the Great Hector And His Muse

Hector Berlioz's third Symphony, Romeo et Juliette, of 1839 is an incredible statement that speaks very much to both his artistic and personal sentiments. It is also, arguably the most personal piece of music that the wonderful composer ever penned. The epic shroud of the works of William Shakespeare that shook the literary world had a very similar effect upon the world of the young Hector Berlioz. His introduction to the works of the wonderful playwright took place in September of 1827 and was to significantly impact the life of the fledgling composer both artistically and socially for a long time to follow.

While a student at the Paris Conservatoire, Hector Berlioz was fortunate enough to see the Charles Kemble Theatre Company perform two productions of Shakespeare's works. The first of these was Macbeth and the second, Romeo et Juliette. Upon seeing these productions, the young Berlioz vowed two things, to create a work based upon the tragic love story of Romeo et Juliette and to one day marry Harriet Smithson. The fact that the gentleman did both is something of a feat in itself. It is also important to acknowledge the fact that the work of the David Garrick-John Philip Kemble hybrid of the classic love story, along with the poignant performance of Ms. Smithson was something that would live on and constantly be present in the work of the composer for the remainder of his life.

David Garrick, an 18th century playwright and actor, set into place some of the Shakespearian conventions that were to be adhered to until the end of the 19th century. The Charles Kemble productions that Berlioz saw included these adjustments along with simplifications that Kemble's elder brother John-Philip made to the original script. These changes did a few things to the script, most importantly, it made the script more easy for the observer to follow and placed the focus of the play's trajectory mainly upon the development of the love story. All of the "fluff" was taken out and the emphasis of the play was placed squarely upon the emotional drama. It is also said that Ms. Smithson was not a highly trained actor and primarily used her knowledge of emotions as her guide to performance. This approach speaks very dearly to the approach that Berlioz took to composing this symphony and to composition, in general. All of his efforts, music and extra-musical, were for the betterment of the focus of the idee fixe and to the illumination of the primary theme of his work.

Additionally, the production techniques of this period took much of the guess work out of these productions and there was little need for the descriptions Shakespeare implemented into his choice scribal wording. These 19th century creations were total productions that provided both mental and visual stimulation to the audience. The idea of a total production is something that Berlioz payed very close attention to in both his explanations of works in accompanying performance notes and in his manufacturing of all musical and non-musical efforts. He was known to be a very close contributor to the whole of the performance process and payed very close attention, not only to the musical process and its implications, but also to the costumes and the part that they played on the audiences perception of the story that he wished to convey. This idea is also something that played a pivotal role in the formation of the Wagnerian style and the latter composer's idea of gesamtkunstwerk. Wagner also happened to be a devout Shakespeare follower.

The Berlioz produced piece that took shape out of all of these influences is very much a reflection of its inspiration. The composer's third symphony, Romeo et Juliette, with a libretto by Emile Deschamps, is a cutting edge hybrid of both music and drama. The extreme care that Berlioz took to integrate music, both instrumental and vocal, and drama is clear in the production and makes the audience goer very aware of the composer's sincere appreciation for the clear pronunciation of the Shakespearian moods that inspired his art. Berlioz was an early champion of this artistic amalgam that would be widely practiced later on in the 19th century and this third symphony is a definitive example of the young musician's interests. This piece is not only interesting because of the artistic fusion that it explores with theater and music, it is also interesting because it explores various forms within the musical realm. Upon initial listening, the piece almost resembles a lightly sung opera. The composer's combination of vocal and instrumental music is another highlight of this interestingly constructed composition and, although the idea of the hybrid is one of the dominant forces of this work, this piece has many more great things to offer the interested observer.

the Multi-faceted Mr. Astaire

I just finished watching 16 hours of Fred Astaire movies and I've come to a realization; Fred Astaire is one of Hollywood's most grossly under-appreciated leading men. There is no question as to whether or not people respected his talents but when I think of the list of oft mentioned heart throbs in Hollywood movie history, I can not think of a singular instance where Astaire's name is mentioned.

The Astaire marathon was shown on the Turner Classic Movies channel as part of a celebration of the centennial anniversary of Johnny Mercer's birthdate; 18 November 1909. Mr. Mercer was one of the leading Popular song writers of the twentieth century and Fred Astaire was the original performer of some of the distinguished composer's most famous compositions. The songs performed as part of the movie engagement mainly featured Mercer as a lyricist because of the fact that many of these movies were released early on in the composer's life. At this point he was still a fledgling writer and served an apprentice type of role under many of the great composers of the day. The various composers whom Mercer apprenticed under included Harold Arlen, one of the great songwriters of the past 100 years whose compositions were very influential in melding the European influenced style of early American songbook writing with American styles, such as the Blues. I particularly enjoyed hearing Astaire sing the immortal classics; Isn't This A Lovely Day?, Cheek to Cheek, The Way You Look Tonight, Night And Day and My Shining Hour. I would also like to include an acknowledgement of Irene Dunn's performance of Jerome Kern and Otto Harbach's Smoke Gets In Your Eyes in the wonderfully amusing screenplay Roberta.

In wonderful performances like that of his portrayal of cooky womanizer Jerry Travers in Top Hat, Astaire shows that not only was he a superbly talented dancer and actor, he was also an incredibly beautiful singer. This may not seem like much of a credit to the artistic abilities of Mr. Astaire but during the time, when most leading men were solely handsome, talented actors, those additional talents put Fred Astaire a cut above many of his peers. There was never a question as to why he got the girl. Movie after countless movie, Mr. Astaire clearly distinguishes himself from the other leading men of the day with his whole of abilities. He was an unsurpassed quadruple threat; superb actor, extraordinary dancer, elegant singer and heart melting charmer. With Astaire in possession of all of the aforementioned abilities, I constantly found myself wondering how the opening credits went by without the leading lady of the movie already sharing a passionate embrace with our leading man.

Additionally, I found it quite interesting to see the beautiful chemistry between Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. I often found it hard to remove myself from the fantasy world of the movie and to realize that the two were merely acting and not in fact very committedly involved. This false and overwhelmingly convincing assurance of romance only further assures me of Mr. Astaire's geniously constructed and superbly well rounded artistry. He raised the bar in concern to what can be expected of versatility and mastery of craft.

Optimistic Ernest

Ernest Hemingway's posthumously published memoir, A Moveable Feast, is an interesting look into the time that he spent as a young man in Paris. This sojourn was an interesting time in his life. He was a recent veteran of the Great War and trying to get his writing career off of the ground. Hemingway was also a young husband and had just become a father.

This story takes an interesting look at - excuse my blatant Obama quote - the audacity of hope. Although he had done some periodical writing for various papers, young Ernest had recently quit these part time endeavors to focus solely on polishing his story writing technique and to get his writing career solidified. This courageous attempt at stardom was, to say the least, very financially trying. However, Hemingway, with the help from some very illustrious friends, managed to make the most of an abundantly, culturally rich atmosphere with a non-existant income.

This spectacular account is well worth the read because of the interesting memories that Hemingway shares with the reader. It is also quite remarkable to read some of the names of individuals with whom Hemingway had interactions. Along with Hemingway,Gertrude Stein, James Joyce, Sylvia Beach, Ezra Pound and F. Scott Fitzgerald are, arguably, the greatest writers of literature of the past century. It is interesting to think that all of these astounding talents so closely fraternized within the city of lights. At the time, Hemingway was the least established of his circle, not even having finished a first draft of a novel. However, he had such an incredible optimism that permeates the whole of the book. The extraordinarily executed premise of the young man's account can be absolutely summed up with my favorite quote from the book,

"You expected to be sad in the fall. Part of you died each year when the leaves fell from the trees and their branches were bare against the wind and the cold, wintery light. But you knew there would always be the spring, as you knew the river would flow again after it was frozen."

This breathtaking masterpiece is a must read for any lover of literature, especially in these trying times.