Overture: Roman Carnival - Berlioz (1803-1869)

We musicians have to confess to just a wee tendency to show-off, only on-stage you understand, we never allow this trait to spill over into other areas of our lives. So we love an overture like this which provides all the material for a brilliantly dramatic opening to a concert. Here's the scene, orchestra assembles on stage, tunes-up, expectant hush over audience, house-lights dim, conductor strides on, bows, turns to the orchestra and "bang - crash" we're off ! Having grabbed your attention, woken up the post-lunchites and got the ears open, Berlioz treats us to a lovely, haunting melody on that delicious instrument the cor-anglais, repeated by those equally fine fellows the violas. The full orchestra takes over with a piece of advanced orchestral scoring that helped confirm the composers' compatriots in their belief that he was truly eccentric if not mad. However, no settling down is allowed. A few twirls from the woodwind preface an almost breathtaking "presto" which fires off at lightning speed with an almost fairy-land lightness. But it is not long before we have further evidence of Berlioz' remarkable sense of timing, timbre and physical impact. Incidentally, in a remarkable tribute to Berlioz' expertise in these areas, George Bernard Shaw said: "Call no conductor sensitive in the highest degree to musical impressions until you have heard him in Berlioz and Mozart." Finally, the ending is terrific! A sumptuous chord of A major (one of music's very bright keys) on the woodwind, horns and brass. Great stuff!

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