The theme of this week, “Viola, the mysterious instrument” was inspired partly because of how it is given less love an attention in the soloist repertoire than say the violin or cello, even though all three instruments are equally commonly used in ensembles. For today, I decided to share one major viola work,
Berlioz - Harold en Italie
The virtuoso violinist Niccolò Paganini met Berlioz and, after hearing his Symphonie fantastique, had asked him to write something that Paganini could use to showcase a recent gift he’d received: a Stradivarius viola. Berlioz accepted the offer, but what started out as a large scale work for the viola alone, became a work for viola and orchestral accompaniment, but as that grew larger, and after being influenced by Lord Byron’s poem, “Childe Harold’s Pilgrimage”, it became something like a programatic sinfonia concertante. This work displays many ideas of the Romantic aesthetic; it’s based off of a poem, the music is purposefully telling a story, the poem itself is an example of the “Byronic hero”, a dark mysterious and misunderstood artist, and the piece transcends traditional form, written for an expanded orchestra. Paganini was disappointed because he had expected something that would put him at the center stage, continuously playing, instead of being an important part of a larger ensemble. Even so, Paganini was awestruck by the music, and was beyond pleased with the commission. It has since kept its status as one of Berlioz’s major works in the standard repertoire.
Movements:
1. Harold aux montagnes
2. Marche des pèlerins
3. Sérénade
4. Orgie de brigands
Stay tuned for more music for the “mysterious viola”, this week on Musica in Extenso! - Nick Olinger