Alyssa JohnsonFifth Movement of Symphonie fantastique: Dream of a Witches Sabbath Hector Berlioz1830Hector Berliozs Dream of a Witches is from Berliozs romantic Symphonie fantastique. This symphony proved to be a pioneer in the idea of program music, allowing the music solely to tell a complete story on its own without vocals. Aside from being a composer, Berlioz also worked at many part- time jobs such as a conductor, guitar teacher, and a music critic, which is where he made most of his income during his lifetime. His music was strongly influenced by literature and Shakespeares plays giving it a dramatic feel, and is which directly translates into his Symphonie fantastique. The Symphonie fantastique, also carries the thematic trends of the Romantic art with the idea of human struggle, emotions, as well as the supernatural are featured likewise in his symphony. For this symphony Berlioz not only represented a new idea in the concept of program music but, he also added to the orchestra, the most notable additions being, the serpent, ophechlide, and English horn. Using an idee fixe as a recurring thought of the heros beloved, the Symphonie fantastique becomes a singular cohesive story. The piece Dream of a Witches Sabbath follows the young musician to hell after his execution where sinister characters celebrate.Berlioz uses various techniques to acquire the malevolent atmosphere of this piece. In the opening of this piece, the violins have descending chromatic chords with irregular tremolos and the horns and woodwinds simulate an impish kind of laughter. These affects translate a sense of foreboding and perverse glee that does very well at setting the scene. Another interesting aspect of this piece is the new setting of the idee fixe from a soft and slow theme, to a more harsh parody of itself as a dance tune, played by an E-flat clarinet. This transformation of a theme that is so well ingrained within the work lends itself to the more sinister version of the Beloved that Berlioz is trying to portray. Berlioz also transforms the chant Dies irae within this piece, having it played slowly and softly initially, then accelerating and getting louder with each playing, creating a rising sense of madness in the story. Berlioz made it possible for orchestras to be able to tell a story clearly. As a singer, one of the most important functions of music would be the ability to communicate some kind of story. The way that Berlioz is able to tell such a story without words, pushes me to do the same in my own singing; to allow the music to tell the story, and not to rely solely on the words. Also, this piece allowed me to see that changing the small details of a piece of music can alter the character of a piece, which I see when I deal with chords within my theory class. Berlioz pioneered an entirely new manner of composing as well as enjoying music.[ 480 words ]Alyssa JohnsonPause and Marche des Davidsbundler contrel les Philistins (Carnaval)Robert Schumann1835Robert Schumanns Pause and Marche des Davidsbundler contrel les Philistins was part a group of short piano works named Carnaval. Robert Schumann was active as a performer writer and composer. Schumans composing career progressed in periods of composition, often within the same genre with songs in 1840, symphonies in 1841, chamber music from 1842-1843. His music journal Neue Zeitschrift fur Musik made in 1834 influenced the course of music in the Romantic period. Schumann was known for dividing his contemporaries into three categories: Classicists, Conservatives, and Romantics. His work Carnaval was composed during the Carnival season in 1835, and was a collection of scenes mignones or little scenes that depicted characters both fictitious as well as based on real people in his life. The most prominent mark that Schumann left in this work was the use of the Asch musical motive, as Asch was the name of the town where his fianc at the time. The Marche des Davidsbundler is exclusively an insult to the people that Schumann designated as the Conservatives, ridiculing their traditional ideologies.Schumann uses many interesting musical devices to create one of the greatest musical insults in history. The piece begins with Pause, which is no pause at all but the introduction to the march that is a fast paced rippling restatement of the opening movement. This misleading name is yet the beginning of the musical traditions that Schumann is going to break. Another tradition breaking aspect of this piece is that Schumann sets the march in triple meter, which is odd because traditionally marches are set in four. Also, this piece quotes a popular German folk son the Grandfathers dance, which against the backdrop of the unconventional meter of the march, heralds the Conservatives or Philistines as old men like figures. Schumann makes use of the Asch motive, which are the notes A, C, and B, as the first three notes in the motive for this piece. Robert Schumann uses music to not only provide an entertaining musical experience for the audience but, he makes it more personal in the fact that he makes an important statement for himself in the eyes of those who would criticize his music. As a singer, what I pull most form that is the concept that he is confident in his musical choices and he uses music as an extension of himself, which I want to be able to do in my own performances. Also, compositionally I enjoy how he uses certain letters of his name to make the notes in the piece. I definitely would want to have some semblance of this kind of calling card within my own future compositions.[433 words]