It's Hector Berlioz's Birthday!
On this day in 1803, Hector Berlioz was born in France at La Côte-Saint-André. A maverick and innovative compositional voice, Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works, and conducted several concerts with more than 1,000 musicians.
While he is best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts (Requiem), Berlioz also made a major contribution to wind literature with his Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale (Grand Funeral and Triumphal Symphony), op. 15, his fourth and final symphony. Berlioz scored the symphony for a large military or concert band, with optional choir and string instruments. First performed on July 28th, 1840 in Paris. The work is one of the earliest examples of a symphony composed for wind band.
Behold the ambitious scoring as you listen to this massive work in the video below!
- piccolos (4 players)
- flutes (5 players)
- oboes (5 players)
- E-flat clarinets (5 players)
- 2 B-flat clarinets (26 players total)
- bass clarinets (2 players)
- bassoons (8 players)
- contrabassoon (ad lib)
- 6 horns in F, A-flat, E-flat, G, D and C (12 players total)
- 4 trumpets in F, C and B-flat (8 players total)
- 2 cornets in A-flat, G and B-flat (4 players total)
- 3 trombones (3 tenors or alto and 2 tenors, 10 players total)
- bass trombone (ad lib)
- 2 ophicleides (6 players total)
- 2 snare drums (8 players total)
- timpani (ad lib)
- cymbals (3 players)
- bass drums, tam tam, turkish crescents
- choir and strings (both ad lib)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=98BAg1GSP7U