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35-503: Les francs-juges , Op. 3. Composed 1826. The overture to Berlioz's first attempt at opera , which was never staged. The overture was first performed in the concert hall of the Paris Conservatoire as part of an all Berlioz concert on 26 May 1828. In his study on the composer, Jacques Barzun describes the work as "a genuine tour de force for a young dramatic musician working without knowledge of Beethoven." The instrumentation

70-405: A saxophone of comparable range, with only a modest bell flare compared to other brass instruments. Later in the 19th century, soon after the invention of brass instrument valves , instruments with the same overall layout but replacing keys with valves appeared. These instruments were called valved ophicleides ( German : Ventilophikleide ; French : ophicléide à piston ). The ophicleide

105-409: A set of instruments to extend the keyed bugle into lower registers. The patent originally included the alto or quinticlave built in 6-foot F or E♭, and the bass ophicleide in 8-foot C or B♭. The alto was always a rare instrument, only appearing in military bands for a time, before being superseded by valved instruments. A very rare contrabass in 12-foot F or E♭, sometimes known as the monstre ,

140-417: A short work depicting Jesus and his family fleeing to Egypt to escape persecution by King Herod . This was published in 1852 but wound up as the core of another, larger work: the oratorio L'enfance du Christ . Béatrice et Bénédict . Overture to the opera of the same name , composed in 1862. Berlioz's epic opera Les Troyens was never performed complete during his lifetime. In an attempt to have

175-612: A three-act libretto, Les francs-juges . The work is set in Mediaeval Germany and the title literally means "The Free Judges", referring to the secret Vehmic trials held in the region during the late Middle Ages. The plot, with its stormy passions and theme of rescue from oppression, offered Berlioz the opportunity to compose a work in the style of the French Revolutionary operas of Méhul and Cherubini . Berlioz intended Les francs-juges for performance at

210-421: Is a family of conical-bore keyed brass instruments invented in early 19th-century France to extend the keyed bugle into the alto, bass and contrabass ranges. Of these, the bass ophicleide in C or B ♭ took root over the course of the 19th century in military bands and as the bass of orchestral brass sections throughout Western Europe, replacing the serpent and its later upright derivatives . By

245-519: Is a partial list of collections exclusively devoted to Berlioz's overtures: Les francs-juges Les francs-juges (translated as "The Free Judges" or "The Judges of the Secret Court") is the title of an unfinished opera by the French composer Hector Berlioz written to a libretto by his friend Humbert Ferrand in 1826. Berlioz abandoned the incomplete composition and destroyed most of

280-402: Is the acoustic bell, with the bell itself having little effect on sound or pitch. The sound produced with no key levers pressed is the nominal pitch of the instrument. If the player presses the lever for this normally open tone hole, that hole is closed and the now-longer air column extends past this hole up to the bell, lowering the pitch by one half step. In general, the player can obtain all

315-403: Is two flutes doubling piccolo, two oboes, two clarinets in C, two bassoons, contrabassoon , four horns (in E ♭ and D), three trumpets (two in E and one in E ♭ ), three trombones, two ophicleides, percussion (timpani, bass drum and cymbals) and strings. Waverley: grande ouverture (Waverley: Grand Overture), Op. 1. A concert overture composed in 1828. It was first performed at

350-645: The Paris Conservatoire on 26 May 1828. Berlioz took his inspiration from Sir Walter Scott 's Waverley novels. The instrumentation is two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets (one in C and one in A), four bassoons, four horns in D, three trumpets (one in D and two in A), three trombones, ophicleide, timpani and strings. Le roi Lear (King Lear), Op. 4. Composed in Nice in 1831 during Berlioz's journey back to France after his stay in Italy (due to winning

385-589: The Prix de Rome ). The overture is based on Shakespeare 's King Lear , a recent discovery for the composer whose love of the dramatist is evident in many other of his works. It was first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on 22 December 1833. The instrumentation is two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, two clarinets in C, two bassoons, four horns (in E ♭ and C), two trumpets in C, three trombones, ophicleide , timpani and strings. In

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420-512: The Salle Herz , Paris, on 3 February 1844. A stand-alone overture intended for concert performance, made up of material and themes from Berlioz's opera Benvenuto Cellini , including some music from the opera's carnival scene – hence the overture's title. It is scored for large orchestra, is in the key of A major, and features a prominent and famous solo for the cor anglais . Le corsaire (The Corsair), Op. 21. Overture composed while Berlioz

455-428: The opera of the same name , composed in 1838. The instrumentation is two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in C, four bassoons, four horns (in G, E and D), four trumpets (in G, E and D), two cornets in A, three trombones, ophicleide , percussion ( timbales , cymbals, triangle, bass drum) and strings. Le carnaval romain, ouverture pour orchestre (Roman Carnival Overture), Op. 9. Composed in 1843 and first performed at

490-553: The serpent . In the early 2000s the London Ophicleide Ensemble was established. Australian trombonist Nick Byrne has commissioned and recorded works for the ophicleide, including a concerto by American composer William Perry . Titled Brass From the Past , it was premiered in 2012 and later recorded by Naxos Records with Byrne as soloist. The ophicleide's tubing has a similar length and arrangement as that of

525-408: The "partial" pitches available for a given air column length. To play a higher series of partials, they open one of the normally closed tone holes, effectively making that hole the "bell" of the instrument, with a corresponding shorter air column and higher series of pitches. The left hand controls three such tone holes plus the normally open one below the bell. Pitches in the upper and middle range of

560-569: The Odéon theatre and the management accepted it on the basis of Ferrand's libretto. Berlioz threw himself into writing the score in the summer of 1826: the first two acts were finished by June, and he composed the third act in July and August and added the final touches in September. Unfortunately for Berlioz, the Odéon could not obtain government licensing to stage new French operas and Les francs-juges

595-693: The bass of the brass section of the early Romantic orchestra (with the exception of the symphonic tradition in German-speaking countries), replacing the Renaissance -era serpent and its later upright derivatives. The bass ophicleide first appeared in the banda (stage band) of the opera Olimpie by Gaspare Spontini in 1819. Other famous works which employ it include Felix Mendelssohn 's Elijah and Overture to A Midsummer Night's Dream (originally scored for English bass horn ), as well as Berlioz 's Symphonie Fantastique , which

630-518: The end of the 19th century, however, it had been largely superseded by early forms of the modern tuba , developed from valved ophicleides. The instrument's name comes from the Greek words ὄφις ( ophis , lit.   ' serpent ' ) and κλείς ( kleis , lit.   ' closure ' ), since it was conceived of as a serpent with keys. The ophicleide was patented in 1821 by French instrument maker Jean Hilaire Asté (operating as Halary) as

665-412: The instrument and liked the sound, allegedly leading Sax to design and create a purpose-built instrument. However, this story is not considered plausible, since the developmental history of the saxophone is well documented and the ophicleide and saxophone are only superficially similar to each other in that both have a wide conical bore and large tone holes. A powerful bass reed organ stop is named after

700-412: The instrument can be obtained by using only the left hand's set of tone holes, and the right hand can hold and stabilize the instrument. At the point where the air column is shortened by opening all of the left hand tone holes, there comes a difficult couple of notes that can best be played by continuing to shorten the air column with two fingers of the right hand, before the series of partials "wraps" and

735-484: The left hand is used again for another set of notes. In the lowest octave, some pitches cannot be obtained very well using the holes closer to the bell. For these notes, the other fingers of the right hand can open a few more tone holes that are relatively closer to the mouthpiece than to the bell. Some instruments were made with between one and three extra right hand keys to provide better intonation for specific notes in this register. The right hand keys may also be used in

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770-418: The music. He retained the overture , which has become a popular concert item, and used some other musical material in later compositions. Ferrand was a law student with a love of poetry who became a lifelong friend of Berlioz. He had already written the words to a cantata for the composer, La Révolution grecque in 1825. Now Ferrand gratified Berlioz's eagerness to write his first opera by providing him with

805-474: The opera staged by the Théâtre Lyrique in 1863, he split it into two parts, with acts 1 and 2 becoming La prise de Troie ( The Capture of Troy ) and acts 3–5 Les Troyens à Carthage ( The Trojans at Carthage ). Only the latter was accepted and Berlioz wrote an orchestral prologue to introduce this version evoking the tragic fate of Troy . The individual overtures have been recorded many times. This

840-496: The ophicleide until the appearance of the Italian : trombone basso Verdi in the late 1880s. Composers Saverio Mercadante and Richard Wagner also composed for the ophicleide, before switching to the bass tuba or contrabass trombone . Sir Arthur Sullivan included ophicleide in his Overture Di Ballo (which, like Wagner's opera Rienzi , also has an additional part for serpent). The ophicleide ( Portuguese : oficleide )

875-409: The ophicleide. The ophicleide, like the keyed bugle (the soprano member of its 'family'), has a fingering system like no other wind instrument. All keys except one are normally closed, opening only when a finger presses the associated key lever. Just below the bell is the largest of the key-covered tone holes, which is normally open, closing only when the lever is pressed. This normally open tone hole

910-444: The publication of the overture by Breitkopf and Härtel, the ophicleide is exchanged for a tuba on the basis that French and German orchestras no longer owned ophicleides. This editorial decision is upheld in many modern performances. Intrata di Rob Roy Macgregor (Rob Roy Overture). Composed in 1831 and first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on 14 April 1833. The overture was inspired by Sir Walter Scott's novel Rob Roy . Berlioz

945-457: The upright serpents that preceded it, bending back on itself in a similar manner to the bassoon . It is played with a cup-shaped mouthpiece similar to a modern trombone or euphonium mouthpiece. It originally had nine keys, but later expanded to up to eleven keys with twelve holes (double hole for the E), covering the large tone holes . The taper of the ophicleide's wide conical bore is similar to

980-425: Was commissioned in 1834 for Mendelssohn 's oratorio Elijah . Only three non-playable instruments survive in museums; the only known playable instrument is a replica built in the 1960s by Californian instrument maker Robb Stewart. Adolphe Sax built examples of a soprano ophicleide an octave above the bass in the 1840s, and playable replicas have also been built by Stewart. It was the bass ophicleide that became

1015-529: Was eventually succeeded by the tuba, although it remained popular in Italy until the early twentieth century. The euphonium can also be called a successor instrument. One of the last great ophicleide players was the English musician Sam Hughes . There have been claims that the instrument was a direct ancestor of the saxophone : supposedly Adolphe Sax , while repairing an ophicleide, put a woodwind mouthpiece on

1050-511: Was never happy with the piece, regarding it as "long and diffuse", and withdrew it after the premiere. A plaintive melody for cor anglais would later find prominent use for the solo viola in Harold en Italie . The instrumentation is two flutes (second doubling piccolo), two oboes, English horn , two clarinets in A, two bassoons, four horns (in D and G), three trumpets (one in D and two in A), three trombones, timpani, harp and strings. Overture to

1085-782: Was on holiday in Nice in August 1844. It was first performed under the title La tour de Nice ( The Tower of Nice ) on 19 January 1845. It was then renamed Le corsaire rouge (after James Fenimore Cooper 's novel The Red Rover ) and finally Le corsaire (suggesting Byron 's poem The Corsair ). The instrumentation is two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in C, four horns (in C and F), two bassoons, two trumpets in C, two cornets in B ♭ , three trombones, ophicleide , timpani and strings. Overture to La fuite en Égypte (The Flight into Egypt). Together with two choral pieces, L'adieu des bergers and Le repos de la sainte famille , this made up

Overtures by Hector Berlioz - Misplaced Pages Continue

1120-573: Was originally scored to include both an ophicleide and a serpent. Today, it is often replaced with two tubas in modern orchestral performances, but some writers believe the original effect is lost; the tubas are too loud for the intended sound. The instrument was standard in French mid-19th century serious operas by Meyerbeer , Halevy , and Auber , as well as English operas by Michael Balfe , Vincent Wallace , and others. Italian opera composer Giuseppe Verdi scored for either serpentone or cimbasso in his early operas, but parts were often played on

1155-687: Was shelved. The composer made later attempts to have it performed at the Opéra, the Nouveautés, the German Theatre and in Karlsruhe. He revised it in 1829 and again in 1833, but to no avail. Les francs-juges was never staged and only five numbers from the original score of 1826 survive complete. Some of the music was reused in the "Marche au supplice" of the Symphonie fantastique . This

1190-573: Was the first work Berlioz wrote solely for orchestra and it is the earliest of his compositions to retain a place in the repertoire today. It was first performed at the Paris Conservatoire on 26 May 1828 and published in 1836 (the opus number is 3). Franz Liszt prepared a piano transcription of it in 1833 (S.471). An extract from the overture was used as the theme for the BBC television programme Face to Face . Ophicleide The ophicleide ( / ˈ ɒ f ɪ k l aɪ d / OFF -ih-klyde )

1225-514: Was used in Brazilian choro bands well into the 20th century until it was superseded by the saxophone . pt:Irineu de Almeida was a major soloist on the instrument. A revival of interest in the instrument took place in Britain the late 20th century, beginning with David Rycroft in 1965 and further involving players Alan Lumsden, Stephen Wick and Cliff Bevan, who were also involved in reviving

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