Hector Berlioz's Symphony Analysis

Shakespeare and Beethoven were a huge deal in the Romantic period. Shakespeare was known for his dramas that many people, of the time, went to go watch. Beethoven was a musical prodigy of the time who many young composers looked up to. These two were especially influential and inspiring to Hector Berlioz. Berlioz was a composer of the Romantic period, as well. He is most famous for his program symphony that he composed, Symphonie Fantastique. A program symphony is a symphony that portrays something nonmusical. There was another composer to wrote a program piece. Vivaldi wrote a program concerto; this being the same as a program symphony, but instead of being a symphony portraying something nonmusical, it is a concerto. His program concerto …show more content…
The fixed idea actually evolves throughout the piece. In the first movement, the fixed idea is introduced to the symphony. The second movement takes us to a ball and is a waltz. In this movement, Berlioz is trying to get Harriet to notice him. The third movement was written while Berlioz was in Italy’s countryside and is a scene in the fields. Berlioz wanted this movement to portray love. Because this movement is supposed to portray love, it was the hardest to compose for Berlioz. He wanted to get the feel and mood of the movement to be just right. The next movement moves on to the execution of Berlioz at the guillotine; this was after he killed Harriet. The march includes music that would be played while heading to the guillotines, in real life. Just before his head is cut off, we hear the theme of Harriet portray his last thoughts being of her. Her theme is, suddenly, cut off; just as Berlioz’s head is cut off by the guillotine. The last movement is like a hellish dream and portrays Harriet as a witch. This movement sounds very hellish, ghoulish, and whimsical, in a way. In this movement, it sounds like a witch cackling and riding her broomstick, and the tubas and bassoons play the typical funeral chant of the time, Dies