berlioz as such an entity- rather than a style, technique, or eccentric- within the contemporary and personal world that the composer occupied and was occupied by.

The designation of Berlioz, along with Keats, as The Romantic Genius, has cemented his place in the general surveys of musical and 19th century history.Sustained equally by the overly-emphasized program of "Symphonie Fantastique" and the easily recountable breaking of his engagement to Camille Moke- Berlioz as a Personality could be as easily subsumed in a general, genteely eccentric, demi-Napoleonic, bohemian Romantic "character".

Barzun does not reject the singleness of the Romantic era, as he might have done, in questioning the existence of such an all-encompassing character for it; but explains the depth, the real pragmatism and sense of great morality, on all sides, by which the new generations of necessarily market-dependant artists were precluded by the more aristocratic-minded institutions that fostered them.Berlioz stood in the earliest of these generations, and emerges from his environment sympathetically human.If the embodiment of a period in a single person is a cause for endless fascination (and, barring that, assignation), it is also a cause for beaurocratic tedium, financial pandering, and occasional compositions.

Barzun, having managed in one of his more recent works to extradite John Calvin from the morass of that leader's legacy, deserves admiration for the still more formidable task, in this work, of sorting out the arguments of the last two centuries concerning artistic prerogative, if not for happening yet on their solution.

"Berlioz and His Century" consequently retains (like all of Barzun's narratives) both historical importance and present relevance in the full extent of its range, while remembering the real and finite experiences of the individual figures who made their times important and relevant.
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