THE GRANDE MESSE DES MORTS (REQUIEM), OP. 5 BY HECTOR BERLIOZ: A CONDUCTOR’S GUIDE TO THE HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, ORCHESTRATION, RHETORICAL/DRAMA-LITURGICAL PROJECTION AND FORMAL/STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS BY KRISTOFER J. SANCHACK Submitted to the faculty of the Jacobs School of Music in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree, Doctor of Music Indiana University December 2015 Accepted by the faculty of the Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree Doctor of Music Doctoral Committee ______________________________________ Jan Harrington, Research Director ______________________________________ Jan Harrington, Chair ______________________________________ Betsy Burleigh ______________________________________ Dominick DiOrio ______________________________________ Frank Samarotto 30 November 2015 ii Copyright © 2015 Kristofer J. Sanchack iii Dedicated to my parents and grandparents who have supported me through a very long process iv Acknowledgements There are so many people to whom I am extremely grateful. First I would like to thank my family. My parents, grandparents, sister and niece have continued each and every day to encourage me to finish this paper. Without their support, I doubt this project would have been completed. I also want to thank my partner, who throughout the process was supportive, helpful, understanding and caring. I would like to thank Dr. Carmen-Helena Téllez who began with me on this odyssey, and my mentor, friend and research chair Dr. Jan Harrington, who believed and continued to be a pillar of strength to me throughout this endeavor. I am also indebted to Dr. Betsy Burleigh, Dr. Dominick DiOrio and Dr. Frank Samarotto, who graciously agreed to serve on the committee for this paper. I would like to also thank those who assisted me with obtaining or developing information used in this document. Many thanks to Thisio Bernard, who assisted me for an entire day as I was looking through archives pertaining to the Grande Messe des morts at the Musée de l’Armée in Paris, and to Dr. Hugh Macdonald, a gentleman and scholar, who provided me with additional information and source documents he uncovered while in Paris himself. Many thanks also to Christine Quentin, Director of Licenses and Royalties at Bärenreiter-Verlag, for granting me permission to use excerpts from their critical editions of Berlioz’s Grande Messe and Messe Solennelle throughout this document. I am also thankful to Crystal Boyd, a staff member of Information-Technology at Indiana University-Purdue University Fort Wayne, for patiently and thoroughly teaching me how to create the formal graph diagrams presented in Chapter 4. Last, but certainly not least, I want to thank all of my friends who have been supporting me in completing this hurdle over the last several years. Being asked on a regular basis how this project was progressing made me realize the importance of completing it, and I share with all of you the joy that finishing this capstone means. v Preface Much has been made of Hector Berlioz’s ability as an orchestrator, and in a sense, that is justifiable. A large part of the ensuing document focuses on Berlioz’s orchestration, as Berlioz was one of the finest orchestrators in history. To not notice his innovations in this field would be a travesty. But Berlioz has been served an injustice throughout history in other ways. Many of Berlioz's contemporaries, including Mendelssohn and Cherubini, mocked his skill as a serious composer, feeling that he hid behind his skill as an orchestrator to cover a myriad of flaws in the compositions themselves. Many ridiculed his “improper” or “incorrect” voice leading procedures, and labeled his music as unrefined and excessively unconventional. His reputation at the time of the compositional genesis of the Grande Messe almost completely prevented the piece’s premiere from ever coming to fruition. In response to those criticisms, this document seeks to establish that in the Grande Messe des morts, Berlioz accomplished far more than just brilliant orchestration and effects. Through careful compositional planning, reorganization of the traditional Requiem text and formal and structural architecture, Berlioz created a work that stands tall beside other masterpieces of that period. Far from being unrefined, the Grande Messe is one of the most tightly constructed and carefully crafted pieces of its era. It is my sincere hope that one day, not just his ability as an orchestrator, but all aspects of Berlioz’s genius will be valued and respected in the way he deserves. vi Table of Contents Acknowledgements ............................................................................................................. v Preface................................................................................................................................ vi Table of Contents .............................................................................................................. vii List of Examples ................................................................................................................ ix List of Figures .................................................................................................................. xiii List of Tables .................................................................................................................... xv Chapter 1 : Background of the Composition ...................................................................... 1 1.1 : The Original Commission .................................................................................... 15 1.2 : The Fallout ........................................................................................................... 16 1.3 : Hope Resurrected ................................................................................................. 17 1.4 : A Vision Redefined ............................................................................................. 19 1.5 : Performance and Reception ................................................................................. 20 1.6 : Subsequent Versions/Editions ............................................................................. 21 1.6a : The Alternate Sanctus ................................................................................ 30 Chapter 2 : Orchestration and Instrumental/Vocal Considerations .................................. 32 2.1 : Winds ................................................................................................................... 32 2.1a : Flute .......................................................................................................... 32 2.1b : Oboe and Clarinet ..................................................................................... 35 2.1c : English Horn and Bassoon ........................................................................ 36 2.1d : Horn .......................................................................................................... 37 2.2 : Percussion ............................................................................................................ 41 2.2a : Timpani ..................................................................................................... 41 2.2b : Bass Drum................................................................................................. 43 2.2c : Tamtam and Cymbals ............................................................................... 45 2.3 : Brass..................................................................................................................... 48 2.3a : Trumpet ..................................................................................................... 48 2.3b : Trombone .................................................................................................. 50 2.4 : Strings .................................................................................................................. 56 2.5 : Voices .................................................................................................................. 66 2.5a : Chorus ....................................................................................................... 66 2.5b : Tenor Soloist ............................................................................................. 73 2.6 : Period Brass Instruments and Possible Modern-day Substitutions ..................... 75 2.6a : Ophicleide ................................................................................................. 75 2.6b : Cornets à pistons ....................................................................................... 80 2.6c : Contrabass Ophicleide/Bombardon in F ................................................... 81 2.7 : Positioning of the Orchestra and Chorus ............................................................. 82 2.8 : For the Conductor ................................................................................................ 95 2.8a : Rehearsal Planning .................................................................................. 102 2.8b : Common Tempo Mistakes Made by Conductors ................................... 104 vii Chapter 3: Berlioz's Rhetorical and Drama-Liturgical Concept ..................................... 108 3.1 : Berlioz's Reorganization of the Requiem Text .................................................. 108 3.2 : Rhetorical and Drama-Liturgical Implications from Reorganized