Lelio
Encyclopedia
Lélio, ou le Retour à la Vie (English: Lélio, or the Return to Life) Op. 14b is a work incorporating music and spoken text by the French
composer Hector Berlioz
, intended as a sequel to his Symphonie fantastique
. It was composed in Italy
in 1831, often using previously written music, and first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on the 9th December, 1832 as Le retour à la vie, mélologue en six parties. It was revised for a performance in Weimar
at the request of Franz Liszt
in 1855 and published the following year. According to David Cairns, Lélio had the most "immediate impact" of all Berlioz's works, yet the fashionable Romantic features and the mixture of declamation and music which appealed to early audiences have served to date the piece and it is rarely revived or recorded nowadays.
, Lélio by Camille Moke, who had broken off her engagement to Berlioz, prompting the composer to contemplate suicide. Lélio is a record of the composer overcoming his despair and "returning to life" via the consolations of music and literature. Berlioz later revised his intentions, making it seem as if both the symphony and Lélio were about Harriet Smithson (she later became his wife). The symphony uses programme music to describe a despairing artist trying to kill himself with an overdose of opium
, leading to a series of increasingly terrifying visions. The programme of Lélio describes the artist wakening from these dreams, musing on Shakespeare, his sad life, and not having a woman. He decides that if he can't put this unrequited love
out of his head, he will immerse himself in music. He then leads an orchestra
to a successful performance of one of his new compositions and the story ends peacefully.
Lélio consists of six musical pieces presented by an actor who stands on stage in front of a curtain concealing the orchestra. The actor's dramatic monologues explain the meaning of the music in the life of the artist. The work begins and ends with the idée fixe theme, linking Lélio to Symphonie fantastique.
Orchestre National de l'ORTF, conducted by Jean Martinon (EMI)
"Pierre Boulez Conducts Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique and Lélio"
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Boulez
. Recording in public domain.
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
composer Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz
Hector Berlioz was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique and Grande messe des morts . Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a...
, intended as a sequel to his Symphonie fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique
Symphonie Fantastique: Épisode de la vie d'un Artiste...en cinq parties , Op. 14, is a program symphony written by the French composer Hector Berlioz in 1830. It is one of the most important and representative pieces of the early Romantic period, and is still very popular with concert audiences...
. It was composed in Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
in 1831, often using previously written music, and first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on the 9th December, 1832 as Le retour à la vie, mélologue en six parties. It was revised for a performance in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
at the request of Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt
Franz Liszt ; ), was a 19th-century Hungarian composer, pianist, conductor, and teacher.Liszt became renowned in Europe during the nineteenth century for his virtuosic skill as a pianist. He was said by his contemporaries to have been the most technically advanced pianist of his age...
in 1855 and published the following year. According to David Cairns, Lélio had the most "immediate impact" of all Berlioz's works, yet the fashionable Romantic features and the mixture of declamation and music which appealed to early audiences have served to date the piece and it is rarely revived or recorded nowadays.
Overview
Lélio is a kind of sequel to Symphonie fantastique and makes use of the famous idée fixe (the recurring musical theme symbolising the beloved) from that work. Both the symphony and Lélio were inspired by the composer's unhappy love affairs, the symphony by Harriet SmithsonHarriet Smithson
Henrietta Constance Smithson was an Anglo-Irish actress, the first wife of Hector Berlioz, and the inspiration for his Symphonie Fantastique....
, Lélio by Camille Moke, who had broken off her engagement to Berlioz, prompting the composer to contemplate suicide. Lélio is a record of the composer overcoming his despair and "returning to life" via the consolations of music and literature. Berlioz later revised his intentions, making it seem as if both the symphony and Lélio were about Harriet Smithson (she later became his wife). The symphony uses programme music to describe a despairing artist trying to kill himself with an overdose of opium
Opium
Opium is the dried latex obtained from the opium poppy . Opium contains up to 12% morphine, an alkaloid, which is frequently processed chemically to produce heroin for the illegal drug trade. The latex also includes codeine and non-narcotic alkaloids such as papaverine, thebaine and noscapine...
, leading to a series of increasingly terrifying visions. The programme of Lélio describes the artist wakening from these dreams, musing on Shakespeare, his sad life, and not having a woman. He decides that if he can't put this unrequited love
Unrequited love
Unrequited love is love that is not openly reciprocated or understood as such, even though reciprocation is usually deeply desired. The beloved may or may not be aware of the admirer's deep affections...
out of his head, he will immerse himself in music. He then leads an orchestra
Orchestra
An orchestra is a sizable instrumental ensemble that contains sections of string, brass, woodwind, and percussion instruments. The term orchestra derives from the Greek ορχήστρα, the name for the area in front of an ancient Greek stage reserved for the Greek chorus...
to a successful performance of one of his new compositions and the story ends peacefully.
Lélio consists of six musical pieces presented by an actor who stands on stage in front of a curtain concealing the orchestra. The actor's dramatic monologues explain the meaning of the music in the life of the artist. The work begins and ends with the idée fixe theme, linking Lélio to Symphonie fantastique.
The music
The six pieces of music are:- Le pêcheur. Ballade (The Fisherman. Ballad) A setting of a translation of Goethe's balladBalladA ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads were particularly characteristic of British and Irish popular poetry and song from the later medieval period until the 19th century and used extensively across Europe and later the Americas, Australia and North Africa. Many...
Der Fischer. - Choeur d'ombres (Chorus of Shades) An evocation of the ghostly atmosphere of Shakespeare's Hamlet, this piece reuses music from Berlioz's cantataCantataA cantata is a vocal composition with an instrumental accompaniment, typically in several movements, often involving a choir....
La mort de Cléopâtre. - Chanson de brigands (Brigands' Song) A celebration of the freedom of life enjoyed by outlaws in CalabriaCalabriaCalabria , in antiquity known as Bruttium, is a region in southern Italy, south of Naples, located at the "toe" of the Italian Peninsula. The capital city of Calabria is Catanzaro....
. - Chant de bonheur - Souvenirs (Song of Happiness - Memories) A tenorTenorThe tenor is a type of male singing voice and is the highest male voice within the modal register. The typical tenor voice lies between C3, the C one octave below middle C, to the A above middle C in choral music, and up to high C in solo work. The low extreme for tenors is roughly B2...
hymn in praise of the artist's recovered happiness. The music was originally used in the cantata La mort d’Orphée (1827). - La harpe éolienne (The Aeolian Harp) For orchestra alone, this is another reworking of music from the cantata La mort d’Orphée. The Aeolian harpAeolian harpAn aeolian harp is a musical instrument that is "played" by the wind. It is named for Aeolus, the ancient Greek god of the wind. The traditional aeolian harp is essentially a wooden box including a sounding board, with strings stretched lengthwise across two bridges...
was an important symbol of artistic inspiration in RomanticismRomanticismRomanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
. - Fantaisie sur la "Tempête" de Shakespeare (Fantasy on Shakespeare's "The Tempest") A piece of programme music based on Shakespeare's The TempestThe TempestThe Tempest is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written in 1610–11, and thought by many critics to be the last play that Shakespeare wrote alone. It is set on a remote island, where Prospero, the exiled Duke of Milan, plots to restore his daughter Miranda to her rightful place,...
for orchestra and chorus (singing in ItalianItalian languageItalian is a Romance language spoken mainly in Europe: Italy, Switzerland, San Marino, Vatican City, by minorities in Malta, Monaco, Croatia, Slovenia, France, Libya, Eritrea, and Somalia, and by immigrant communities in the Americas and Australia...
. "The work marks the first appearance of the pianoPianoThe piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
as an orchestral instrument. Berlioz, who rarely repeated himself, never made use of it again." (Cairns p. 382)
Recordings
- Lélio Lambert WilsonLambert WilsonLambert Wilson is a French actor. He is internationally known for his portrayal of The Merovingian in The Matrix He was born in Neuilly-sur-Seine, France, the son of Georges Wilson, who was an actor, theatrical manager and director of the Theatre National de Paris.Wilson screen tested for The...
(narrator), Orchestre Symphonique de Montréal, conducted by Charles DutoitCharles DutoitCharles Édouard Dutoit, is a Swiss conductor, particularly noted for his interpretations of French and Russian 20th century music...
(Decca)
Orchestre National de l'ORTF, conducted by Jean Martinon (EMI)
"Pierre Boulez Conducts Berlioz: Symphonie Fantastique and Lélio"
London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez
Pierre Boulez is a French composer of contemporary classical music, a pianist, and a conductor.-Early years:Boulez was born in Montbrison, Loire, France. As a child he began piano lessons and demonstrated aptitude in both music and mathematics...
. Recording in public domain.
Sources
- David Cairns: Berlioz: The Making of an Artist (the first volume of his biography of the composer) (André Deutsch, 1989)
- Hugh Macdonald: Berlioz ("The Master Musicians", J.M.Dent, 1982)
- Berlioz: Memoirs (Dover, 1960)
- Booklet notes to the Dutoit recording