Music TheoryPrint

Hector Berlioz

Lélio

Lélio, ou Le retour à la vie (English: Lélio, or the Return to Life), Op. 14b, is a work incorporating music and spoken text by the French composer Hector Berlioz, intended as a sequel to his

The music#

The six pieces of music are: Instrumentation: 2 flutes (2nd also piccolo), 2 oboes (2nd also English horn), 2 clarinets, 4 bassoons 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 2 cornets, 3 trombones, ophicleide, timpani, bass drum, tam-tam, harp, piano (2 and 4 hand), strings

Recordings#

  • Lambert Wilson (narrator), Montreal Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Charles Dutoit (Decca)
  • Orchestre National de l’ORTF, conducted by Jean Martinon (EMI)
  • Pierre Boulez Conducts Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique and Lélio
  • Zdenek Macal, Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Glenn Siebert (tenor), William Diana (baritone), Werner Klemperer (narrator, in English)
  • London Symphony Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Boulez; recording in public domain
  • Depardieu, Zeffiri, Ketelsen, CSO, Muti; recorded in 2010, released in 2015
  • Jean-Philippe Lafont (narrator), Cyrille Dubois (tenor), Florian Sempey (baritone), Vienna Symphony, conducted by Philippe Jordan; recorded in 2018, released in 2019 (Sony)

Sources#

  • David Cairns: Berlioz: The Making of an Artist (the first volume of his biography of the composer) (André Deutsch, 1989)
  • Hugh Macdonald: Berlioz (“The Master Musicians”, J.M.Dent, 1982)
  • Berlioz: Memoirs (Dover, 1960)
  • Booklet notes to the Dutoit recording
  • Complete text of Lélio *
Composer
Hector Berlioz