Symphonie Fantastique, Op. 14, Mvt IV: March to the Scaffold - Hector Berlioz

How many pirate incidents did merchant vessels have in 2024?

116

How do cruise ships try to protect themselves from marauders in some parts of the world?

Make passengers turn off cabin lights and close curtains

What ancient Roman poet noted the use of musical instruments for the army in ancient Rome?

Virgil

By what century did most European nations develop drum signals for their armies?

16th century

What was the earliest tone color used to convey signals and commands?

Percussion

What is the earliest year that we know of that had Pilgrim militia assemble by drum in the American colonies?

1627

What did military music need to accomplish?

Dignify ceremonial functions, life morale, make soldiers March in step together

What book did Machiavelli write?

Art of War

Who composed March music for Frederick the Great’s army in Prussia?

Prussian princess Anna Amalia

What is the difference in functional March compared to funeral March?

Funeral has slower tempo, muffled percussion, dotted rhythms, minor mode, and modulations move to key that is 3rd away, tune moves in downward direction

What celebration in 1766 saw soldiers assist in music for the community?

Feast of Saint Patrick in New York

What army ensemble would play a concert in 1767 in New York?

Royal American Regiment (the 60th Foot)

What army ensemble would play a concert in 1771 in Boston?

Band of 64th regiment

Who is the most famous March composer of the U.S.?

John Philip Sousa

Where did John Philip Sousa start his career?

Writing for U.S. Marine band

How many marches did John Philip Sousa make?

136

What are the best known Marches from John Philip Sousa?

Semper Fidelis, The Washington Post, The Stars and Stripes Forever!

What is the name of the March that was in the 1739 oratorio Saul?

Dead March

Who composed the Dead March that mourned the fallen Israelites in battle?

George Frideric Handel

What march song was used for Winston Churchill’s 1965 funeral service?

Dead March by George Frideric Handel

What Presidential funerals also had the Dead March by George Frideric Handel play for them?

George Washington and Abraham Lincoln

What funeral March did Fryderyk Chopin compose in 1837?

Marche funebre

What type of work was Marche funebre by Chopin?

Concert work for piano

When was Marche funebre orhestrated so that it could be played outdoors?

1849

What funerals also had the Marche Funebre by Chopin play for them?

JFK and Queen Elizabeth II Where was

Where was JFK buried?

Arlington National Cemetery

When was JFK buried?

1963

What degree did Hector Berlioz have to earn to satisfy his parents?

Medical Degree

When did Hector Berlioz graduate?

June 1824

When did Hector Berlioz enroll into the Paris Conservatoire?

1826

Who is the person that Hector Berlioz became absolutely obsessed with?

Miss Harriet Smithson

What was Harriet Smithson performing that Hector Berlioz saw?

Hamlet

What did Hector Berlioz become inspired by when he combined programmatic music and multi-movement symphony?

Symphonies by Beethoven

What does cyclic mean for a symphony?

Utilizing a repeating melody throughout a symphony

What is the premise of Berlioz’s imaginary program?

Artist takes opium and starts seeing his beloved everywhere

What is the melody that surrounds the Beloved in Berlioz’s Symphonie fantastique called?

idee fixe

What does idee fixe mean?

Fixed idea

What does idee fixe mean in modern psychiatry?

Firmly held irrational idea/belief

What is Movement 1 called in Symphonie Fantastique?

Dreams—Passions

What is Movement II called in Symphonie fantastique?

A Ball

What is Movement III called in Symphonie fantastique?

Scene in the Country

What is Movement IV called in Symphonie fantastique?

March to the Scaffold

How does the idee fixe first appear in Movement I?

Broadly sweeping theme

How does the idee fixe melody change in Movement II?

Waltzes in triple meter

How does Movement III open in Symphonie fantastique?

Two woodwinds mimicking melody by Swiss cowherds

What is occuring in Movement IV of Symphonie fantastique?

Artist dreams he killed his Beloved and is now going to guillotine

What happens in Movement V of Symphonie fantastique?

Artist thinks he is at a witches’ Sabbath

When did Symphonie fantastique premiere?

December 5, 1830

Where did Symphonie fantastique premiere?

Paris Conservatoire

What award did Hector Berlioz win?

Prix de Rome

What is the Prix de Rome?

Award allowing winners to go to Italy to study composition

Why did Hector Berlioz travel back to France after 3 weeks in Rome?

Fiancee sent no letters, and was already married to someone else

When did Hector Berlioz organize a performance for his revised Symphonie fantastique?

1832

When did Hector Berlioz marry Harriet Smithson?

1833

When did Hector Berlioz and Harriet Smithson drift apart?

1839

Where did March to the Scaffold originate?

Thought of it before as “March of the Guards” for an opera

What are the only timbres heard in the first measure?

3 Timpani, Cellos and Basses

How are the Cellos and Basses playing in the first measure?

Pizzicato

What type of mallets do the percussionists use in Symphonie fantastique?

Sponge-headed mallets

What time signature is Movement IV March to the Scaffold in?

Cut-time

What notes are the timpanists performing?

Sextuplets

What note rhythm do the horns play in response to the percussion and low strings during the second measure?

Quarter/Half/Quarter/Half

What dynamic level is the motif in Movement IV being played in?

Pianissimo

What technique is also visible between the instruments and horns as well in Movement IV?

Call and Response

What key signature is the first theme in Movement IV March to the Scaffold?

G minor

How do the string instruments play in the first theme of Movement IV March to the Scaffold?

Arco

What does playing arco mean?

Return to using bow

What do the string instruments play in the first theme of March to the Scaffold?

Long descending melody that diminuendo

What instrument plays in the repetition of Theme 1 in Movement Four March to the Scaffold?

Bassons with countermelody that has dotted notes

What section of instruments re-enters during the third statement of Theme 1?

Percussion

What happens at the end of the third statement of Theme 1 in March to the Scaffold?

Whole orchestra interrupts with FF dynamic

What happens in the 5th statement of Theme 1?

Strings play pizzicato

What are the higher members of the strings playing in the 5th statement of Theme 1 in March to the Scaffold?

Inversion of the theme

What does inversion mean in the context of March to the Scaffold?

Melody’s direction reverses

What instruments still play in the normal downward direction of Theme 1 during its 5th statement?

Cellos and Basses

What do the bassoons play in the 5th statement of Theme 1?

Steady 8th notes

What do the steady 8th notes by the bassoons resemble in March to the Scaffold?

Running

What key signature is the 2nd theme of March to the Scaffold in?

Bb major?

How does the 2nd theme of March to the Scaffold contradict expectations of a funeral March?

Major mode, ascending direction of melody, forte dynamic, lively winds and brass

What does the 2nd Theme convey in terms of the story of March to the Scaffold?

Crowd eagerly watching the Artist going up

What comprises the 3rd theme in March to the Scaffold?

FF calls and F responses between brass and woodwinds

What do the call and responses of the 3rd theme in March to the Scaffold ressemble?

Jeering crowd

What plays the idee fixe melody near the end of March to the Scaffold?

PP clarinet

How many measures of the idee fixe melody does the clarinet play in March to the Scaffold?

5

What interrupts the clarinet’s idee fixe melody?

FF quarter note by the whole orchestra

What plays after the FF quarter note in March to the Scaffold?

3 quiet pizzicato notes from strings