Berlioz, Hector (EN)

Berlioz Hector, *11 December 1803, La Côte-Saint-André (Isère), †8 March 1869, Paris, French composer and music writer. Berlioz spent his childhood in his hometown in southeastern France. His mother came from a wealthy bourgeois family, his father was a doctor; while educating his son, he awakened in him a love for the poetry of Horace and Virgil. Berlioz vividly described his musical career, professional vicissitudes, artistic interests, and romantic experiences in his Memoirs. He became a composer against his family’s wishes, condemning himself to many years of financial hardship. Initially, his unconventional, massive-sounding works were not well received by professional musicians, but from the 1830s onwards, they began to gain increasing recognition; in the 1840s, Berlioz gained European fame. This was due in part to his concert tours, during which the composer himself conducted local premieres of his works. He was characterized by extraordinary vitality, and his creative ideas arose spontaneously, although he also wrote on commission (Requiem, Symphonie funèbre). It took him little time to compose even large works (Requiem – 3 months, Roméo et Juliette – 6 months), but he also spent years reworking his pieces, creating different versions (Symphonie fantastique, cantatas, songs), compiling (Lélio), destroying compositions (his youthful Flute Quintet), and sometimes even losing them. He was only satisfied with his own works when he conducted their performance himself. Having collaborated for many years with leading Parisian newspapers and magazines, Berlioz was one of the most famous music critics of his time. He had great literary talent, writing in a lively, vivid style, with emotional fervor and rational sharpness of judgment, intertwining irony-tinged wit with pathos and principle; however, he was not free from exaggeration and bias. He was an egocentric, whose emotional hypertrophy was interspersed with calculation, and whose desire for love was mixed with distrust of people. An impetuous enthusiast, enamored with music, theater, and literature, he had devoted friends (Liszt, Legouvé, Gounet, Janin) and fierce enemies (Cherubini, Halévy, Fétis), he was admired (Paganini, Schumann, Wagner, Heine) and disapproved (Stendhal, Hanslick, Chopin). He remained in close contact with writers (Hugo, Dumas Sr., de Vigny, Lamartine, Michelet, Balzac, de Nerval, Deschamps) and glorified his feelings for women (Estelle Duboeuf, married name Fornier, Henriette Smithson). The extremely colorful and controversial personality of Berlioz, whose life, views, and work brilliantly reflected the artistic ideology of the Romantic era, intrigued music writers as early as the 19th century, becoming the subject of numerous biographical works.

Chronicle of his life and work

1803       

11 December – Hector Louis Berlioz is born in La Côte-Saint-André.

1815

First encounters with music: playing the flute and flageolet, learning the basics of harmony.

1817–19

– lessons with local musicians: Imbert (flute) and Dorant (guitar)

– first attempts at composition

1821       

October – departure for Paris to study medicine at the Sorbonne

Music studies

1823

– private composition lessons with F. Lesueur

12 August – first music article in “Le Corsaire”

– compositions (all lost): cantata L’Arabe au tombeau de son coursier, opera Estelle et Némorin, oratorio Le passage de la Mer Rouge

1824       

12 January – completion of medical studies with a bachelor’s degree in physical sciences

1825       

10 July – first public performance of a work by Berlioz: Messe solennelle at the Church of St. Roch in Paris

1826       

July – Berlioz fails the preliminary round of the Prix de Rome competition

26 August – enters the conservatory, studies with A. Reicha (counterpoint) and F. Lesueur (composition)

1827       

1 March – Berlioz takes up a position as a chorister at the Théâtre des Nouveautés

June – the jury of the Prix de Rome competition rejects the cantata La mort d’Orphée as unperformable

11, 15 September – Shakespeare’s Hamlet and Roméo et Juliette staged in Paris by a visiting English theater company; Berlioz admires Irish actress Henrietta Smithson, his future wife, in the roles of Ophelia and Juliette

December – Goethe’s Faust, translated by G. de Nerval is published in Paris

1828

March – Beethoven’s symphonies performed at concerts at the conservatory under the baton of F.A. Habeneck

26 May – Berlioz’s composer’s concert (all of Berlioz’s composer’s concerts, unless otherwise noted, took place in the Paris Conservatory hall under the baton of the composer): the Waverley overture and the Les francs-juges overture

22 July – performance of La révolution grecque and La mort d’Orphée

2 August – third participation in the Prix de Rome competition, receiving second prize for the cantata Herminie

1829       

April – publication of Huit scénes de Faust 

June – the Opera rejects the libretto for the opera Les francs-juges

July – fourth participation in the Prix de Rome competition; the cantata La mort de Cléopâtre was not awarded

1 November – second compositional concert: Huit scénes de Faust 

21 August – winner of the Prix de Rome for the cantata La dernière nuit de Sardanapal 

1 October – performance of the cantata La dernière nuit de Sardanapal

7 November – performance of the dramatic fantasy The Tempest based on Shakespeare at the Opera

5 December – composition concert: Symphonie fantastique (first premiere), overture Les juges secrets, Melodies à l’anglaise, La dernière nuit de Sardanapal

1831

from 12 March – as a Prix de Rome scholarship holder, he stays at Villa Medici (seat of the Academie Française) in Rome

19 Apri –19 May – stays in Nice, works on the overtures Le roi Lear and Rob Roy

5 July – completion of the monodrama Lélio ou Le retour à la vie, composition of Méditation religieuse

Creative peak

1832       

2 May – departure from Italy

9 December – concert of compositions: Lélio (premiere) and Symphonie fantastique

30 December – repeat performance of the concert from 9 December

December – meets Henrietta Smithson

1833

2 April – concert in the Favart Hall for Henrietta Smithson’s benefit, with the participation of Chopin and Liszt, among others

14 April – premiere of the Rob Roy overture in the conservatory hall

3 October – marriage to Henrietta Smithson

22 December – concert by the composer: overture to Le roi Lear, Symphonie fantastique, Le jeune paysan breton and Romance de Marie Tudor

December – beginning of literary collaboration with “Le Rénovateur”

1834       

February – began literary collaboration with “La Gazette Musicale”

14 August – Birth of Hector Berlioz’s son, Louis

August – Opéra Comique rejects the libretto for the opera Benvenuto Cellini

9 November – Concert of the composer’s works: Le roi Lear overture, La belle voyageuse, and Sara la baigneuse

23 November – premiere of the symphony Harold en Italie

December 14 – repeat performance of Harold en Italie; F. Chopin also played at this concert

1835       

January – establishment of regular collaboration with “Le Journal des Débats”

3 May – composer’s concert: Symphonie fantastique, Lélio

4 June – concert accompanied by Gymnase Musical: Harold en Italie and other works by Berlioz

22 November – composer’s concert: first premiere of the cantata Le cinq Mai

– R. Schumann publishes an analysis of the Symphonie fantastique in “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik”

1836       

4 December – composer’s concert: Symphonie fantastique, Harold en Italie

18 December – joint concert with Liszt, who performed his own piano arrangement of Un Ball and Marche au supplice from the Symphonie fantastique

– In Leipzig, performance of the overture Les juges secrets conducted by R. Schumann, Berlioz’s first foreign success.

1837       

April-June – Work on the Requiem, commissioned by the Minister of the Interior for a memorial service dedicated to the victims of the 1830 revolution.

5 December – premiere of the Requiem at the Church of Les Invalides during a memorial service for General Damremont, who died during the conquest of Algiers

1838       

10 September – premiere of Benvenuto Cellini at the Opera

25 November – Berlioz’s composer’s concert conducted by F.A. Habeneck

16 December – concert of Berlioz’s compositions: Symphonie fantastique and Harold en Italie; the latter piece arouses the admiration of Paganini, who subsequently supports the composer with a large financial donation

1839       

9 February – Berlioz is appointed assistant curator of the conservatory library

24 February–8 September – work on the dramatic symphony Roméo et Juliette

10 May – Berlioz receives the Knight’s Cross of the Legion of Honor

24 November – premiere of Roméo et Juliette

1,15 December – second and third performances of Roméo et Juliette

1840       

6 February – concert organized by “La Gazette Musicale” and conducted by Berlioz: Harold en Italie, Benvenuto Cellini overture

April–June – work on the Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale, commissioned by the Minister of the Interior in connection with the ceremony of transferring the bodies of the victims of the 1830 revolution to the Place de la Bastille and the unveiling of the Column of Liberty

28 July – premiere of the Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale

7,14 August – performance of the Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale in the Vivienne Hall

1 November – concert at the Opera: Requiem (4 parts), Roméo et Juliette (3 parts), Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale

13 December – composer’s concert: Symphonie fantastique, Roméo et Juliette, Le Cinq Mai

1841       

From March – in connection with the planned staging of Weber’s Der Freischütz at the Opera, Berlioz arranges the recitatives and orchestrates Invitation à la valse as a ballet interlude.

24 April – concert by Berlioz and Liszt to raise funds for the construction of a Beethoven monument in Bonn.

November – Berlioz’s articles on orchestration appear in “La Gazette Musicale”, later included in his Treatise

– The “Dresdener Abendzeitung” publishes an article sent from Paris by Wagner, highly praising Berlioz’s work, especially the Symphonie fantastique

Concert tours

1842       

1, 15 February – concerts of the composer’s works at the Salle Vivienne: premiere of Rêverie et caprice for violin and orchestra

26 September, 9 October – concerts of the composer’s works in Brussels

December – trip to Germany with singer Marie Martin (pseudonym Recio), later Berlioz’s wife; Mainz, Frankfurt am Main

1843

January–May – concerts in German cities:

1, 13 January – in Hechingen, Mannheim, Weimar

25 January – in Weimar, meeting with F. Hiller

4, 22 February – in Leipzig, where Berlioz renewed his acquaintance with Mendelssohn, met R. and K. Schumann, and met F. David and K. Lipiński, whose playing he praised in superlative terms

– in Dresden, meeting with Wagner

9, 22 March – in Brunswick, Hamburg

20 April – in Berlin, meeting with Meyerbeer

6, 20 May – in Hanover, Darmstadt

13 July – first report from his trip to Germany in “Le Journal des Débats”

1844

3 February – in the Herz Hall, composer’s concert: premiere of the overture Le carnaval romain

– publication of Treatise on Instrumentation

1 August – concert at the closing of the Industrial Exhibition in Paris; premiere of Hymne à la France

– meeting with M. Glinka, who was staying in Paris

1845

January – publication of Voyage musical en Allemagne…

19 January, 16 February, 16 March, 6 April – concerts conducted by Berlioz at the Olympic Circus on the Champs-Élysées; the program includes works by Berlioz, David, and Glinka

19, 25 June – concerts of his compositions in Marseille

20, 24 July – concerts of his compositions in Lyon

10–12 August – Berlioz participates as a correspondent for “Le Journal des Débats” in the celebrations in Bonn connected with the unveiling of the Beethoven monument

22 October – beginning of musical journeys, concerts of his compositions:

16, 23, 29 November – in Vienna, meeting with Liszt

1846

2 January – in Vienna, performance of Roméo et Juliette

19, 25, 28 January – in Prague

6 March – in Pest, premiere of the La marche hongroise 

20 March – in Wrocław

31 March – in Prague, performance of Roméo et Juliette

17 April – in Prague

April – return to Paris

14 June – in Lille, premiere of Le chant des chemins de fer, written for the inauguration of the northern railway

6 December – at the Opéra Comique, premiere of the dramatic legend La damnation de Faust

1847

14 February – departure from Paris to Russia for concerts of his compositions:

15, 25 March – in St. Petersburg

10 April – in Moscow, performance of Roméo et Juliette

23, 30 April – in St. Petersburg

29 May – in Riga

19 June – staging of La damnation de Faust in Berlin

July – return to Paris

3 November – departure for London, appointment as conductor of the opera founded by L.A. Jullien at the Drury Lane Theatre

1848

7 February – composer’s concert in London

March – begins writing his Memoirs

14 July – returns to Paris

28 July – death of his father

22 September – completes the Marche funèbre pour la demière scène d’Hamlet

1849

until September – composes Te Deum

1850

19 February – first concert of the Philharmonic Society (Societe Philharmonique), organized on Berlioz’s initiative, which he led as director and conductor of the orchestra

27 April – Berlioz appointed chief librarian of the conservatory

1851

4 May – last concert of the Philharmonic Society

10 May–28 July – stays in London, participates in the work of the jury for the musical instruments section at the Paris Exhibition, collaborates in the establishment of the New Philharmonic Society

1852

2 March – performance of Benvenuto Cellini in Weimar, conducted by Liszt

2 March–20 June – stay in London, six concerts conducted by Berlioz

12–22 November – stay in Weimar, where Liszt organized Berlioz Week

December – publication of Les soirées d’orchestre (Orchestral Evenings)

1853

25 June – performance of Benvenuto Cellini conducted by Berlioz in London

11 August – concert in Baden-Baden

20, 29 August – concerts in Frankfurt

October – second musical journey to Germany, concerts: 25, 26 October – in Brunswick, 8, 15, 22 November – in Hanover and Bremen, 10 December – in Leipzig

14 December – return to Paris

18 December – premiere of La fuite en Égypte and Part II of the oratorio L’enfance du Christ 

1854       

3 March – death of Henrietta, Berlioz’s wife

26 March – start of third musical journey to Germany, concerts:

1, 3 April – in Hanover and Brunswick

22, 26, 29 April – in Dresden

April – in Dresden

19 October – marriage to Marie Martin

10 December – premiere of L’enfance du Christ in the Herz Hall

1855       

3 February – concert in Hanover

17, 21 February – concerts in Weimar

17, 22, 24 March – concerts in Brussels

7 April – performance of L’enfance du Christ at the Favart Hall

30 April – premiere of Te Deum at St. Eustache Church

June–July – stay in London, meeting with Wagner

4 July – concert in London, performance of Harold en Italie

15, 16, 24 November – concerts at the closing of the Industrial Exhibition in Paris; at the first of these, premiere of the L’Impériale cantata

1856       

6 February – performance of L’enfance du Christ at a concert in Gotha

17, 28 February – concerts in Weimar

21 June – Berlioz elected member of the Institute de France

15 August – concert during the festival in Baden-Baden; from then on, every year (until 1863), Berlioz conducted his own concert as part of the festival (August)

1858

7 April – completion of the score for the opera Les Troyens

2 May – concert by Berlioz and H. Litolff at the conservatory

May – writing of the Postscript to the Memoirs

1859       

March – publication of the collection Les grotesques de la musique

15 June – concert of compositions as part of the St. Cecilia Festival in Bordeaux

29 August – performance of excerpts from the opera Les Troyens at the Baden-Baden Festival

18 November – performance of Gluck’s Orfeo ed Euridice, arranged by Berlioz, at the Théâtre Lyrique

1860       

9 February 9 – publication of a letter to Wagner on the music of the future in “Le Journal des Débats” 

1861       

September – London premiere of Le temple universel

1862       

14 June – death of Marie, Berlioz’s second wife

9 August – premiere of the opera Béatrice et Bénédict in Baden-Baden

1863       

8 April – performance of Béatrice et Bénédict in Weimar

20 April – concert of compositions at the court of Prince Frederick William Hohenzollern-Hechingen in Löwenberg (now Lwówek)

22 June – participation in the music festival in Strasbourg, performance of L’enfance du Christ

14, 18 August – performance of Béatrice et Bénédict during the festival in Baden-Baden

4 November – premiere of Les Troyens à Cartage at the Théâtre Lyrique

1864       

March – termination of cooperation with “Le Journal des Débats”

23 September – meeting with Estella Fornier, his beloved from his youth

– Berlioz awarded the Officer’s Cross of the Legion of Honor

1865       

January – Memoirs sent to press

July – entire print run of Memoirs deposited in the conservatory library

1866       

April – Berlioz appointed curator of the conservatory’s museum of musical instruments

16 December – performance of La damnation de Faust in Vienna

1867       

26 February – concert in Cologne

5 June – death of the composer’s son, Louis, in Havana

12 November – departure for Russia, concerts

28 November, 6, 14, 28 December – in St. Petersburg

1868       

8, 11 January – in Moscow

25 January, 8 February – in St. Petersburg

March – return to Paris

Against the backdrop of 19th-century music, Berlioz’s work is unique. He was the only French composer whose music fully reflected the ideology of Romanticism, and the only Romantic composer who, in that century of crystallization of national styles, did not limit himself to his native traditions, but referred in his work to the achievements of the whole of European culture, thus anticipating the ideological and artistic attitude typical of modernist artists. Berlioz’s influence on Wagner’s instrumentation is widely emphasized. Undoubtedly, Berlioz was a precursor of the Master of Bayreuth, though in a broader sense, because his entire oeuvre was guided by the same goal as Wagner’s: to create musical drama – and this explains Berlioz’s predilection for recitative melodies and constant experimentation with instrumentation. From his native traditions, Gluck was the only model for Berlioz. He was repelled by the conventional nature of grand opera (Cherubini, Meyerbeer), the stereotypical devices of comic opera (Boieldieu, Rossini), the poverty of instrumentation and the “sweet” cantilena of the omnipotent Italian opera. This musician par excellence, who thought in terms of sound and deeply experienced the world of sounds, grasped with unerring intuition the significance of Beethoven’s symphonies for the development of orchestral music; he introduced Weber’s leading romantic opera, Der Freischütz, to the Paris opera stage; unaffected by the negative opinion that prevailed in Paris after the staging of Tannhäuser, he immediately appreciated Wagner’s talent; during his stay in Russia, he was delighted with the monumental sound of Bortniansky’s religious concerts. Berlioz was a composer whose sound concepts went beyond the music of the Romantic era, which is probably why he was so adept at recognizing the seeds of new compositional techniques and distinguishing works that projected into the future from everyday compositions.

A typically Romantic feature of Berlioz’s musical work is its strong connection with literature. The literary sources from which the composer drew inspiration for his works were as follows: 1. Romantic English literature – the works of W. Scott (overtures: Waverley, Rob Roy), Byron (Harold en Italie), poems by Th. Moore (Méditation religieuse, song cycle of 9 mélodies), 2. Shakespeare’s plays: Romeo and Juliet, Hamlet, King Lear, which experienced a renaissance in the 19th century, 3. Goethe’s Faust, 4. Virgil’s Aeneid, 5. contemporary French poetry – poems by Hugo, de Nerval, Gautier, and others. The choice of literary sources, and especially his fascination with the works of Shakespeare and Goethe, confirms Berlioz’s connection with the Romantic era; only the opera Les Troyens, based on Virgil, seems to be reminiscent of themes popular in past eras.

Berlioz’s literary abilities favored the idea of creating dramatic music; the composer wanted to write music on a par with Shakespeare’s dramas, music with a powerful dramatic expressiveness he achieved through sound. At the heart of all his work lies non-musical content, verbal text: Berlioz composed exclusively vocal-instrumental or instrumental works with a program. The program of his works clearly illustrates the artistic ideology of Romanticism. The overtures were written either as compositions directly related to the staging of operas (Benvenuto Cellini, Le carnaval romain, Béatrice et Bénédict) or other stage works (Le corsaire), or as concert pieces inspired by the expressive character of well-known literary works (Waverley, Rob Roy, Le roi Lear). Harold en Italie revolves around the hero of Byron’s drama. The composer provided the Symphonie fantastique with an extensive literary commentary of typically Romantic content: a description of the mental state of an artist overwhelmed by love, his suffering, dreams, delusions, visions of death, nature as a reflection of his emotional state, the world of demons, a strong element of subjectivism (Berlioz composed this work with his beloved Henriette Smithson in mind).

The legacy of this outstanding symphonist is dominated by vocal-instrumental forms: songs, cantatas, operas, oratorios (Le passage de la mer rouge, L’enfance du Christ), masses, and other sacred works. In these compositions, Berlioz preferred a massive ensemble: choirs and orchestras. Solo and choral songs became a field of sound exploration for him. He often wrote two versions of a piece at once (for smaller and larger vocal ensembles), reworked a given composition, introducing an orchestra instead of a piano, or entrusting the original solo vocal part to a group of soloists or a choir; for example, songs such as Le chasseur danois and Zaïde were immediately arranged for solo voices and piano and for choir and orchestra; individual pieces from the cycle Les nuits d’été and from the cycle 9 mélodies have different versions of the performing cast (see compositions). For both solo and choral arrangements, Berlioz mostly used a three-voice structure. The composer often provided additional descriptions of the vocal lyrics, indicating the expressive or thematic character of the piece, e.g. “elegiac canzona” (chant élégiaque) – the due Le montagnard exilé, “dramatic ballad” (ballade dramatique) – La belle Isabeau, “Irish legend” (légende irlandaise) – La belle voyageuse. Berlioz’s predilection for the dramatic genre is particularly evident in the fact that he gave many of his compositions the title ‘scene’; the composer uses this title interchangeably with the term ‘cantata.’ These works, intended for solo voice, choir, and orchestra, usually present grand, tragic themes (La mort d`Orphée, La mort de Cléopâtre, Herminie, La révolution grecque). Sometimes they were simply created as a musical reflection of a specific dramatic scene, e.g. La mort d’Ophélie (3 versions) or Marche funèbre pour la demière scène d’Hamlet. The diversity of forms used by Berlioz is perfectly illustrated by the cycle of eight scenes from Faust (Huit scénes de Faust), where, alongside large-scale choral and orchestral works, there are simple verse songs or songs with choral refrains, and alongside works for large ensembles (two choirs and orchestra), there is Sérénade de Méphistophélès for solo voice and guitar. Among these eight compositions, the elaborate three-part Concert de Sylphes for vocal sextet, woodwinds, horns, glass harmonica, and harp stands out for its originality of sound.

The scenes, written with relish by Berlioz, are undoubtedly an expression of his lifelong desire to create a truly dramatic opera. From the dawn of his career, the composer took up the form of opera. At the age of 20, he wrote the music for the idyll Estelle et Némorin (lost), and for two years he worked on the opera Lénor ou Les derniers francs-juges, which he did not complete due to the rejection of the libretto by the Paris Opera. The libretto for the opera Benvenuto Cellini was also questioned, and during its premiere (1838), the work was booed. Only the two-act comic opera Béatrice et Bénédict, for which the composer wrote the libretto using part of Shakespeare’s Much Ado About Nothing, was immediately very successful.

However, the apex of Berlioz’s operatic work is the opera Les Troyens, in which the composer used Virgil’s Aeneid as the basis for the libretto. Berlioz worked on this work for two years (1856–58); he did not live to see the entire opera staged. The libretto of the five-act opera is clearly divided into two parts. The action of the first two acts, which is a free adaptation of Virgil’s text, takes place in Troy, with Cassandra playing the leading role; from Act 3 onwards, the action takes place in Carthage, and the central axis of the drama is the love between Dido and Aeneas. The architectural design of the opera is characterized by great freedom; Acts 2, 4, and 5 are divided into scenes, with the first scene of Act 4 consisting of only one, very elaborate scene (Royal Hunt and Storm), while Act 2 consists almost exclusively of choral scenes. Choral parts dominate throughout the opera; choirs and a large orchestra interact with solo parts, which are characterized by recitative melodies. Numerous ballet parts, entrées, pantomimes, and marches, indicative of the traditions of French opera, contribute to the development of crowd scenes. Berlioz’s tendency to emphasize massive sound is further confirmed by the large cast of performers, with a double choir, an orchestra with an expanded brass and percussion section, and an additional ensemble of instruments on stage. Berlioz’s desire to maintain the unity of text and music, expressed in extensive descriptions of mood and numerous performance instructions, the abandonment of the division into main (vocal) and accompanying (orchestral) parts, and the treatment of the vocal part as a sound element – largely anticipate the musical concept of Wagner’s dramas.

The analogies with Wagner’s dramas are even more pronounced in his elaborate vocal-instrumental works (Roméo et Juliette, Lélio, La damnation de Faust), as well as in his programmatic orchestral works (Symphonie fantastique, Harold en Italie), which the composer treated as “instrumental dramas.” Berlioz attempted to combine symphonic and dramatic music, juxtaposing individual parts of the composition on the basis of sharp contrasts in the performing ensemble (soloists, solo ensembles, choirs, orchestra). He consciously dramatized his symphonic compositions, as evidenced primarily by the significant subtitles he gave to his works: “lyrical monodrama” (monodrame lyrique) – Lélio (featuring a reciter, soloists, and choir), “dramatic legend” (légende dramatique) – La damnation de Faust (with soloists and choir), “dramatic symphony” (symphonie dramatique) – Roméo et Juliette (also with soloists and choir), which the composer originally intended to stage in a semi-theatrical form. These fluctuations between the stage vision of the works and the concept of an instrumental work influenced the architectural structure of the compositions mentioned above. They are multi-part works, with individual parts bearing programmatic titles; the principle of thematic contrast and transformation was taken from the sonata form.

The conventional form of the symphonic cycle did not correspond to the composer’s creative inventiveness. Only in the symphony Harold en Italie, originally conceived as a concerto to be performed by Paganini, and in the Symphonie fantastique, albeit in five parts, did Berlioz refer to some extent to the architecture of the symphonic cycle. The idea of dramatizing the symphonic form is served here by monothematicism, stemming from the literary program. The theme of the “beloved” – described by the composer as an idée fixe – which appears throughout the Symphonie fantastique, undergoes strong expressive transformations suggested by the titles of the individual movements: I – Rêveries – Passions [Daydreams – passions] (sonata-form allegro with a slow introduction), II – Un ball [A ball] (waltz), III – Scène aux champs [Scene in the country] (slow movement with illustrative elements: birdsong, storm, shepherds’ pipe calls), IV – Marche au supplice [March to the scaffold], V – Songe d’une nuit du sabbat [Dream of a night of the sabbath] (rondo also using the Dies irae theme). Similarly, in Harold en Italie, the successive parts (I – Harold in the Mountains, scenes of melancholy, happiness and joy, II – March of the pilgrims, III – Serenade, IV – Orgy of bandits) are linked by the main theme, entrusted to the solo viola, whose virtuoso exposition gives the entire work the form of a concert symphony. In the last part of Harold – following the example of the finale of Beethoven’s Symphony No. 9 – Berlioz introduced reminiscences of themes from previous parts.

For Berlioz, the main means of musical expression was sound quality, so the composer focused on the technique of instrumentation. Drawing on the experiences of French opera composers (Gluck, Spontini), as well as Weber (Der Freischütz) and Beethoven, Berlioz introduced a new type of massive instrumentation, later continued by Wagner, R. Strauss, Bruckner, and Mahler. Consequently, he expanded the performing apparatus by increasing the size of the classical orchestra, especially the brass section (usually 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones) and woodwinds (triple or even quadruple wind scoring – 4 bassoons already in the Symphonie fantastique), by adding new instruments (ophicleide, bass tuba, cornets, harp, piano, saxhorns, saxophones, bells, cymbals), and the introduction of additional orchestral ensembles (in Requiem, 4 brass ensembles; in Les Troyens, an ensemble consisting mainly of saxhorns and antique instruments: double flute, cymbals, sistrum, goblet drum). He envisaged 950 performers for the Te Deum (including two choirs and 12 harps in the orchestra). Treating the orchestra as a means of dramatic expression, the composer brought out a distinctive sound from individual instruments, so he liked to use registers that were unusual for a given instrument, made extensive use of articulation techniques, changed the traditional function of instruments, e.g. by assigning a percussive role to string instruments (Part V of the Symphonie fantastique), and used original technical solutions, such as combining the sound of four horns and a harp to illustrate the sound of bells (the beginning of the March of the pilgrims from Harold en Italie), juxtaposing the clarinet and timpani (the entrance of the main theme in the fifth movement of the Symphonie fantastique), and others. Thanks to his masterful use of instrumental technique and motoric rhythms, Berlioz achieved a dynamization of musical form.

His Treatise on Modern Instrumentation and Orchestration gained historical significance. Listing instrumentation among the main elements of a musical work, Berlioz prophetically stated that it would soon become a primary element (Introduction). In his Treatise, the composer presented a new type of instrumentation manual, as he did not limit himself to discussing the technical and expressive possibilities of individual instruments. His focus was on shaping sound quality and the dependence of sound on acoustic conditions and orchestral forces (chapter On Orchestra). Berlioz’s concept of a monumental orchestra inspired the work of Wagner, R. Strauss, Mahler, and others; the author paid particular attention to the technique of conducting (chapter On the Art of Conducting). Berlioz’s handbook on instrumentation, translated into foreign languages as early as the 19th century, became part of the basic literature of compositional education; in 1904, R. Strauss supplemented this work, and it is in this version that it is still used today.

Berlioz’s musical writings are also of great historical value; his reviews and articles, written with temperament and panache, are an inexhaustible source of information about the composer’s views on life and art, confirming the artist’s romantic attitude while introducing the most important issues of concert life at the time. Berlioz eagerly used the form of the column, intertwining reflection with anecdote (Les grotesques de la musique), often presenting reality cloaked in artistic fiction (es soirées de l’orchestre). His literary legacy bears the clear hallmarks of journalism and is addressed to a wide readership; the composer undoubtedly wanted to make an impact, but he did not seek cheap applause. As a music critic, Berlioz was sensitive to innovative values and had a decidedly independent mind; his authoritative opinions on composers, conductors, performers (especially singers), critics, and impresarios earned him many enemies. Of particular importance to music historians are his Memoirs, written in part in 1848, completed in 1854, and then supplemented in 1858 with a Postscriptum (a letter to E. Mirécourt, author of the first biography of Berlioz) and in 1864 with an Afterword (containing, among other things, a literary description of his meeting after many years with Estella Fornier, his beloved from his youth); they also include texts previously published in “Le Journal des Débats”, Voyage musical en Allemagne et en Italie (1844) and articles reporting on a trip to Austria (1845). Printed in 1865, Berlioz deposited his Memoirs in the library of the Paris Conservatoire with the proviso that the book could only be distributed after his death; in 1870, the publisher M. Lévy put the publication on sale. Written in a colorful and spontaneous style, the Memoirs resemble J.-J. Rousseau’s Confessions in their directness and perfectly capture the composer’s psyche, which is why they have been translated into many languages (see editions).

Attaching great importance to performance, Berlioz elevated the role of the conductor to that of a virtuoso. He was the first composer who, like Liszt and Paganini in the field of piano and violin performance, undertook extensive conducting concert tours. His artistic performances covered almost the whole of Europe (see chronicle). Berlioz’s conducting activity points to the composer’s extraordinary vitality and confirms his constant striving for monumental sound; 1,200 performers took part in the concerts he conducted in Paris at the end of the Industrial Exhibition (1844, 1855). The composer conducted concerts in huge rooms, in exhibition halls, in the circus on the Champs-Élysées (1845), with the help of several conductors, using an electric metronome.

An interesting aspect of Berlioz’s personality is the combination of romantic sentimentality with the rationalism so typical of French culture. He realized that a new era was coming – the era of industrialization – that the music of the future should reach thousands of listeners, that the forms of musical communication were changing and new forms of musical life were emerging. At the same time, as a composer, he wanted to maintain the most direct contact possible with his own work in the new social conditions of the concert movement; he therefore founded the Philharmonic Society in Paris (1850), which he headed as director and in which he acted as conductor of the orchestra. After the dissolution of the Society, he became involved in organizing the New Philharmonic Society in London (1851); from 1856, he became associated with the annual festival in Baden-Baden.

Berlioz included works by Gluck, Spontini, Handel, Beethoven, Weber, Glinka, and other composers in his concert repertoire, but he preferred his own compositions: Symphonie fantastique, Harold en Italie, cantatas, excerpts from Requiem, and other large vocal-instrumental works. His music aroused decidedly controversial opinions. Theatrical directors were alarmed by the scale of the sets, artistic innovations, conductors and musicians were put off by the difficulty of performance, audiences were bored by the length of the works, and critics and composers with a conservative artistic attitude accused Berlioz of architectural freedom, instrumental experimentation, and lack of conventional cantilena. However, Berlioz’s talent was appreciated by Schumann, Wagner, and Liszt, who expressed their admiration in their writings (see literature), and over the years he also gained the applause of the audience. After 1840, Berlioz embarked on concert tours as a widely recognized composer with a renowned name.

A rich literature on his life and work was created during the artist’s lifetime. Nineteenth-century writers were primarily interested in Berlioz as an exponent of Romanticism in music. However, the composer’s exuberant life, evocatively presented by himself in his Memoirs, meant that in many publications the biographical element dominated over the analysis of his work (Boschot, Kapp); sometimes authors limited themselves to presenting the romantic thread in the composer’s life. Popular literature perpetuated the image of an exalted artist struggling with family opposition, entangled in romantic adventures, suffering from a lack of acceptance by his contemporaries, and achieving sudden artistic triumphs. This image of the artist was reinforced by the fact that in the 19th century, his writings (published collectively in four volumes by R. Pohl as early as 1864) and letters (published from 1879) were better known than his compositions, and Berlioz’s expressive literary style stimulated the imagination and fantasy of authors. It was not until the beginning of the 20th century that documentation work began. Between 1900 and 1907, a 20-volume edition of Berlioz’s compositions was published, and between 1903–12, a 10-volume edition of his literary writings was published, and at the same time, from 1903, further collections of Berlioz’s correspondence began to appear, among which the 3-volume collection of letters published by J. Tiersot occupies a prominent place. In synthetic studies of music history, Berlioz is widely regarded as the leading composer of Romanticism in France, but prevailing patterns of thought mean that when considering Romanticism on a European scale, Berlioz – like Chopin – remains in the shadow of German composers: Schubert, Weber, Mendelssohn, and Schumann.

Research into Berlioz’s music is hampered not only by the abundance of his legacy, but above all by his frequent practice of composing and publishing a given work in different performance versions, numerous reworkings, and the practice of transposition. From his earliest years, the composer freely transferred fragments of one work to others; for example, he transformed Resurrexit from the Mass (1825) into Tuba mirum in the Requiem, introduced fragments from the same Mass into the Te Deum, and also used the thematic material in the oratorio Le passage de la mer rouge and in the opera Benvenuto Cellini; Lélio included La mort de Cléopâtre, the dramatic fantasy La tempête based on Shakespeare’s The Tempest, and fragments from the cantata La mort d`Orphée; Huit scénes de Faust  were included in La damnation de Faust; in the fourth movement of the Symphonie fantastique, a transformed march from the third act of the opera Les juges secrets appeared, and the melody of the introductory Largo of the same symphony – according to the composer himself – comes from the destroyed Romance, a youthful composition.

Part of Berlioz’s legacy remains in manuscript form, some works are unfinished, others have been lost. It is only in recent years that interest in the work of this outstanding composer has grown, and painstaking source research has been undertaken. The Berlioz Centenary Committee, established in London on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of Berlioz’s death, initiated a source edition of Berlioz’s works, the first edition of the opera Les Troyens appeared, and numerous monographs and dissertations expanded the scope of research with new topics. Berlioz’s music is becoming increasingly popular (including M. Bejart’s choreographic adaptation of Roméo et Juliette). In Poland, Berlioz’s lesser-known works are occupying an increasingly important place in the music programming of the Polish Radio.

Berlioz has gone down in music history as the creator of the Romantic symphony and new instrumentation, but he is still waiting to be discovered as a creator of dramatic music, a spokesman for a new sound concept, a composer and writer who not only reflected the ideas of his era in his work, but also sensed the rhythm of the future, a man whose work combined elements of Romantic emotionalism with rationalist realism.

Literature: 

Documents:

J.G. Prod’homme Bibliographie berliosienne, “Sammelbände der Internationalen Musikgesellschaft” V, 1903/04, repr. with a few changes “La Revue Musicale” 1956 no. 233 (a basic review of the literature on Berlioz); C. Hopkinson A Bibliography of the Musical and Literary Works of Hector Berlioz, Edinburgh 1951; A. Espiau de la Maëstre Catalogue des manuscrits et documents berliosiens conservés dans les bibliothtyues et archioes publiques et privées de Vienne, Vienna 1967; Catalogue of the Works of Hector Berlioz, ed. D.K. Holoman, «Hector Berlioz New Edition of the Complete Works» XXV, Kassel 1987; Correspondance générale de Hector Berlioz, ed. P Citron, vol. 1: 1803–1832, vol. 2: 1832–1842, vol. 3: 1842–1850, vol. 4: 1851–1855, vol. 5: 1855–1859, Paris 1972–89; W. Dömling Hector Berlioz in Selbstzeugnissen und Bilddokumenten, Rein-beck near Hamburg 1977; Festival Berlioz Actes du colloque 1980, Villeurbanne 1980

Correspondance inédite d’Hector Berlioz (1819–68), ed. D. Bernard, Paris 1879; Lettres intimes, with a preface of Ch. Gounod, Paris 1882; Lettres inédites d’Hector Berlioz á Thomas Gounet, eds. L. Michoud and G. Allix, Grenoble 1903; Une page d’amour romantique. Lettres inédites á Mme Estelle F. (1864–68), Paris 1903; Briefe von Hector Berlioz an die Fürstin Caroline Sayn-Wittgenstein, ed. La Mara, Leipzig 1903; 3 vols. Of correspondence ed. J. Tiersot: Les années romantiques (1819–42), Le musicien errant (1842–52), Au milieu de chemin (1852–55), Paris 1904, 1919, 1930; Les lettres de Berlioz à Auguste Morel, ed. J.G. Prod’homme, Paris 1912; Listy Hectora Berlioza do Karola Lipińskiego, “Przegląd Muzyczny” Krakow 1913 no. 6; Correspondance inédite, Paris 1917; New Letters of Berlioz (1830–68), trans. and ed. J. Barzun, New York 1954; B. Delii Sechs unbekannte Briefe von Hector Berlioz, “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik” CXIX, 1958; Hector Berlioz A Selection from His Letters, trans. and ed. H. Searle, New York 1966; W. Stasow The Letters of Berlioz, in: Selected Essays on Music ed. G. Abraham, London 1968; Lettere inedite dall’ Italia… (1830–32), ed. F. Lesure, “Nuova Rivista Musicale Italiana” III, 1969.

Accounts by contemporaries (memoirs, reviews):

J. d’Ortigue Le balcon de l’Opéra, Paris 1833; R. Schumann Hector Berlioz Épisode de la vie d`un artiste, Grande symphonie fantastique op. 4, “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik” 1835, repr. in Gesammelte Schriften über Musik und Musiker, Leipzig 1888; J. d’Ortigue De l’école musicale italienne et de l’administration de l’Académie Royale de Musique à l’occasion de l’opéra de Hector Berlioz, Paris 1839; R. Wagner Pariser Berichte für die Dresdener Abendzeitung (1841), part 3, repr. in Sämtliche Schriften und Dichtungen. Volks-Ausgabe, vol. 12, 6 eds., Leipzig n.d.; W.R. Griepenkerl Ritter Berlioz in Braunschweig, Brunswick 1843; F. Liszt Berlioz und seine „Harold-Symphonie”, “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik” 1855, repr. in Gesammelte Schriften, vol. 4, Leipzig 1882; E. de Mirecourt Berlioz, Paris 1856; P. Scudo Critique et littérature musicale, Paris 1856; L. Ehlert Briefe über Musik an eine Freundin, Berlin 1859, 3rd ed. 1879, French trans. Lettres sur la musique à une amie, Paris 1878; L. Escudier Mes souvenirs, Paris 1863; Nantho „Les Troyens”au Pére-Lachaise, Paris 1864; A. Sierow Hector Berlioz Esquisse critique, “Journal de Sankt-Pétersbourg” 1869 nos. 105, 109, 110, 113, repr. in: Izbrannyje stat`ji, vol. 1, Moscow 1950; E. David Notice sur Hector Berlioz lue dans la séance de l’Académie des Beaux Arts de 10 juillet 1870, Paris 1870; Th. Gautier Hector Berlioz, “Journal Officiel” dated 16 March 1870, Polish trans. J. Guze, in: T. Gautier. Pisarze i artyści romantyczni, Warsaw 1975; G. de Massougnes Berlioz, son oeuvre, Paris 1870; F. Hiller Musikalisches und Persönliches, Leipzig 1876; G.A. Osborne Berlioz, “Proccedings of the Musical Association” V, 1879; A. Sygietyński Hector Berlioz, “Echo Muzyczne, Teatralne i Artystyczne” Warsaw 1881 nos. 1–2, 4–7; O. Fouqué Les révolu- tionnaires de la musique, Paris 1882; A. Barbier Souvenirs personnels et silhouettes contemporaines, Paris 1883; R. Pohl Hector Berlioz Studien und Erinnerungen, Leipzig 1884; G. Noufflard Hector Berlioz et le mouvement de l’art contemporain, Paris 1885; E. Legouvé Soixante ans de souoenirs, 4 vols., Paris 1885–87; W. Stasow List, Szuman i Berlioz w Rossiji, “Severny Vestnik” 1889 nos. 7–8, repr in: Izbrannye sochineniya, vol. 3, Moscow 1952; E. Hanslick Aus meinem Leben, vol. 1, Berlin 1894; Ch. Gounod Mémoires d’un artiste, Paris 1896; E. Hanslick Berliozs „Symphonie fantastique” (1898), in: Am Ende des Jahrhunderts (1895-1899). Musikalische Kritiken und Schilderungen, Berlin 1899; C. Saint-Saëns Portraits et souvenirs, Paris 1900.

Biografie, monografie:

E. Hippeau Berlioz intime d’après des documents nouveaux, Paris 1883; E. Hippeau Berlioz, l`homme et l`artiste, 3 vols., Paris 1883–85; A. Ernst L’oeuvre dramatique de Hector Berlioz, Paris 1884; A. Jullien Hector Berlioz, sa vie et ses oeuvres, Paris 1888; E. Hippeau Berlioz et son temps, Paris 1890; E. Destranges „Les Troyens” de Berlioz, étude analytique, Paris 1897; L. Pohl Hector Berlioz, Leben und Werke, Leipzig 1900; G. Allix Sur les éléments dont s`est formée la personnalité artistique de Berlioz, Grenoble 1903; K.F. Boult Berlioz`s Life as Written by Himself in His Letters and Memoirs, London 1903; R. Louis Hector Berlioz, Leipzig 1903, 2nd ed. 1904; P. Morillot Berlioz écrivain, Grenoble 1903; J.G. Prod’homme Hector Berlioz, sa vie et ses oeuvres, Paris 1904, 2nd ed. 1913, German trans. L. Frankenstein, Leipzig 1906; J. Tiersot Hector Berlioz et la société de son temps, Paris 1904; E. Newman Musical Studies – Berlioz, Romantic and Classic, London 1905; A. Boschot L’histoire d’un romantiąue: Hector Berlioz,vol. 1: La jeunesse d’un romantique (1803–1831), vol. 2: Un romantique sous Louis Philippe (1831–1842), vol. 3: Le crépuscule d’un romantique (1842–1869),Paris 1906–13, fully new ed. 1948–49; E. Bernouli Hector Berlioz als Ästhetiker der Klangfarben, Zurich 1909; A. Coquard Berlioz, «Les musiciens célèbres», Paris 1909; A. Boschot Le Faust de Berlioz, Paris 1910, revised ed. 1927, 1946; J.G. Prod’homme Les deux „Benvenuto Cellini” de Berlioz, Paris 1913; J. Kapp Berlioz, Berlin 1917, 2nd ed. 1922; A. Boschot Une vie romantique: Hector Berlioz, Paris 1920, new ed. Quebec 1965; P.M. Masson Berlioz, «Les maîtres de la musique», Paris 1923; T. Mantovani La dannazione di Faust d`Ettore Berlioz, Milan 1923; J. Tiersot La damnation de Faust, Paris 1924; W.J. Turner Berlioz, the Man and His Work, London 1934; TS. Wotton Hector Berlioz, London 1935, repr. New York 1969; A. Chochłowkina Berlioz, Moscow 1938, 2nd ed. 1960; J.H. Elliot Berlioz, «Master Musicians», London 1938, repr. New York 1967; H. Bartenstein Hector Berliozs Instrumentationskunst und ihre geschichtlichen Grundlagen, Bühl-Baden 1939; G. de Pourtalès Berlioz et l`Europe romantique, Paris 1939; E. Haraszti Berlioz et la Marche hongroise, Paris 1946; A. Carse The Orchestra from Beethoven to Berlioz, Cambridge 1948; P.G. Mouthier Hector Berlioz, Brussels 1944; J. Barzun Berlioz and the Romantic Century, 2 vols., Boston 1950, London 1951, revised ed. 1969; W.A. Ganz Berlioz in London. Biography and Unpublished Letters, London 1950; H. Kühner Hector Berlioz, Charakter und Schöpfertum, Olten 1952; G. Favre Hector Berlioz, Paris 1954; H. Barraud Hector Berlioz, Paris 1955; A.W.G. Court Hector Berlioz, The Role of Literature in His Life and Work, London 1960 (thesis); M. Nicolescu Berlioz, Bucharest 1964; G.Th. Sandford The OuVertures of Hector Berlioz, London 1964, New York 1965; C. Ballif Berlioz, «Solfèges» XXIX, Paris 1968; S. Demarquez Hector Berlioz, «Musiciens de tous les temps» XLII, Paris 1969; M. Guiomar Le masque et le fantasme. L’imagination de la matière sonore dans la pensée musicale de Berlioz, Paris 1970; B. Primmer The Berlioz Style, London 1973, 2nd ed. 1975; H. Barraud Hector Berlioz Les indispensables de la musique, Paris 1979, repr. 1989; R. Bockholdt Berlioz-Studien, «Münchner Veröffentlichungen zur Musikgeschichte» XXIX, Tutzing 1979; W. Dömling Hector Berlioz Die symphonisch-dramatischen Werke, Stuttgart 1979; F. Piatier Hector Berlioz Benvenuto Cellini ou le mythe de l`artiste, Paris 1981; J.M. Bailbé Berlioz et l’art lyrique, Bern 1981; H.J. Macdonald Berlioz, London 1982, 2nd ed. 1991, Spanish trans. Buenos Aires 1989; J. Rushton The Musical Language of Berlioz, Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1983; W. Mönch Hector Berlioz, Frankfurt am Main 1985; W. Dömling Hector Berlioz und seine Zeit, Laaber 1986; Ph. Andriot Berlioz Les combats d’un romantique, Lion 1987; R. Clarson-Leach Berlioz, London 1987; Th. Schacher Idee und Erscheinungsformen des Dramatischen bei Hector Berlioz, «Hamburger Beiträge zur Musikwissenschaft» XXXIII, Hamburg 1987 (thesis); D. Cairns Berlioz 1803–1832. The Making of an Artist, London 1989, French ed. Paris 1991; D.K. Holoman Berlioz, Cambridge (Massachusetts) 1989; J. Langford Hector Berlioz A Guide to Research, New York 1989.

Articles:

A. Hallays Hector Berlioz critique musical, “Revue de Paris” 1903; J. Tiersot Berlioziana, “Le Ménestrel” 1906; Ch. Malherbe Une autobiographie de Berlioz, “Rivista Musicale Italiana” XIII, 1906; R. Rolland Berlioz, in: Musiciens d’aujourd’hui, Paris 1908; T.S. Wotton Unknown Score of Berlioz, “The Music Review” IV, 1943; A.E.F. Dickinson The Reoisions for the Damnation of Faust, “The Monthly Musical Record” LXXXIX, 1959; A.E.F. Dickinson Berlioz’s Rome Prize Works, “The Music Review” XXV, 1964; A.S. Garlington Lesueur, Ossian and Berlioz, “Journal Of The Americans Musicological Society” XVII, 1964; U. Eckart-Bäcker Die Wiederbelebung von Hector Berlioz, in: Beiträge zur Geschichte der Musikanschauung im 19. Jahrhundert, ed. W. Salmen, «Studien zur Musikgeschichte des 19. Jahrhunderts» I, Regensburg 1965; H.J. Macdonald Berlioz’s Self-Borrowings, “Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association” XCII, 1965/66; E.C. Bass Thematic Unification of Scenes in Multimovement Works of Berlioz, “The Music Review” XXVIII, 1967; C. Hopkinson The Important Berlioz Discoveries, “Fontes Artis Musicae” XV, 1968; D. Cairns Berlioz and Virgil. A Consideration of „Les Troyens” as a Virgilian Opera, “Proceedings of the Royal Musical Association” XCV, 1968/69; A.E.F. Dickinson Berlioz’s Songs, “The Musical Quarterly” LV, 1969; E. Lockspeiser The Berlioz-Strauss Treatise on Instrumentation, “Music and Letters” L, 1969; J.W. Klein Berlioz’s Personality, “Music and Letters” L, 1969; H.J. Macdonald Two Peculiarities of Berlioz’s Notation, “Music and Letters” L, 1969; F. Lesure Le testament d’Hector Berlioz,“Revue de Musicologie” LV, 1969; E.C. Bass Musical Time and Space in Berlioz, “The Music Review” XXX, 1969; A.E.F. Dickinson Berlioz’s Stage Works, “The Music Review” XXXI, 1970; C. Hopkinson Berlioz and the „Marseillaise”, “Music and Letters” LI, 1970; D. Holoman The Present State of Berlioz Research, “Acta Musicologica” XLVII no. 1, 1975; J. Rushton The Overture to „Les Troyens”, «Music Analysis» IV, 1985; P.A. Robinson The Idea of History, in: Opera and Ideas from Mozart to Strauss, New York 1985; J.-M. Bailbé Berlioz, Deschamp et le grand opéra français, in: Les écrivains français et l’opéra, eds. J.-P Capdevielle and P.-E. Knabe, «Kölner Schriften zur romanischen Kultur» VII, Cologne 1986; J. Chailley Les sources du livret de „Benvenuto Cellini”, in: “Bulletin de liaison de l’Association Nationale Hector Berlioz” XXII, 1988; W. Dömling Les nouvelles dimensions de l’espace et du temps dans la musique d’Hector Berlioz, in: “Analyse musicale” XV, 1989; L. Polony Hector Berlioz „Les nuits d’été” cykl pieśni do słów T. Gautier (1834–1841),in: Cykle pieśni ery romantycznej 1816–1914. Interpretacje, «Muzyka i liryka» I, ed. M. Tomaszewski, Krakow 1989; J.-M. Brèque La grande tragédie lyrique selon Berlioz, H.J. Macdonald La genèse des „Troyens” and B. Perl Berlioz orchestrateur d’opéras, “L’avant-scène opéra” 1990 nos. 128–129; K.W. Werth „Nature immense”. A Sketch from Berlioz’s „La damnation de Faust”. A New View of the Composer at Work, “The Musical Quarterly” LXXIV, 1990; H. Pousseur Berlioz, «Musik Konzepte» LXIX, eds. H. Metzger and R. Riehn, Munich 1990.