Desire and despair in Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique
The first movement of Hector Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique is a quite accurate representation of the early stages of an infatuation. I didn't think so at first. In fact, the first time I listened to it, with pen and paper at hand, ready to record my impressions (having tried to empty my mind of preconceptions gained from reading Berlioz's program), my only observation was "sighing half steps...a dream." There was a great deal more than that in the music, but I could not apprehend it, not even the celebrated idée fixe. After repeated listenings, however, the story began to emerge.
It does indeed begin with those sighing half steps, uttered by a dreamy, depressed, lonely young man. The key is C minor, the tempo slow. There are pauses at four fermata, as our romantic stares emptily into space. Suddenly, in measure 17, he imagines the possiblility of happiness. The key changes briefly to C major, the music accelerates, surges faster, louder, then regresses (measure 23), but not all the way back to the earlier lassitude. There's an undercurrent of energy maintained by the woodwinds that swells up in measure 34 into a burst of passionate longing.
Next comes another regression, this time with dissonant chords (measures 37 and 39) and 32nd-note trembling in the strings (measures 40-42) that express an unhappiness that is now more passionate than before. At measure 46, a long pedal note in the bass is the first sign that something is about to happen to our hero. Between measure 49 and 60, his reverie is repeatedly interrupted by ascending arpeggios (played by the second violins) which rise a little higher each time until, at measure 61, he sees her for the first time. In an instant, the electric shock of the mezzo forte C major chord fades to pianissimo as his knees buckle, the world spins around him, and blood surges in his ears. Then the chord swells to fortissimo as his heart explodes with love.
A change of key (to C major), a change of meter (to cut time), and a new, faster tempo all express the revolution that has occurred in the young man's life. He then hears her, beginning in measure 72, in the form of a solitary melody, played in unison by the flute and first violin. It is unaccompanied (since for him, at that moment, she is all that exists), except by intermittent aftershocks in his heart, beaten out by the rest of the strings, as he slowly recovers from his paralyzed state. Her melody is not a serene one. It has irregular rhythms, dynamic and temporal surges, and asymmetric, unbalanced phrases. Evidently, she is as passionate as he is—or so he perceives her.
After her melody is over (measure 110), our lover begins a mad joyful romp up and down the scale. There is a brief pause, as if he can't believe his good fortune (measures 119-124), then the realization hits home again that she really does exist, he is really in love. By measure 151, he is shouting her name (fragments of her theme, which has now become fixed in his consciousness). Then measures 72 to 165 are repeated, as he replays in his mind the story of their encounter. Next, the bass plays pieces of her melody as his excitement builds up again. The tension reaches a high point in measures 189-192, where a dominant chord is repeated in a fast, galloping rhythm. This tension is not resolved. The woodwinds and then the strings each get a tonic chord (measures 193 and 196), but both times it dissolves away in a short three to four bar phrase with a descending melody. Resolution is impossible, since the girl is still completely oblivious to the young man's existence.
This is when doubt first enters his mind. In measure 200, the strings begin fast, staccato, chromatic, ascending and descending scales, while anguished cries from the woodwinds mean, "Oh no! What if she will never love me?" The thought is so terrifying that he loses consciousness (a three-measure rest: 231-233). When he comes to, he is calmer, but starts thinking about her (the idée fixe, in measure 240) and once more becomes agitated. Another spasm of doubt culminates in a series of dissonant chords (measures 306-312) and repetition of the "dissolving" theme that earlier symbolized the unrealizability of his love. Starting at measure 331, another calm period is haunted by ominous drumbeats and then dissonant intervals. The rest of the movement works up to one furious, desperate climax after another as he realizes that his love is hopeless and that she undoubtedly loves someone else. At the end, his passion spent, all he can do is worship her from afar. Her melody becomes a prayer, and resolves into a series of hushed, plagal cadences.
End of act one.
It does indeed begin with those sighing half steps, uttered by a dreamy, depressed, lonely young man. The key is C minor, the tempo slow. There are pauses at four fermata, as our romantic stares emptily into space. Suddenly, in measure 17, he imagines the possiblility of happiness. The key changes briefly to C major, the music accelerates, surges faster, louder, then regresses (measure 23), but not all the way back to the earlier lassitude. There's an undercurrent of energy maintained by the woodwinds that swells up in measure 34 into a burst of passionate longing.
Next comes another regression, this time with dissonant chords (measures 37 and 39) and 32nd-note trembling in the strings (measures 40-42) that express an unhappiness that is now more passionate than before. At measure 46, a long pedal note in the bass is the first sign that something is about to happen to our hero. Between measure 49 and 60, his reverie is repeatedly interrupted by ascending arpeggios (played by the second violins) which rise a little higher each time until, at measure 61, he sees her for the first time. In an instant, the electric shock of the mezzo forte C major chord fades to pianissimo as his knees buckle, the world spins around him, and blood surges in his ears. Then the chord swells to fortissimo as his heart explodes with love.
A change of key (to C major), a change of meter (to cut time), and a new, faster tempo all express the revolution that has occurred in the young man's life. He then hears her, beginning in measure 72, in the form of a solitary melody, played in unison by the flute and first violin. It is unaccompanied (since for him, at that moment, she is all that exists), except by intermittent aftershocks in his heart, beaten out by the rest of the strings, as he slowly recovers from his paralyzed state. Her melody is not a serene one. It has irregular rhythms, dynamic and temporal surges, and asymmetric, unbalanced phrases. Evidently, she is as passionate as he is—or so he perceives her.
After her melody is over (measure 110), our lover begins a mad joyful romp up and down the scale. There is a brief pause, as if he can't believe his good fortune (measures 119-124), then the realization hits home again that she really does exist, he is really in love. By measure 151, he is shouting her name (fragments of her theme, which has now become fixed in his consciousness). Then measures 72 to 165 are repeated, as he replays in his mind the story of their encounter. Next, the bass plays pieces of her melody as his excitement builds up again. The tension reaches a high point in measures 189-192, where a dominant chord is repeated in a fast, galloping rhythm. This tension is not resolved. The woodwinds and then the strings each get a tonic chord (measures 193 and 196), but both times it dissolves away in a short three to four bar phrase with a descending melody. Resolution is impossible, since the girl is still completely oblivious to the young man's existence.
This is when doubt first enters his mind. In measure 200, the strings begin fast, staccato, chromatic, ascending and descending scales, while anguished cries from the woodwinds mean, "Oh no! What if she will never love me?" The thought is so terrifying that he loses consciousness (a three-measure rest: 231-233). When he comes to, he is calmer, but starts thinking about her (the idée fixe, in measure 240) and once more becomes agitated. Another spasm of doubt culminates in a series of dissonant chords (measures 306-312) and repetition of the "dissolving" theme that earlier symbolized the unrealizability of his love. Starting at measure 331, another calm period is haunted by ominous drumbeats and then dissonant intervals. The rest of the movement works up to one furious, desperate climax after another as he realizes that his love is hopeless and that she undoubtedly loves someone else. At the end, his passion spent, all he can do is worship her from afar. Her melody becomes a prayer, and resolves into a series of hushed, plagal cadences.
End of act one.
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