hector berlioz essai on beethoven's symphonies (english)

8/8/2019 Hector Berlioz Essai on Beethoven's Symphonies (English)

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erlioz: Essay on Beethoven's symphonies

Hector Berlioz:

A CRITICAL STUDY OF THE SYMPHONIES OF BEETHOVEN

(FromA travers chants)

Translated by Michel Austin

ontents of this page:

troduction

mphony no. 1

mphony no. 2

mphony no. 3

mphony no. 4

mphony no. 5

mphony no. 6mphony no. 7

mphony no. 8

mphony no. 9

his page is also available in the original French

Introduction

Some thirty six or seven years ago, Beethovens works, which at the time were completely unknown in

ance, were tried out at the Opras concerts spirituels. Today it would be hard to believe the storm of critic

om the majority of musicians that greeted this wonderful music. It was described as bizarre, incoherent,

ffuse, bristling with harsh modulations and wild harmonies, bereft of melody, over the top, too noisy, and

rribly difficult to play. To satisfy the demands of the men of good taste who at the time held sway at the

admie royale de musique, M. Habeneck, who later organised and directed with such care the performanc

e symphonies at the Conservatoire, found himself obliged to make monstrous cuts in them, of a kind that

ould only be tolerated in a ballet by Gallemberg or an opera by Gaveaux. Without such corrections Beetho

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ould not have been granted the honour of appearing on the programme of the concerts spirituels between a

lo for bassoon and a flute concerto. At the first hearing of those passages that had been marked with a red

ncil, Kreutzer took to flight blocking his ears, and he had to summon all his courage to steel himself to list

the other rehearsals to what was leftof the symphony in D major (no. 2). Let us not forget that M. Kreutze

inion on Beethoven was shared by ninety nine per cent of musicians in Paris at the time, and that without t

rsistent efforts of the tiny fraction who took the opposite view, the greatest composer of modern times wou

obably still be largely unknown today. The mere fact that fragments of Beethoven were performed at the

pra was therefore of considerable significance, and we can state this with good reason, since without this t

cit des concerts du Conservatoire would probably not have been founded. The credit for this noble

stitution belongs to this small group of intelligent men and to the public. The public - I mean the true publi

hich does not belong to any particular clique - is guided by its own feelings and not by narrow ideas or any

diculous theories it may have conceived on art. That public, which is often mistaken in its judgments, since

equently changes its mind, was struck at the outset by some of Beethovens salient qualities. It did not ask

hether this particular modulation was related to another, whether certain harmonies were acceptable topun

r whether it was admissible to use certain rhythms which were as yet unknown. All it noticed was that thes

ythms, harmonies and modulations, adorned with noble and passionate melodies, and enhanced by powerf

chestral writing, exerted on it a strong impression of a completely novel kind. Nothing more was needed to

mulate its applause. Only at rare intervals does our French public experience the keen and incandescentmotion that the art of music can generate; but when its emotions are truly stirred, nothing can equal its grati

r the artist who caused this, whoever he may be. Thus from its first appearance, the famous allegretto in A

nor of the seventh symphony, which had been inserted in the second to make the rest palatable, was judge

true worth by the audience at the concerts spirituels. A loud clamour arose for the piece to be repeated, an

e second performance the first movement and scherzo of the symphony in D (no. 2), which at first hearing

ade little impression, scored an almost comparable success. The obvious interest in Beethoven that the pub

gan to show from then on doubled the energy of his defenders and reduced to inaction, if not to silence, the

ajority of his detractors. Little by little, thanks to these glimmerings of dawn which tell the clear-sighted on

hich side the sun is about to rise, the core of supporters increased in size and the result was the foundation,

most entirely for Beethovens sake, of the magnificent Socit du Conservatoire, which nowadays has scarival in the world.

We will attempt to analyse the symphonies of this great master, starting with the first symphony which the

onservatoire performs so rarely.

I Symphony in C major

Through its form, melodic style, and the spareness of its harmonic and orchestral writing, this work is quit

fferent from the other compositions of Beethoven which followed. In writing this symphony the composer

idently under the influence of Mozarts ideas, which he has throughout imitated ingeniously and at times

agnified. But in the first and second movements one can notice from time to time certain rhythmic patterns

hich the author ofDon Giovanni has admittedly used, but very rarely and in a much less striking way. The

egro has a six bar theme, which though not very distinctive in itself, acquires interest subsequently throug

e skilful way in which it is treated. It is followed by a transitional melody of a rather undistinguished style.



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lf-cadence which is repeated three or four times leads to a passage for wind instruments with imitations at

urth above. It is all the more surprising to find this here, as it was often used before in several overtures to

ench operas.

The andante includes a soft accompaniment for timpani which nowadays seems rather commonplace, but

hich can nevertheless be seen as the forerunner of the striking effects which Beethoven was to produce late

th this instrument, which his predecessors had in general used to little or no purpose. This piece is full of

arm; the theme is graceful and lends itself well to fugal developments, through which the composer has be

le to exploit it in ingenious and witty ways.

The scherzo is the first born in this family of delightful musical jests (scherzi), a form invented by Beethov

ho established its tempo. In almost all his instrumental works it takes the place of the minuet of Mozart and

aydn, which is only half the speed of the scherzo and very different in character. This one is delightful in it

eshness, nimbleness, and charm. It is the only really novel piece in this work, in which the poetic idea, whi

ays such a large and rich part in the majority of works which followed, is completely absent. This is admira

afted music, clear, alert, but lacking in strong personality, cold and sometimes rather small-minded, as for

ample in the final rondo, which has the character of a musical amusement. In a word, this is not Beethoven

e are about to meet him.

II Symphony in D major

Everything in this symphony is noble, energetic and proud; the introduction (largo) is a masterpiece. The

autiful effects follow in quick succession, always in unexpected ways but without causing any confusion. T

elody has a touching solemnity; from the very first bars it commands respect and sets the emotional tone.hythms are now more adventurous, the orchestral writing richer, more sonorous and varied. This wonderfu

agio leads to an allegro con brio which has a sweeping vitality. The grupetto in the first bar of the theme

ayed by violas and cellos in unison is subsequently developed it its own right, either to generate surging

escendo passages or to bring about imitations between wind and strings, all of them at once novel and livel

aracter. In the middle comes a melody, played by clarinets, horns and bassoons for the first half, and round

f as a tutti by the rest of the orchestra; it has a masculine energy which is further enhanced by the felicitous

oice of accompanying chords. The andante is not treated in the same way as that of the first symphony;

stead of a theme developed in canonical imitation it consists of a pure and innocent theme, presented at fir

ainly by the strings, then exquisitely embellished with delicate strokes; they faithfully reproduce the tender

aracter of the main theme. This is the enchanting depiction of innocent joy, scarcely troubled by passinguches of melancholy. The scherzo is as openly joyful in its capricious fantasy as the andante was complete

ppy and calm. Everything in this symphony smiles, and even the martial surges of the first allegro are free

om any hint of violence; they only speak of the youthful ardour of a noble heart which has preserved intact

ost beautiful illusions of life. The author still believes in immortal glory, in love, in devotion What

andonment in his joy, what wit, what exuberance! The various instruments fight over particles of a theme

hich none of them plays in full, yet each fragment is coloured in a thousand different ways by being tossed

om one instrument to the other. To hear this is like witnessing the enchanted sport of Oberons graceful spi

he finale is of the same character: it is a scherzo in double time, perhaps even more delicate and witty in its

ayfulness.



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III Eroica Symphony

It is a serious mistake to truncate the title which the composer provided for the symphony. It reads:Heroic

mphony to commemorate the memory of a great man. As will be seen, the subject here is not battles orumphal marches, as many, misled by the abbreviated title, might expect, but rather deep and serious thoug

elancholy memories, ceremonies of imposing grandeur and sadness, in short afuneral oration for a hero. I

ow few examples in music of a style where sorrow has been so unfailingly conveyed in forms of such puri

d such nobility of expression.

The first movement is in triple time and in a tempo which is almost that of a waltz, yet nothing could be m

rious and more dramatic than this allegro. The energetic theme on which it is built is not at first presented

complete form. Contrary to normal practice, the composer has initially provided only a glimpse of his

elodic idea, which is only revealed in its full power after a few bars introduction. The rhythmic writing is

tremely striking in the frequent use of syncopation and, through the stress on the weak beat, the insertion o

rs in duple time into bars in triple time. When to this irregular rhythm some harsh dissonances are added, a

e find towards the middle of the development section, where the first violins play a high F natural against a

tural, the fifth of the chord of A minor, it is difficult not to shudder at this depiction of indomitable fury. T

the voice of despair and almost of rage. Yet one wonders, Why this despair, Why this rage? The reason for

not obvious. Then in the next bar the orchestra suddenly calms down, as though, exhausted by its own

tburst, its strength was abruptly deserting it. A gentler passage follows, which evokes all the most painful

elings that memory can stir in the mind. It is impossible to describe or merely to indicate the multiplicity o

elodic and harmonic guises in which Beethoven presents his theme. We will only mention an extremely od

se, which has caused a great deal of argument. The French publisher corrected it in his edition of the score

e belief it was an engraving error, but after further enquiry the passage was reinstated. The first and second

olins on their own are playing tremolando a major second (B flat, A flat), part of the chord of the seventh o

e dominant of E flat, when a horn gives the impression of having made a mistake by coming in four bars to

on, and rudely intrudes with the beginning of the main theme which consists only of the notes E flat, G, E

flat. The strange effect produced by this melody built on the three notes of the tonic chord against the two

scordant notes of the dominant chord can easily be imagined, even though the distance between the parts

eatly softens the clash. But just as the ear is about to protest against this anomaly, an energetic tutti cuts of

rn, endspiano on the tonic chord and gives way to the entry of the cellos which then play the complete the

th the appropriate harmony. Taking a detached view it is difficult to find a serious justification for this mu

price*. But it is said that the author attached much importance to it. It is even related that at the first rehearthe symphony, M. Ries who was present stopped the orchestra and exclaimed: "Too early, too early, the h

wrong!". As a reward for his indiscretion, he was roundly taken to task by a furious Beethoven.

*However you look at it, if that was really what Beethoven wanted, and if there is any truth in the anecdot

hich circulate on the subject, it must be admitted that this whim is an absurdity.

There is no comparable oddity in the rest of the score. The funeral march is a drama in its own right. It is l

ranslation of Virgils beautiful lines on the funeral procession of the young Pallas:



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Multaque praeterea Laurentis praemia pugnae

Adgerat, et longo praedam jubet ordine duci.

Post bellator equus, positis insignibus, Aethon

It lacrymans, guttisque humectat grandibus ora.

The ending in particular is deeply moving. The theme of the march returns, but now in a fragmented form

erspersed with silences, and only accompanied by threepizzicato notes in the double basses. When these

ters of the sad melody, left on their own, bare, broken and lifeless, have collapsed one after the other onto

nic, the wind instruments utter a final cry, the last farewell of the warriors to their companion in arms, and

hole orchestra fades away on apianissimo pause.

Following normal practice the third movement is entitled scherzo. In Italian the word means play, or jest.

st sight it is hard to see how this kind of music can find a place in this epic composition. It has to be heard

understood. The piece does indeed have the rhythm and tempo of a scherzo; these are games, but real fun

mes, constantly darkened by thoughts of death, games of the kind that the warriors of theIliadwould celeb

ound the tombs of their leaders. Even in his most imaginative orchestral developments Beethoven has been

le to preserve the serious and sombre colouring, the deep sadness which of course had to predominate in su

ubject.

The finale is just a continuation of the same poetical idea. There is a very striking example of orchestral

iting at the beginning, which illustrates the kind of effect that can be produced by juxtaposing different

strumental timbres. The violins play a B flat, which is immediately taken up by flutes and oboes as a kind o

ho. Although the sound is played at the same dynamic level, at the same speed and with the same force, th

alogue produces such a great difference between the notes that the nuance between them might be likened

e contrast between blue andpurple. Such tonal refinements were completely unknown before Beethoven, a

s to him that we owe them.

For all its great variety this finale is nevertheless built on a simple fugal theme. Besides a profusion of

genious details the composer develops on top of it two other themes, one of which is exceptionally beautifu

he melody is as it were derived from a different one, but its shape conceals this. On the contrary it is much

ore touching and expressive, far more graceful than the original theme, which has rather the character of a

e and serves this function very well. This melody returns shortly before the end, in a slower tempo and wi

fferent harmonies which further enhance its sad character. The hero costs many a tear. After these final reg

voted to his memory the poet abandons the elegiac tone and intones with rapture a hymn of glory. Though

her brief this conclusion is very brilliant and provides a fitting crown to the musical monument.

Beethoven may have written more striking works than this symphony, and several of his other compositioake a greater impact on the public. But it has to be admitted that theEroica symphony is so powerful in its

usical thought and execution, its style so energetic and so constantly elevated, and its form so poetic, that i

e equal of the composers very greatest works. Whenever this symphony is performed I am overcome with

elings of deep and as it were antique sadness; yet the public seems hardly moved. One must feel sorry for t

edicament of the artist: though fired with such enthusiasm he has not managed to make himself intelligible

en to an lite audience and make it rise it to the level of his own inspiration. This is all the more regrettabl

other circumstances this same audience warms up to the composer and shares his emotion and tears. It is f

th an ardent and genuine passion for some of his compositions, which may be equally worthy of admiratio

t are nevertheless no more beautiful than this work. It appreciates at its true worth the allegretto in A mino



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e seventh symphony, the allegretto scherzando of the eighth, the finale of the fifth, the scherzo of the ninth

en appears to be deeply moved by the funeral march of this symphony - theEroica. But as far as the first

ovement is concerned, there is no escaping the truth, and I have observed this for more than twenty years: t

blic listens to it with composure, regards it as a well crafted and quite powerful piece, but beyond that

thing. There is no point in philosophising. It is no good saying to oneself that the same has always been tru

erywhere for all artistic creations of an elevated kind, that the springs of poetic emotion are hidden and

fficult to fathom, that the feeling for beauty which some individuals possess is completely absent from the

asses, even that it cannot possibly be otherwise None of this provides any consolation or can appease the

ger - call it instinctive, involuntary, even absurd if you like - which fills ones heart at the sight of a

sunderstood masterpiece, of a composition of such nobility which the crowd observes but does not see, lis

but does not hear, and allows to pass by with hardly a sideways glance, as though dealing with something

ediocre or ordinary. It is dreadful to have to say to oneself with total certainty: what I find beautiful is beau

elffor me, but may not be so for my best friend. Someone who normally feels the same way as I do will be

fected in quite a different way. It may be that the work which sends me into raptures, makes me shiver, and

oves me to tears, leaves him cold, or even annoys and irritates him

The majority of great poets have no feeling for music and only enjoy melodies of a trivial or childish

aracter. Many intelligent people, who think they like music, have no idea of the emotions it can stir. Theseinful truths, but they are tangible and obvious, and only a peculiar kind of obstinacy prevents one from

cognising them. I have seen a bitch howling with pleasure on hearing a major third played in double stoppi

a violin, yet her pups have never reacted in a similar way, whether you play them a third, a fifth, a sixth, a

tave, or any other consonant or discordant chord. Whatever the composition of the public, it always reacts

eat musical conceptions in the same way as that bitch and her pups. There are nerves that react to certain

brations, but this ability to respond, incomplete as it is, is not equally disseminated and is subject to

numerable variations. It follows that it is virtual lunacy to rely on some artistic means rather than others to

fect it and that the best a composer can do is to remain blindly true to his own feelings and resign himself i

vance to all the whims of fortune. One day I was walking out of the Conservatoire with three or four dilett

er a performance of the Choral symphony.

How do you find this work? one of them asked me.

mmense! magnificent! overwhelming!

That is strange, I was bored stiff. And what about you? he added, turning to an Italian

Well, I find this unintelligible, or rather intolerable, there is no melody But here are some papers talking

out it, and let us see what they say:

Beethovens Choral symphony is the pinnacle of modern music; art has yet to produce anything comparabl

e nobility of its style, the grandeur of the design and the finish of the details.

nother paper) - Beethovens Choral symphony is a monstrosity.

nother paper) - This work is not completely barren of ideas, but they are poorly presented and the sum tota

coherent and devoid of charm.



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nother paper) - Beethovens Choral symphony has some wonderful passages, but the composer was obvio

ort of inspiration. As his exhausted imagination let him down he had to devote his energies, sometimes to

od effect, to making up through craftsmanship what he was lacking in inspiration. The few themes found i

e work are superbly treated and set out in a perfectly clear and logical sequence. In short, it is a very intere

ork by a tired genius.

Where is the truth, and where is the error? Everywhere and nowhere. Everybody is right. What to someon

ems beautiful is not so for someone else, simply because one person was moved and the other remaineddifferent, and the former experienced profound delight while the latter acute boredom. What can be done a

s? nothing but it is dreadful; I would rather be mad and believe in absolute beauty.

IV Symphony in B flat

Beethoven forsakes here completely the tones of epic and elegy to return to the less elevated, less sombre,ough perhaps no less difficult style of the second symphony. The tone of this score is generally lively, aler

d joyful, or of a heavenly gentleness. Leaving aside the brooding adagio which serves as an introduction t

st movement is almost wholly dedicated to joy. The theme in detached notes with which the allegro begin

more than a canvas on which the composer lays out subsequently other more substantial melodies, and wh

oked at the start of the movement like the principal theme is made to appear of secondary importance.

Though it leads to unusual and interesting results, this device had already been used by Mozart and Haydn

th comparable success. But in the second part of the same allegro a really new melody is introduced, the f

rs of which arrest the listeners attention, draw him into its mysterious developments then surprise him wit

expected conclusion. This is what happens. After a fairly vigorous tutti, the first violins break the opening

eme into fragments which they turn into a dialoguepianissimo with the second violins. This leads to held n

the dominant seventh of the key of B natural, each of which is separated by two bars of silence, filled only

oft tremolo on the timpani on the note B flat, the enharmonic major third of the fundamental F sharp. The

ssage is repeated, then the timpani fall silent and leave the strings murmuring gently other fragments of th

eme, and a new enharmonic modulation leads to a six-four chord of B flat. The timpani re-enter on the sam

te, now the genuine tonic and not as before the leading note, and continue with the tremolo for some twent

rs. The tonal force of this B flat hardly registers initially, but gradually increases as the tremolo is prolonge

hen the other instruments intersperse their forward momentum with short and incomplete fragments under

ntinuous rumble of the timpani, and this leads to a generalforte where the perfect chord of B flat is finally

tablished in all its majesty in the full orchestra. This astonishing crescendo is one of the happiest inspiratio

e know in music. The only passage that could be compared is the conclusion of the famous scherzo of the

mphony in C minor, though despite its overwhelming impact it is not conceived on such a vast scale, as it

arts frompiano to reach the final explosion but without departing from the home key, whereas the crescend

e have just described starts mezzo forte, disappears for a while in apianissimo under harmonies of constant

gue and indeterminate colour, then reappears with chords in a more defined tonality, and only bursts out w

e cloud obscuring this modulation has completely dissipated. It is like a river whose peaceful flow vanishe

ddenly from sight and only re-emerges from its underground course to come crashing down in a foaming

aterfall.



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As for the adagio, it defies analysis So pure are the forms, so angelic the expression of the melody and

esistibly tender, that the prodigious skill of the craftsmanship is completely hidden from view. From the ve

st bars one is gripped by emotion which by the end has reached an unbearable pitch of intensity. It is only

mong one of the giants of poetry that it is possible to find something to compare to this sublime movement

om the giant of music. Nothing resembles more the impression made by this adagio than the feelings one

periences when reading the touching episode of Francesca di Rimini in theDivina Commedia, the narrativ

hich Virgil cannot hear without bursting into tears, and which at the last verse causes Dante tofall, just as a

ad body collapses. This movement seems to have been breathed by the archangel Michael when, seized w

of melancholy, he contemplated the universe, standing on the threshold of the empyrean.

The scherzo consists almost entirely of phrases in two beats that are forced to fit into the framework of bar

ple time. Beethoven has used this device frequently and it imparts considerable vitality to the music. Melo

dings become as a result more incisive and unexpected; in any case, these cross-rhythms have in themselv

al charm, though it is difficult to explain why. There is special pleasure in seeing the beat dislocated in this

ay yet coming together again at the end of each period, and the musical logic though temporarily suspende

entually reaching a satisfactory conclusion and a complete solution. The melody of the trio, played by the

nd section, has exquisite freshness. The tempo is slower than that of the rest of the scherzo, and its simplicins extra elegance from the teasing little phrases delightfully tossed by the violins over the harmonic textu

he finale is joyful and alert and restricts itself to normal rhythmic forms. It consists of a jingle of scintillatin

tes in a continuous chatter, sometimes interrupted by a few raucous and wild chords, another example of th

gry outbursts to which we have already drawn attention with this composer.

V Symphony in C minor

This, without doubt the most famous of the symphonies, is also in our opinion the first in which Beethoven

ve wings to his vast imagination without being guided by or relying on any external source of inspiration.

e first, second and fourth symphonies, he has more or less enlarged already existing forms, suffusing them

th all the poetry his youthful vigour was capable of adding in terms of brilliant and passionate inspiration.

e third (theEroica) the forms are admittedly broadened and the musical thought rises to great heights, yet t

no mistaking the influence of one of those divine poets whom the great artist had long worshipped in his h

eethoven, faithful to the precept of Horace:

Nocturna versate manu, versate diurna,

gularly read Homer, and in his magnificent musical epic, inspired, it is said rightly or wrongly, by a

ntemporary hero, the memories of the ancientIliadself-evidently play a wonderfully beautiful part.

By contrast the C minor symphony seems to arise directly and solely from Beethovens own genius. In it h

velops his own intimate thoughts, it is about his secret suffering, his concentrated anger, his dreams full of

ch sad despair, his nocturnal visions, his outbursts of enthusiasm. The forms taken by melody, harmony,

ythm and the orchestral writing are as substantially individual and novel as they are powerful and noble.



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The first movement depicts those turbulent feelings which move a great soul seized with despair - not the

lm and concentrated despair which has an air of resignation, nor the sombre and silent despair of Romeo

arning of the death of Juliet, but rather the terrifying fury of Othello when he hears from the mouth of Iago

isonous calumnies which convince him of Desdemonas crime. At times the mood is one of frenzied deliri

hich breaks out in terrifying cries, at others one of exaggerated despair which can express nothing but regre

d self-pity. Listen to those orchestral hiccoughs, the chords exchanged between wind and strings which gr

nter as they come and go, like the painful breathing of a dying man, then give way to a violent gesture, wh

e orchestra seems to rise again revived by a flash of anger. See how this quivering orchestral mass hesitatemoment before plunging headlong, divided into two fiery unisons like two streams of lava. Can you deny t

s passionate style of writing is beyond and above everything that had been written before in orchestral mu

There is a striking example in this movement of the effect produced by the occasionally excessive doublin

rts and of the raw character of the chord of a fourth on the supertonic, in other words the second inversion

e dominant. It occurs frequently without preparation or resolution, and once even without the leading note

a pause: the low D is in all the string voices, while there is a bare and dissonant G on top in some wind pa

The character of the adagio is rather reminiscent of the allegretto in A minor of the seventh symphony an

e slow movement in E flat of the fourth. It has the solemn melancholy of the former, and the touching grac

e latter. The theme played first by the cellos and violas in unison, with a simplepizzicato accompaniment i

e double basses, is followed by a passage for wind instruments which keeps returning in identical form and

e same key from beginning to end of the movement, whatever the successive changes undergone by the fir

eme. This persistent repetition of the identical phrase, constantly repeated with the same simple and deep

dness, gradually stirs in the mind of the listener an indescribable feeling, without doubt the most intense of

nd that we have experienced. Among the most daring harmonic effects in this sublime elegy we may menti

the high note held by flutes and clarinets on the dominant E flat while the strings are active lower down an

ogress through the chord of the sixth, D flat, F, B flat, which has no connection with the high pedal note; 2

e episodic passage played by a flute, an oboe and two clarinets in contrary motion, which occasionally resuunprepared dissonances of the second, between the leading note G and F, the major sixth of A flat. This th

version of the chord of the leading seventh is forbidden by the majority of theorists, as is the high pedal we

ve just mentioned, yet the result is altogether delightful. There is also at the last entry of the first theme a

non in unison at an interval of one bar, between the violins and flutes, the clarinets and bassoons, which

ould give added interest to the melody treated in this way if the imitation by the wind instruments could be

ard; unfortunately the whole orchestra is playing loud at the same moment and makes it almost inaudible.

The scherzo is a strange composition. The first bars, which in themselves have nothing that should alarm,

ovoke that inexplicable emotion experienced under the magnetic gaze of some individuals. Everything her

ysterious and sombre; the orchestral effects, all more or less sinister in character, seem to belong to the wo

thought of the famous scene of Blacksberg in Goethes Faust. The prevailing dynamics arepiano and mez

rte. The central section (the trio) is taken up by a passage for the basses, bowed with full vigour, the ponde

ughness of which rattles the feet of the music stands and sounds rather like the antics of an exhilarated

ephant But the monster moves away, and the sound of its wild frolics gradually fades. The theme of the

herzo reappearspizzicato; gradually silence is established, and only a few lightly plucked notes are heard f

e violins together with the strange clicking sounds produced by the high A flat of the bassoons clashing wi

the octave of the tonic of the dominant minor ninth. The strings then break the sequence and settle gently

wed chord of A flat on which they doze off. The timpani using sponge-headed sticks keep the rhythm goin



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their own with light strokes which stand out faintly against the general somnolence of the rest of the

chestra. These timpani notes are Cs; the piece is in C minor, but the chord of A flat, long held by the other

struments, seems to be introducing a different key; for its part the solitary pulsing of the timpani on C tend

eserve the feeling of the original key. The ear hesitates where will this harmonic mystery end? and the

e soft throbbing of the timpani gradually increase in volume, joined by the violins which have started to m

ain, changing the harmony. This leads to the dominant seventh chord of G, B, D and F while the timpani

ntinue to play obstinately the tonic C. The whole orchestra, reinforced by the trombones which have not y

peared, explodes now in the major in a triumphal march and the finale begins. The electrifying effect of th

ssage is well known, and there is no need to elaborate for the reader.

Critics have nevertheless sought to diminish the composers merit by asserting that he had merely resorted

mmonplace device in making the brilliance of the major mode follow the darkness of apianissimo in a mi

y, that the triumphal theme was lacking in originality, and that interest flagged as the movement progresse

stead of increasing. We would answer: is it because the transition frompiano toforte, and from minorto

ajor, are known devices that there is less genius in creating such a work? How many other composers ha

t tried to achieve this same effect? And how can their efforts compare with the gigantic hymn of victory, i

hich the soul of the poet musician, liberated from earthly shackles and suffering, seems to soar radiantly to

aven? It is true that the first four bars of the march are not of striking originality; but there is a limit to wn be done with the genre of the fanfare, and we do not believe it possible to invent new types of fanfare

thout giving up completely its simple, grandiose and festive character. Beethoven wanted for the start of h

nale a fanfare-like entry; in the rest of the movement, in fact even in the continuation of the principal theme

ickly reverts to the lofty and original style that is his hallmark.

As for the criticism that he failed to sustain interest through the end of the movement, one might answer th

the present state of the art of music it is impossible to produce a more shattering effect than the transition f

e scherzo to the triumphal march, and it was therefore not possible to intensify that effect any further. To

main at such a height is already a prodigious feat; despite the breadth with which Beethoven develops his

aterial, he nevertheless brings it off. But this consistency of level from the beginning to the end is enough tve the impression of a fall-off; so great has been the initial impact on the listener, whose emotional respons

s been raised to the highest pitch, that it is all the more difficult to sustain it subsequently at the same level

ong row of columns of the same height perspective suggests that the more distant ones are actually smalle

uld be that our inadequate constitutions would adapt better to a more laconic ending such as Glucks Our

neral is calling you back: the audience would thus not have the time to cool down, and the symphony wou

over before fatigue prevented the audience from following in the composers footsteps. But this remark o

plies so to speak to the way the work is presented; it does not disqualify this finale from being in itself of a

agnificence and richness next to which very few pieces could stand comparison without being obliterated.

VI Pastoral Symphony

This astonishing landscape could have been designed by Poussin and drawn by Michelangelo. The author

delio and of theEroica symphony sets out to depict the tranquillity of the countryside and the shepherds

ntle way of life. But let us be clear: we are not dealing here with the picture-postcard and prettified shephe

M. de Florian, still less those of M. Lebrun, who wrote the Rossignol [The Nightingale], or those of J.-J.



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ousseau, the composer of theDevin du Village [The Village Soothsayer]. We are dealing here with real nat

he title given by the composer to his first movement is Gentle feelings stirred by the sight of a beautiful

ndscape. The shepherds begin to move about nonchalantly in the fields; their pipes can be heard from a

stance and close-by. Exquisite sounds caress you like the scented morning breeze. A flight or rather swarm

ittering birds pass overhead, and the atmosphere occasionally feels laden with mists. Heavy clouds come t

de the sun, then suddenly they scatter and let floods of dazzling light fall straight down on the fields and th

oods. These are the images that come to mind when I hear this piece, and despite the vagueness of instrume

nguage I suppose that many listeners have probably reacted in the same way.

Further on there is a Scene by the brook. Contemplation The composer probably created this wonderful

agio lying on his back in the grass, his eyes turned to heaven, his ear listening to the wind, fascinated by

untless reflections of sound and light, observing and listening at once to the white ripples of the river as th

eak gently on the stones of the bank. This is delightful. There are some who vehemently criticise Beethove

r wanting to reproduce at the end of the adagio the song of three birds, at first in succession and then toget

my view the normal test of the appropriateness or absurdity of such attempts is whether they come off or n

n this point I would therefore say to Beethovens critics that they are right as far as the nightingale is

ncerned: the imitation of its song is no more successful here than in M. Lebruns well-known flute solo, fo

e very simple reason that since the nightingale only emits indistinct sounds of indeterminate pitch it cannoitated by instruments with a fixed and precise pitch. But it seems to me that the case is different with the q

d the cuckoo, whose cry involves either one or two real notes of fixed pitch, and can therefore be fully

itated in a realistic way.

Now if the composer is criticised for introducing a childishly literal imitation of bird-song in a scene wher

e quiet voices of heaven, earth and water must naturally find their place, I would say in reply that the same

jection could be made when in the storm he also imitates faithfully the gusts of wind, the flashes of lightni

d the bellowing of animals. And heaven knows that no one has ever dreamed of criticising the storm of the

storal symphony! But let us proceed. The poet now brings us in the midst of a Joyful gathering of peasant

he dancing and laughter are restrained at first; the oboe plays a cheerful refrain accompanied by a bassoon n only manage to produce two notes. Beethovens intention was probably to suggest in this way an old

erman peasant, sitting on a cask with a decrepit old instrument, from which all he can draw are the two

incipal notes of the key of F, the dominant and the tonic. Every time the oboe plays its nave and jolly tune

girl in her Sunday clothes, the old bassoon blows his two notes. When the melody modulates to a different

e bassoon falls silent and quietly counts his rests, until the original key returns and he is able to interject ag

ruffled his F, C and F. This burlesque effect is wonderfully apt but the public seems to miss it almost

mpletely. The dance gets more animated and becomes wild and noisy. A rough theme in duple time signal

rival of mountaineers with their heavy clogs. The first section in triple time is repeated, but even more

imated. The dancers mingle excitedly, the womens hair flies loose over their shoulders, the mountaineers

eir noise and intoxication, there is clapping, shouting and running, and the scene goes wild and furious T

ddenly a distant clap of thunder strikes terror in the midst of this rustic ball and scatters the dancers.

Storm, lightning. I despair of being able to convey an idea of this prodigious piece. It has to be heard to

derstand how realistic and sublime imitative music can become in the hands of someone like Beethoven.

sten to the gusts of wind gorged with rain, the dull growl of the basses, the shrill hissing of piccolos

nouncing the fearful storm that is about the break out. The hurricane approaches and increases in intensity

ge chromatic scale, starting in the upper instruments, plunges to the depths of the orchestra, picks up the

sses on the way, drags them upwards, like a surging whirlwind that sweeps everything in its way. The



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hen man appears, the man from the countryside, robust and full of religious feeling his joyful play

errupted by the storm his fears his hymn of thanksgiving

Hide your faces, poor great poets of antiquity, poor immortals. Your conventional language, so pure and

rmonious, cannot compete with the art of sound. You are vanquished, no doubt with glory, but vanquished

e same! You have not experienced what nowadays we call melody, harmony, the combination of different

mbres, instrumental colour, modulations, the skilful clashes of conflicting sounds which fight and then

mbrace, the sounds that surprise the ear, the strange tones which stir the innermost recesses of the soul. The

ammering of the childish art which you referred to as music could not give you any idea of this. For culture

nds you alone were the great melodists, the masters of harmony, rhythm, and expression. But these words

very different meaning in your vocabulary from what we give them now. The art of sound in its true meani

dependent of anything else, was only born yesterday. It has scarcely reached manhood, and is barely twent

ars old. It is beautiful and all-powerful: it is the Pythian Apollo of modern times. We owe to it a world of

motion and feeling which was closed to you. Yes, great venerated poets, you are vanquished:Inclyti sed vic

VII Symphony in A

The seventh symphony is famous for its allegretto*. It is not that the three other movements are less worth

miration - far from it. But the public usually judges a work on the effect it produces, and only measures th

fect by the volume of the applause. Consequently the movement that always receives the loudest applause

variably thought to be the most beautiful (even though there is a certain kind of priceless beauty that is not

ble to excite noisy approval). And then, to enhance even further the object of such partiality everything elscrificed to it. In France at least that is invariably the custom. That is why when talking of Beethoven one re

the Storm of the pastoral symphony, thefinale of the symphony in C minor, the andante of the symphony

etc., etc.

*Which is always referred to as the adagio or andante.

It has apparently not been established whether this work was composed after the Pastoral and theEroica,

number of people believe on the contrary that it preceded them by some time. If this opinion is well founde

en the number which identifies it as the seventh would only be that of its sequence in the order of publicati

The first movement opens with a broad and majestic introduction where melody, modulations and the

chestral writing successively hold the listeners attention. It begins with one of those instrumental effects o

hich Beethoven is indisputably the creator. The whole orchestra plays a loud and sharp chord, and the ensu

ence reveals the slender voice of an exposed oboe, whose entry was disguised by the orchestral tutti and no

velops the melody on its own. There could hardly be a more original way of starting. At the end of the

roduction the note E, the dominant of A, returns after a series of excursions into neighbouring keys and fo

e subject of a series of exchanges between violins and flutes, similar to the effect found in the opening bars

e finale of theEroica symphony. The E comes and goes for six bars without accompaniment, changing its



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pearance every time it passes from strings to wind. Finally it is taken over by flute and oboe and serves as

idge between the introduction and the allegro: it becomes the first note of the main theme, whose rhythmic

tline it gradually sketches. I have heard this theme ridiculed for its rustic simplicity. Had the composer wr

large letters at the head of this allegro the wordsDance of peasants, as he has done for the Pastoral

mphony, the charge that it lacks nobility would probably not have been made. This shows that while some

teners do not like to be forewarned of the subject treated by the composer, there are others on the contrary

e inclined to react unfavourably to any theme that comes in an unfamiliar guise, if the explanation for the

omaly is not provided in advance. Given the impossibility of deciding between such conflicting views the

urse for a composer in such circumstances is to follow his own instinct instead of pursuing the vain delusio

universal approval.

This theme has a strongly characterised rhythm, which permeates the harmony and shows up in a multitud

rms without ever interrupting the forward momentum of the music up to the end of the movement. The use

ostinato rhythmic pattern has never been attempted so successfully. The ample developments of the alleg

nstantly revolve around the same idea, and so incredible is the skill with which it is written, so frequent an

genious the variations in tonality, so novel the chordal progressions and their grouping, that the movement

er before the attention and warm response generated in the listener can lose any of their keenness.

The harmonic effect which champions of academic rigour criticise most vehemently is also the happiest: t

solution of the dissonance in the six-five chord on the subdominant of the key of E natural. This dissonanc

econd on a very loud tremolo in the upper parts between the first and second violins is resolved in a

mpletely novel way. One might have sustained the E and raised the F sharp to G, or sustained the F and

ought the E down to D: but Beethoven did neither, and without changing the bass he merged the two disso

rts into an octave on F natural, by moving the F sharp a semitone lower and the E down by a major seventh

he chord of a fifth and major sixth thus becomes a minor sixth without the fifth which has dissolved into F

tural. The sudden transition fromforte topiano at the exact point in this unusual harmonic transformation

ves it an even stronger character and enhances its charm. Before passing on to the following movement let

t omit to mention the striking crescendo through which Beethoven brings back his favourite rhythm whichd momentarily left aside. This is done by means of a two bar phrase (D, C sharp, B sharp, B sharp, C sharp

e key of A major, which is repeated eleven times in the lower register by the basses and violas, while the w

struments sustain an E at the top, bottom and middle of the range in quadruple octaves, and the violins sou

ll-like phrase, the three notes E, A, E, C, repeated in increasingly fast figuration and combined in such a w

to present always the dominant when the basses play D or B sharp, and the tonic or its third when they pla

his is completely novel, and fortunately no imitator has tried, I believe, to squander this beautiful invention

As in the first movement though in a different form, a simple rhythm is again the principal cause of the

traordinary effect produced by the allegretto. The rhythmic pattern consists merely of a dactyl followed by

ondee played relentlessly, either in three parts, or in only one, then in all parts together. Sometimes it serve

accompaniment, but frequently it focuses attention on itself, and also provides the starting point for a sma

gal episode with two subjects played by the strings. It appears first in the lower strings - violas, cellos, dou

sses - playedpiano, then is repeated soon after in apianissimo full of melancholy and mystery. From there

sses to the second violins while the cellos sing a kind of lament in the minor mode. The rhythmic pattern r

om octave to octave, reaches the first violins who then pass it in a crescendo to the wind instruments at the

the orchestra, where it bursts out in its full force. Sounded with even greater vehemence the melody now

sumes the character of an anguished lament. Conflicting rhythms clash painfully with each other; these are

ars, sobs and supplications, this is the expression of limitless grief and all-consuming suffering But a ray



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pe appears: these heartbreaking sounds are followed by a transparent melody, pure, simple, gentle, sad and

signed like patience smiling to suffering. The basses continue on their own with their inexorable rhythm un

s melodic rainbow; to borrow yet another quotation from English poetry,

One fatal remembrance, one sorrow, that throws

Its black shade alike o'er our joys and our woes.

After a similar alternation of anguish and resignation, the orchestra, as though drained by such a painful

uggle, plays only fragments of the main theme and collapses in exhaustion. Flutes and oboes pick up the

eme in a dying voice, but do not have the strength to finish it, which the violins do with a few barely audib

zzicato notes. At this point the wind instruments, reviving like the flame of a candle on the point of extinct

er a deep sigh on an unresolved harmony and the rest is silence. This mournful cry, which begins and en

e andante, is produced by a six-four chord, which always tends to resolve itself onto another one. Ending o

resolved harmony is the only way to conclude, by leaving the listener in suspense and thereby increasing t

pression of dreamy sadness into which everything that came before must have plunged him.

The theme of the scherzo modulates in a very novel way. It is in F major, and instead of concluding at the

the first phrase in C, B flat, D minor, A minor, A flat, or D flat, like the majority of pieces of this kind, theodulation reaches the key of A major, a major third above the tonic. The scherzo of the Pastoral symphony

o in F, modulates to D major, a third below. There is some similarity of colour in these key sequences; bu

her resemblances can also be observed between the two works. The trio of the seventh symphony (presto m

sai), in which the violins hold the dominant almost continuously, while oboes and clarinets play underneat

ight rustic melody, is very much in the spirit of landscape painting and the idyll. Yet another new type of

escendo can be found there, played in the lower register by the second horn, who repeats softly the notes A

d G sharp in duple time, though the main beat is in triple time, with emphasis on the G sharp though A is t

al note.

The public always seems taken by surprise on hearing this passage.

The finale is at least as rich as the preceding movements in new combinations, incisive modulations and

lightful flights of fantasy. The theme has some similarities with that from Gluck's overture toArmide, thou

ly in the disposition of the opening notes, and these are more obvious to the eye than to the ear: in

rformance the two themes could hardly be more different. The freshness and elegance of Beethovens them

ry different from the chivalrous dash of that of Gluck, would make a greater impression if the chords playe

e high register by the wind instruments did not cover so much the first violins playing in the middle range,

hile second violins and violas underneath accompany the melody with a tremolo in double-stopping.

hroughout this finale Beethoven has achieved effects as graceful as they are unexpected with the suddennsition from the key of C sharp minor to that of D major. Among his most daring and felicitous harmonic

ventions is without doubt the long pedal on the dominant E, decorated with a D sharp of equal value as the

ain note. The chord of the seventh is sometimes brought about in the upper part, with the result that the D

tural of the upper parts coincides precisely with the D sharp of the basses. One might imagine that the resu

ould be a dreadful dissonance, or at least a lack of harmonic clarity; yet this is not the case, and the tonal th

this dominant is such that the D sharp does not disfigure it in any way, and that only the buzzing E registe

eethoven did not write musicfor the eyes. The coda, launched by this threatening pedal, has extraordinary

illiance, and is fully worthy of bringing this work to its conclusion - a masterpiece of technical skill, taste,

agination, craftsmanship and inspiration.

http://www.hberlioz.com/Predecessors/gluck.htm#scoreshttp://www.hberlioz.com/Predecessors/gluck.htm#scoreshttp://www.hberlioz.com/Predecessors/gluck.htm#scores


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VIII Symphony in F

This symphony is also in F, like the Pastoral, though it is designed on a more modest scale than the preced

mphonies. Yet though it hardly exceeds the first symphony (in C major) in the breadth of its forms, it is atast far superior to it in three respects - instrumental writing, rhythm and melodic style.

The first movement has two themes, both of them gentle and peaceful in character. The second and in our

ew the more striking of the two always seems to avoid the perfect cadence, by modulating first in a comple

expected way (the phrase begins in D major and ends in C major), and then dissipating itself inconclusivel

e diminished seventh chord of the subdominant.

This capricious turn in the melody gives the listener the feeling that the composer, inclined at first towards

ntle feelings, has suddenly been distracted by a sad thought which interrupts his joyful song.

The andante scherzando is one of those creations for which there is neither model nor counterpart: it drop

om heaven complete into the composers imagination; he writes it at a single stretch and we are amazed to

The role of the wind instruments is here the opposite of their normal one: they accompany with repeated

ords, playedpianissimo eight times in every bar, the airy dialogue a punta darco between violins and bas

his has a gentle innocence which is delightful in its nonchalant manner, like the song of two children pickin

owers in a field on a fine spring morning. The main theme consists of two sections of three bars each, the

mmetry of which is broken by the silence which follows the basses reply; as a result the first section ends

e weak beat and the second on the strong. The harmonic ticking of the oboes, clarinets, horns and bassoons

ptivates the listener that he does not notice the lack of symmetry in the strings melody which results fromditional silent bar.

The function of this bar is evidently to leave exposed for longer the delightful chord over which the lively

elody flutters. This example shows once more that the law of symmetry can sometimes be broken to good

fect. But it is hard to believe that this exquisite idyll should end with the commonplace which Beethoven

sliked most, namely the Italian cadence. At the moment when the instrumental dialogue of the two small

chestras of wind and strings is at its most enchanting, the composer, as though suddenly obliged to stop, m

e violins play tremolo the four notes G, F, A, B flat (sixth, dominant, leading note, tonic), repeat them seve

mes in a hurry, exactly as when the Italians sing Felicit, and then come to an abrupt halt. I have never bee

le to make sense of this musical joke.

At this point a minuet, similar in design and tempo to those of Haydn, takes the place of the scherzo in trip

me which Beethoven invented and which he has used in all his other symphonic works in such an ingeniou

d striking way. In truth this is a rather ordinary piece, and the old-fashioned form seems to have stifled

usical thought. The finale by contrast sparkles with wit; the musical material is brilliantly original and rich

veloped. It has diatonic progressions in two parts and in contrary motion, through which the composer

hieves a crescendo of huge dimension which brings the work to a most effective conclusion.



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The harmonic writing does however contain a few rough edges caused by passing notes which are not

solved quickly enough on the right notes and which sometimes even pause on a silence.

At the cost of some violence to the letter of musical theory it is easy to explain away these passing

ssonances, but in performance they always grate on the ear to a greater or lesser degree. But consider the h

dal held by the flutes and oboes on F, while the timpani underneath repeat the same note in octaves at the

urn of the theme, and the violins play the notes C, G and B flat from the dominant seventh chord, preceded

e third F, A from the tonic chord. This sustained high note may not be allowed by theory, since it does not

ways fit into the harmony, but it does not cause any offence. On the contrary, thanks to the skilful layout of

struments and the character of the musical phrase, the result of this bunching of sounds is excellent and

markably smooth. Before concluding we cannot omit mentioning an orchestral effect which perhaps more

y other takes the listener by surprise when this finale is performed: the note C sharp played very loud by th

ass of the orchestra in unison and in octaves after a diminuendo which has faded out in the key of C major.

st two times this rasp is immediately followed by the return of the theme in F, and it becomes clear that the

arp was simply an enharmonic D flat, the flattened sixth of the main key. But the third appearance of this

ange entry has a very different character. The orchestra, after modulating to C as before now plays a real D

t followed by a fragment of the theme in D flat, then a real C sharp, followed by another fragment of the

eme in C sharp minor, and finally repeats this C sharp three times over with increased force, and the wholeeme now returns in F sharp minor. The note which initially played the role of a minor sixth becomes on its

pearance successively theflattened major third, the sharpened minor third, and finally the dominant.

This is very striking.

IX Choral Symphony

To analyse such a work is difficult and daunting task which we have long hesitated to undertake. The excu

r such a foolhardy venture can only lie in our persistent efforts to see the work through the composers eye

netrate its intimate meaning, to experience its impact, and to study the impressions it has made so far on a

ho are gifted with exceptional sensitivity, as well as on the general public. Among the many diverse views

ve been expressed on this score there can hardly be two that are in agreement. Some critics regard it as a

onstrous insanity; others can only see in it the fading glimmers of a dying genius; more cautiously a few

clare they find it at the moment completely unintelligible, but do not despair of achieving at least an

proximate understanding of it later; the majority of artistically minded people regard it as an extraordinary

nception, though some of its parts nevertheless remain unexplained or without apparent purpose. A smallmber of musicians who are temperamentally inclined to examine carefully anything that might enlarge the

alm of art, and who have thought deeply about the general layout of the Choral symphony after studying th

ore and listening to it attentively on several occasions, assert that this work seems to them the most

agnificent expression of Beethovens genius: we believe we have said at some earlier point that this is the

inion we share.

Without enquiring what purely personal ideas the composer might have wanted to express in this vast mus

em - a subject wide open to individual conjecture - let us see whether the novelty of the form is not justifie

s case by an intention that is quite independent of any philosophical or religious thought, which might see



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ually reasonable and beautiful to anyone, be he a fervent Christian, a pantheist or an atheist, in short by an

ention of a purely musical and poetic kind.

Beethoven had already written eight symphonies before this one. To progress beyond the point he had alre

ached solely with the resources of orchestral instruments, what further means were available? The answer

e addition of voices to instruments. But in order to observe the law ofcrescendo, and enhance in the work

elf the power of the additional resource he wanted to provide to the orchestra, it was surely necessary to al

e instruments to figure on their own in the first section of the musical canvas he intended to display Grans premise, it is easy to see that he must have been led to search for a mixed musical genre to serve as link

tween the two major articulations of the symphony. The instrumental recitative was the bridge he had the

dacity to throw between the chorus and the orchestra, over which the instruments crossed to go and join th

ices. The transition once established the composer must have wanted to announce and motivate the fusion

as about to take place. That is the point where speaking through the chorus leader, he exclaimed, to the sou

the instrumental recitative he had just introduced: Friends! No more sounds like these, but let us intone mo

easant songs, more filled with joy! That is, so to speak, the treaty of alliance concluded between chorus and

chestra; the same theme of the recitative, used by both orchestra and chorus, seems to constitute the oath

rmula. Thereafter it was up to the composer to select the text for his choral composition: for this Beethove

rned to Schiller and took over the Ode to Joy. He coloured it with countless nuances which poetry on its owuld never have conveyed, and it progresses to the end acquiring ever more splendour, grandeur and brillian

Such is the rationale, it may be suggested more or less plausibly, for the general scheme of this immense

ork; let us now study its individual parts in detail.

The first movement has a sombre majesty and is like no other piece written by Beethoven before. The

rmony is at times excessively daring: the most original patterns, the most expressive gestures crowd in and

ss-cross in every direction, but without causing any obscurity or congestion. On the contrary the result has

rfect clarity, and the numerous orchestral voices that plead or threaten, each in its own way and its own sp

yle, seem to form a single voice, such is the emotional charge that drives them.

This allegro maestoso, written in D minor, begins nevertheless on the chord of A without the third, in othe

ords on the notes A and E sustained as a fifth, and played as an arpeggio above and below by the first violin

olas and double-basses. The listener is therefore not sure whether he is hearing the chord of A minor, or of

ajor, or that of the dominant of D. This prolonged tonal ambiguity gives great power and character to the e

the full orchestra on the chord of D minor. At the end of the movement there are moments that move the s

its depths. It would be hard to hear anything more profoundly tragic than the song of the wind instruments

neath which a chromatic phrase played tremolo by the strings swells and rises gradually, like the roar of th

a before an approaching storm. This is a passage of magnificent inspiration.

On several occasions in this work we will be drawing attention to clusters of notes which cannot possibly

scribed as chords, and we will be forced to admit that the reason for these anomalies escapes us completely

r example on page 17 of the wonderful movement we have been describing there is a melodic passage for

arinets and bassoons, which is accompanied as follows in the key of C minor: the bass plays first an F sharp

pporting a diminished seventh, then an A flat supporting a third, fourth and augmented sixth, and finally G

er which flutes and oboes play the notes E flat, G, C which gives a six-four chord. This would be an excell

solution of the previous chord if the second violins and violas did not add to the harmony the two notes F

tural and A flat which disfigure it and cause a most unpleasant confusion which fortunately is of short



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ration. This passage is lightly scored and completely free from any roughness; I cannot therefore understan

s quadruple dissonance which is so strangely introduced and completely unmotivated. One might suppose

ere is an engraving error, but a careful inspection of these two bars and those that precede dispels all doubt

d one remains convinced that this is really what the composer intended.

The scherzo vivace which follows contains nothing of the same kind. Admittedly there are a number of pe

tes on the tonic in the upper and middle voices which are sustained through the dominant chord. But I hav

eady stated my position on these pedal notes that are foreign to the harmony, and this new example is not

eded to demonstrate the excellent use they can be put to when they arise naturally from the musical logic.

rticularly through the use of rhythm that Beethoven has managed to make this delightful banter so interest

he theme with its fugal response four bars later is full of vitality, and sparkles with wit when the response th

mes a bar earlier and follows a ternary instead of the initial binary rhythm.

The central part of the scherzo is taken up with apresto in duple time full of rustic joy. The theme is deplo

er an intermediary pedal note which is either the tonic or the dominant, accompanied by a counter-subject

hich harmonises equally well with either of the held notes, the dominant and the tonic. The melody is final

ought back by a phrase of delightful freshness in the oboe; after staying poised for a moment over the

minant major chord of D it finally blossoms in the key of F natural in a way that is as graceful as it isexpected. This is another echo of the gentle impressions that Beethoven loved so much, impressions that a

oused by the sight of a radiant and peaceful landscape, pure air and the first rays of dawn in spring.

In the adagio cantabile the principle of unity is so little observed that one might think of it as two separate

ovements rather than one. The first melody in B flat in quadruple time is followed by a completely differen

elody in D major in triple time. The first theme, slightly altered and varied by the first violins, appears for t

cond time in the original key and leads to the return of the melody in triple time, unchanged and without

mbellishments but in the key of G major. After this the first theme finally establishes itself and no longer al

e rival theme to compete for the listeners attention. Repeated hearings of this wonderful adagio are neede

t completely used to such a peculiar design. As for the beauty of all these melodies, the infinite grace of thnaments which decorate them, the feelings of sad tenderness, passionate despair and religious reverie they

press, if only my words could give even an approximate idea of them, then music would have found in the

itten word a rival which even the greatest of poets will never be able to oppose to it. It is an immense

ovement, and once the listener has succumbed to its powerful charm, the only answer to the criticism that t

mposer has violated here the law of unity has to be: so much the worse for the law!

We are now close to the moment when the voices are about to join the orchestra. Cellos and double-basses

one the recitative we mentioned above, after a passage for the wind instruments as harsh and violent as a c

anger. The chord of the major sixth, F, A and D, with which this presto begins, is altered by an appogiatur

flat, played simultaneously by flutes, oboes and clarinets; the sixth of the key of D minor grinds dreadfully

ainst the dominant and produces an excessively harsh effect. This does indeed express fury and rage, but h

ain I cannot see what motivates such feelings, unless the composer, before making the chorus leader sing t

ords:Let us intone more pleasant songs, had wanted in a strangely capricious way to vilify the orchestral

rmony. Yet he seems to regret it, since in between each phrase of the recitative of the basses, he repeats, li

many memories that are dear to his heart, fragments of the three preceding movements. What is more, afte

s first recitative, he puts in the orchestra, in the midst of exquisitely chosen chords, the beautiful theme wh

about to be sung by all the voices on Schillers ode. This theme, gentle and calm in character, becomes

creasingly animated and brilliant as it moves from the basses which play it first to the violins and the wind



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struments. After a sudden interruption, the whole orchestra plays again the furious ritornello mentioned ab

hich now introduces the vocal recitative.

The first chord is again built on an F which is supposed to carry the third and the sixth and does indeed do

t this time the composer not content with the appogiatura of B flat adds those of G, E and C sharp, with the

sult that ALL THE NOTES OF THE MINOR DIATONIC SCALE are played at once and produce the hid

sembly of notes: F, A, C sharp, E, G, B flat, D.

Forty years ago, the French composer Martin, known as Martini, wanted to produce in his opera Sapho a

milar howl for the orchestra, and did so by using at once all the diatonic, chromatic and enharmonic interva

the scale at the moment when Phaons mistress hurls herself into the sea - but he did not ask himself wheth

s attempt was appropriate and whether it enhanced or assaulted the dignity of art, though admittedly there

uld be no mistaking his intentions. But in this case my efforts at discovering Beethovens purpose are

mpletely in vain. I can see a formal intention, a deliberate and calculated attempt to produce a double

scordance, both at the point which precede the appearance of the recitative, instrumental at first and later

cal. I have searched hard for the reason for this idea, and I have to admit that it is unknown to me.

The chorus leader, after singing his recitative on words by Beethoven himself, as we have mentioned,roduces on his own the theme of the Ode to Joy, with a light accompaniment of two wind instruments and

ings playingpizzicato. This theme recurs to the end of the symphony and is always recognisable, though it

pearance keeps changing. A study of these diverse transformations is all the more absorbing as each of the

ings out a new and distinctive nuance in the expression of a single feeling, that of joy. At first this joy is fu

ntleness and peace; it becomes somewhat livelier when the voice of women is heard. The beat changes; th

eme, sung initially in quadruple time, returns in 6/8 time in syncopated style and now takes on a more robu

d agile character that has a martial quality. This is the song of a departing hero who is confident of victory

u can almost imagine his shining armour and hear the rhythmic tread of his step. A fugal theme in which t

iginal melody can be recognised, serves for a while as subject for a lively orchestral development, which

calls the bustling activity of a crowd full of ardour But the chorus soon re-enters and sings energetically yful hymn in its original simplicity, supported by chords of the wind instruments which shadow the melody

d criss-crossed by a diatonic passage played by the whole mass of strings in unison and octaves. The anda

aestoso which follows is a kind of chorale intoned first by the tenors and basses of the chorus, in unison wi

ombone, the cellos and double-basses. Joy here assumes a religious dimension and becomes solemn and

mense. The chorus falls briefly silent then resumes less emphatically its spacious chords, after a passage o

eat beauty for orchestra alone which has an organ-like quality. The imitation of the majestic instrument of

hristian churches is produced by flutes in the lower register, clarinets in the chalumeau register, the lower n

the bassoons, the violas divided into two parts, upper and lower, and the cellos playing on their open string

d D, or the low C (open string) and the C in the middle range, always in double-stopping. This piece starts

moves to C, then to F, and ends on a pause on the dominant seventh of D. There follows a great allegro in

here from the start are combined the beginning of the first theme, already used frequently with such variety

d the chorale of the preceding andante. The contrast between these two ideas is made even more striking b

st variation of the joyful theme, on top of the long notes of the chorale, played not only by the first violins

o by the double-basses. Now it is impossible for double-basses to perform a succession of notes at that spe

d once again it is hard to understand how a composer as familiar as Beethoven with the art of orchestration

uld have committed such a lapse in writing a passage like this for this unwieldy instrument. There is less f

d grandeur, and greater lightness in the style of the following piece: its keynote is that of innocent joy,

pressed first by four solo voices and then given greater warmth through the addition of the chorus. Momen



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tenderness and religious feeling alternate twice with the joyful melody, then the tempo becomes increasin

ecipitate. The whole orchestra bursts out, the percussion instruments - timpani, cymbals, triangle, bass dru

ike emphatically the strong beats of the bar. Joy resumes her sway, a popular and tumultuous joy which m

ok like an orgy if at the end the voices did not pause once more on a solemn rhythm to send, in an ecstatic

eir final greeting of love and respect for religious joy. The orchestra ends on its own, but not without

erspersing its headlong rush with fragments of the first theme which the listener cannot get tired of.

A translation as accurate as possible of the German poem set by Beethoven will convey to the reader the

mulus for this profusion of musical combinations, masterly supports of unceasing inspiration and obedient

ols of a powerful and tireless genius*.

Joy! Fair spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium, we enter your sanctuary intoxicated with your

fire! Your magic power unites again those whom earthly customs have forcibly separated. All men

will be brothers again under your gentle wing.

Who has had the good fortune to be the friend of a friend, who has won a noble wife, let him

mingle his joy with ours! Yes, any who can call even one soul on earth his own. But who cannot,

let him steal away in tears from this gathering.

All beings drink joy on the breast of nature; all good and all evil men follow a path strewn with

roses. She gave us kisses and vintage, a friend who is true unto death. The worm receives the joy

of life and the cherub stands before God!

Glad like the suns that fly through the glorious fields of heaven, hurry, brothers, on your way,

joyful like a hero hastening to victory.

Millions, be embraced! This kiss to the whole world! Brothers, above the starry heaven, a dearfather must have his dwelling.

You fall prostrate, o you millions? World, do you sense the creator? Seek him above the starry

heaven! He must dwell over the stars!

Joy! Fair spark of the gods, daughter of Elysium, we enter your sanctuary intoxicated with your

fire!

Daughter of Elysium, joy, fair spark of the gods!!

Of all the composers symphonies this is the most difficult to perform; it requires patient and repeated stud

d in particular a good conductor. It also requires a body of singers all the larger since evidently the chorus

ust cover the orchestra in many places. In addition, the way the music is written for the words and the

cessive height of some of the choral parts make voice production very difficult and reduce considerably th

lume and power of the sound.

.

.



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Be that as it may, when Beethoven had finished his work and could contemplate the majestic dimensions o

e monument he had just built, he must have said to himself: Death may come now, but my task is

complished.

____________________

Note: the following is our own translation of Schiller's German text.

his page was created on 3 October 2004.

2004 Michel Austin. All rights reserved.

ack to Berlioz and Beethoven

ack to Berlioz: Predecessors and Contemporaries
http://www.hberlioz.com/Predecessors/beethoven.htmhttp://www.hberlioz.com/Predecessors/index.htmhttp://www.hberlioz.com/Predecessors/index.htmhttp://www.hberlioz.com/Predecessors/beethoven.htm

hector berlioz essai on beethoven's symphonies (english)

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