Belioz' Symphonie Fantastique performed by The Houston Syphony, Essay

Belioz' Symphonie Fantastique performed by The Houston Syphony, Conductor- Andrs Orozco-Estrada - Essay Example The orchestra ensemble consisted of brass and wind section, a string section and a percussion section. The string section occupied the front part of the stage facing towards the right wing and the conductor in the centre, raised on a podium. The cello and viola section filled up the other side of the stage facing the left wing and the conductor. The brass section occupied the farther end of the stage with instruments flutes (doubling piccolos), oboes (doubling cor anglais), clarinets (doubling E flat clarinets) and bassoons. The front row of the brass section consisted of horns, cornets, trumpets, trombones, tubas and ophicleides. The percussion sections consisted of timpani, cymbals, suspended cymbal, tenor drum, bass drum, bells, in scale C and G. The percussion section was located on the back left corner of the stage. There were a total of 10 instrumentalists in the brass section. The stage was set for what was to unfold as one of the finest love renditions of Hector Berliozâ€⠄¢s masterpiece composition Symphonie Fantastique. The version of the composition that was played live in front of the audience was a little dissimilar from the ones played in school orchestras. Program Contents The magnificent instrumental masterpiece, a thoroughly appreciated and celebrated musical wonder in France especially in its heartland capital of Paris, consisted of 5 movements that took charge of the flow and narrative of the composition. It consisted of the following 5 movements which were played on the evening of 26th October 2012: 1. Reveries  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Passions (Daydreams  Ã¢â‚¬â€œ Passions) 2. Un bal (A ball) 3. Scene aux champs (Scene in the Country) 4. Marche au supplice (March to the Scaffold) 5. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (Dream of a Witches' Sabbath) It was observed that the symphonies consisted an odd number (5) Symphonie than the conventional 4 symphonies composed in the Romantic Era of musical proliferation. 1. Title and composer of each selection on the pr ogram: The title of the musical movement is: â€Å"March to the Scaffold† 2. Genre: The Genre of the piece if Program Symphonie (Orchestral). It is a piece of program music. 3. Style of each selection: The style of this movement is 20th Century. Contemporary 4. Date of composition: The movement was composed in 1830 5. Performers: The performers were members of the Houston Youth Symphony Sinfonia Orchestra member. 6. Any characteristic or unusual sounds in the music 7. Your personal understanding of the music and your reaction to the work and its performance 8. The sources of information used for this report if any. (Ohio Link Music Center 1) Description of the Musical Piece in detail: The movement â€Å"March to the Scaffold† begins with root note/ anchor note E in the major scale with the wind section starting the performance. Percussive sounds filled up the background with cymbal strokes and bass drum stroked to set the rhythm and tempo. The wind section and percussi on section gradually increase the amplitude, slowly building up the mood and intensity of string and percussion strokes. This finally gives way to the string sections, in which the violins in the mid-range frequency dominate the overall sound. The phrasing of the notes is such that there is descent from the middle octave to the lower octave. The brass section is distinct and can be clearly identified playing the bass notes with the string instruments beautifully complementing the