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Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique

             Beethoven's Fifth Symphony & Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique.
             Throughout the course of history there have been many distinct musical periods. Evolving out of some of these timeframes came many musical geniuses such as Mozart, Haydn, Bach, Schubert, Handel, Berlioz, and Beethoven. Each artist carried with them their own sense of style when creating their music. These decisions were a reflection of the musical period in which they were categorized. The two works I chose to analyze in this paper are: Beethoven's Symphony No. 5; first movement, and Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique; fourth movement. Each falls under the category of either the Classical Period (Beethoven) or the Romantic Period (Berlioz.) .
             It is debated whether or not Beethoven's Fifth Symphony is the most memorable musical phrase of all time. I chose the first movement because this is where the rhythmic idea of the three short notes followed by the long note is introduced. This particular part in the symphony is very important because it is the one and only element that dominates the entire symphony. There are two rhythmic themes in the first movement. Already mentioned is the "3 short notes and a long note- followed by the second theme which contains all quarter notes. This theme contrasts the beginning theme in that it has a smooth contour compared to the expressive and accented rhythm of the first theme. .
             In this movement we hear a simple melody that will be heard and developed throughout the entire movement. In actuality the first theme rhythm is heard in almost every bar of music in the first movement. The second melody of this theme contrasts the first. The second theme has a smooth line with an overall shape. There are no sudden changes in key or tonality in this piece; although, this is not to say that Beethoven did not use dissonant chords, he just doesn't resolve them like any other normal resolution we might hear of the time.


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1. Instrumentation the Symphonie Fantastique

... score and way in which he uses his instruments to achieve unusual effects all in order to express his program. Berlioz introduced several new instruments in the "Symphonie Fantastique" including: the ophicleide, cornet, Eb clarinet, cor anglais harp and bells. It is interesting to see Berlioz use these instruments for specific programmatic reasons. For example in the second movement (Un ball ... the programme. In conclusion, it is clear to see that Berlioz orchestration is entirely fundamental to the portrayal of the programme. Berlioz describes the music to be "indispensable" without th...

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2. Symphonie Fantastique

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... truly gifted composer who was most definitely inspired by literature; mainly Shakespeare. His composition Lelio is a correspondence to the renowned play Hamlet. Probably his best known piece though, Symphonie Fantastique was written about a woman that Berlioz was madly infatuated with. The Irish Shakespearean actress, Harriet Smithson, was the Bent 3 object of his affections, and did actually become his wife for a short time ... years after this composition. The remarkable part about the symphony is that Berlioz actually had programs made up and distributed to the audience for the perfor...

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