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Fidel Carreon
MUSI 3377
Dr. Pineda
22 March 2018
Symphony and Opera in the early to late 19th century
As we look into the development of the symphony we must first look the changes that
occurred in the early 19th century. Orchestra became a central to public concert life. The number
of orchestras multiplied and their size grew from forty players into as many as ninety players.
Current woodwind instruments received an elaborate key system which made them easier to play
and tune in most keys. Valves were introduced to horns and trumpets allowing the players to
play the chromatic notes throughout their ranges and the tuba joined the brass section. This new
variety of instrumentation allowed for a wider range of colors and combinations. At this time,
there was a transition into the new Romantic style in music. It included a greater focus on
songlike melodies, greater harmonic adventures, innovative textures, beautiful instrumental
colors, greater contrast, and heightened emotions. For Romantics, themes were the most
important element in any form.
One of the influential Romantics during the 19th century is Hector Berlioz. He took a
different approach and reconceived the symphony as a programmatic work and allowed it to
assume an unconventional form for the program. In Symphonie fantastique, Berlioz dwells on the
passions aroused by his thoughts and fantasies about a woman whose love he hopes to win. He
developed the idee fixe or fixed idea; a melody that he used in each movement to represent the
image of the hero’s beloved, and manipulating it to fit the mood and situation at any point in the
story. In the first movement, “Dreams and Passions” the idee fixe is represented by a melody that
has a long, arching line of an operatic aria which serves as the first theme. It is accompanied by a
throbbing figure that imitates the hero’s racing heartbeat at the sight of a woman. The fifth and
final movement, “Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath” presents transformations of the idee fixe and two
other themes. The new form of the idee fixe is a grotesque character implying that the beloved’s
depravity has been revealed. Throughout the symphony, the traditional outline can still be seen; a
sonata with a slow introduction, a dance in minuet-and-trio form, a slow quasi-rondo form, and a
fast finale. All the transformations of the main theme help to tell the story with the help of the
wide range of contrasting characters. The Symphony fantastique is an original not only in
bending the symphony to serve a narrative and autobiographical purpose but also to express the
emotional content of his drama in music of great communicative power.
Another notable composer that contributed to the symphony genre during the 19th century
