Essay About Concert Overtures And Grande Ouverture Des Francs

The Concert Overtures by Diana Bickley
The Concert Overtures by Diana Bickley
IntroductionBerlioz’s concert overtures raised questions on the balance between programmatic influences and pure musical coherenceFirst French composer to composer an independent overture with no reference to any opera, ballet, or play. (Waverly)Grande Ouverture des Francs-JugesAlthough it was composed as a prelude to the opera Les Francs-Juges, Berlioz regarded it as a concert overtureMediant Relations : [pic 1]After which, it returned to Fminor. The contrasting theme came in at F major and the piece ended with the ‘Olmerik’ theme in Dflat majorTreatment of ‘development’ section (Cminor) : More episodic than developmentalTreatment of Recap : Does not sound like a recap at all. Different speed, different texture. Unlike the exposition, Fminor went to Tonic major first before going to Dflat major.Grande Ouverture de Waverley1st independent concert overtureJust like Francs-Juges overture, it begins with a slow introduction and moves into AllegroLong intro : 31 barsIrregular phrasing in Cello’s melodyInitially, the piece had included the newly invented trumpets with pistons with 3 valves – shows Berlioz’s fascination with new instruments. Also shows how technology influenced music in the 19th century.Grande Ouverture du Roi LearComposed while he was in ItalyInspired by Shakespeare’s King Lear and a personal event happening at that time : His fiancé betrayed himHis anger was poured into the composition of this workLike the previous overtures, it starts slow and then moves to a fast section. From Andante non troppo lento, ma maestoso to Allegro disperato ed agitato assai1st part : Violas, Cellos and Basses have recitative-like melodies, much like Beeethoven’s 9th symphonyUnusual recapitulation: the recitative-like melodies are now treated as transitional and contrapuntal material. Le Carnaval romain, ouverture caracteristiqueUnlike the previous overtures, this overture starts with a swift opening passage before going to the slow-fast structure like his other overtures.Canonic and contrapuntal passages