The Best of Berlioz

Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) was a French composer and conductor of the Romantic era. As a child, Berlioz learned to play the guitar and flute, learned music theory, and began composing. Berlioz initially tried to follow in his father's footsteps and became a doctor for a short period of time, but he soon left his medical training and began studying music at the Paris Conservatory. In addition to composing, Berlioz was also a conductor, author, and music critic. Berlioz composed works for orchestra, and composed operas and vocal music.

Symphonie fantastique – A programmatic symphony about an artist's journey through unrequited love.

Harold en Italie (Harold in Italy) – A programmatic symphony for viola and orchestra.

Roméo et Juliette – A large work for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra, based upon the play by Shakespeare.

Les nuits d'été (Summer Nights) – A song cycle setting of poems by Théophile Gautier.

Requiem (Grande Messe des morts) – A large-scale requiem for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra.

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14 Great Songs with Orchestra

A song in its simplest form can be nothing more than words and melody, accompanied by a few chords. Whether a song is simple or complex, the words and music combine together to create something that is more than the sum of its parts. Another way that composers have sought to enhance the expressiveness of a song is by having an orchestral accompaniment. The endless possibilities of orchestral colors and textures have allowed composers to create some powerful and moving vocal works. I have selected 14 compositions for voice and orchestra that I highly recommend.

Berlioz – Les nuits d'été
 
Mahler – Des Knaben Wunderhorn
 
Mahler – Rückert-Lieder
 
Mahler – Kindertotenlieder
 
Mahler – Das Lied von der Erde
 
Delius – Sea Drift
 
Strauss – Four Last Songs
 
Sibelius – Luonnotar
 
Ravel – Sheherazade
 
Canteloube –  Chants d’Auvergne
 
Berg – Altenberg Lieder
 
Shostakovich – Symphony No. 14
 
Barber – Knoxville, Summer of 1915
 
Marc-Andre Dalbavie – Sonnets sur un poeme de Louise Labe

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8 Requiems You Should Know

A Requiem is a mass for the dead, usually composed for voices, often with instrumental ensemble. Composers have been long been drawn to composing requiems for multitude of reasons, including personal expressions of grief or loss, the dramatic and expressive musical possibilities, the imagery of the texts, or religious belief. While all requiems have some commonalities, composers have created a wide variety of compositions based on the idea of honoring the dead. Many composers choose the traditional Latin requiem mass text, but others have chosen texts from other languages, authors, or other religious or non-religious ideologies. Some composers have even composed purely instrumental requiems.

In the following list I have chosen 8 requiems that every classical music listener should know:

1) Mozart - Requiem 

• Composed for soprano, alto, tenor, and bass soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Mozart died before he could finish it. It was completed by other composers, notably Franz Xaver Süssmayr.

2) Berlioz - Grande Messe des morts

• Composed for a huge orchestra, with 4 offstage brass choirs, a tenor soloist, and chorus. This requiem is a huge and dramatic work, with both apocalyptic and consolatory sections.
  

3) Brahms - A German Requiem

• Composed for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus, and orchestra. Instead of the usual Latin text, Brahms uses texts taken from the German translation of the Bible.

4) Verdi – Requiem

• Composed for vocal soloists, chorus, and orchestra. This is another big and dramatic requiem, with Verdi's dramatic and operatic sensibilities shining through.

5) Faure – Requiem

• Composed for soprano and baritone soloists, chorus, and orchestra. This requiem is much more peaceful than other requiems, giving the listener a much more consolatory experience. 

6) Britten – War Requiem

• Composed for vocal soloists, choruses, a chamber orchestra, and large orchestra. This requiem uses the Latin texts interspersed with poems about war by English poet and soldier Wilfred Owen.

7) Schnittke – Requiem

• Composed for vocal soloists, chorus, brass, percussion, celesta, organ, piano, electric guitar, and bass guitar. Schnittke composed this unique requiem for use in a production of Friedrich Schiller's play Don Carlos.

8) Takemitsu – Requiem

• This is a purely instrumental requiem, composed for string orchestra. Takemitsu composed this requiem at a time when he was seriously ill and contemplating his own mortality.¹

1. Peter Burt, The Music of Toru Takemitsu, (United Kingdom: Cambridge University Press, 2001), p. 50

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