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.