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IND IANA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MUSIC
Four Hundred Fourteenth Program of the 1970-71 Season
The Damnation of Faust
A Dramatic Legend
by
H ector Berlioz
Sung in French
ORATORIO C HORU S S YMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Fiora Contino, Conductor
SoLOISTS
Jean Deis, Faust
Gary Kendall, Brander
Elizabeth Mannion, Marguerite
Thomas Palmer, Mephistopheles
The first perfonnance of this work was at the Opera Comique,
Paris, November 6, 1846.
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A uditoriuJ1'l Wednesday Evening March Thirty-First
Eight O'Clock
BerliO'Z, Shakespeare, and Goethe-A Dramatic Triangle
Iy 170 years after his birth, Hector Berlioz defies classification; his limits Near not yet been sighted . He took the standard concepts of what music could
dhav~y the heels and shook them hard; his multi-leveled, theatrical attack on the ~ of perception is only now beginning to be understood and emulated. ~ t surprisingly, the most d~ect and lasti~g inf~ue~ce on Berlioz and his music
o dramatic and extra-musIcal. He descnbes his first encounter, on September ii,S 1827, in his M emoirs: An English company came over to the Odeon to perform Shakespeare's plays then entirely unknown in France. I was present at the first performance' of Hamlet . ... This sudden and unexpected revelation of Shakespeare overwhelmed me. The lightning flash of his genius revealed the whole heaven of art to me, illuminating its remotest depth in a single flash. I recognized the meaning of real grandeur, real beauty, and real dramatic truth.
This was not mere rhetoric. Berlioz' reliance on Shakespeare throughout his creative life, for thematic inspiration and textual material, is an obvious reflection of the English writer's importance to him:
1831-King Lear Overture L elia, or the Return to Life (monodrama)
1839- Romeo and Juliet (dramatic symphony ) 1848-The Death of Ophelia (female chorus; song with piano)
Funeral M arch for the Last Scene of Hamlet 1860- Beatrice and Benedict (opera based on Much Ado About Nothing)
The sum total of the change Shakespeare wrought in Berlioz was infinitely more subtle and pervasive, however. In Lelia, the autobiographical psychodrama meant to foilow the Symphonie Fantastique, L elio-Berlioz, who strongly identifies with Hamlet, asks:
Did Horatio hear me? I wonder ... poor Horatio? I imagine I still hear him playing most divinely, seated calmly at his piano ... He knew nothing of the suffering and torments that racked and rent my heart (Berlioz is referring to his stormy love affair with the English actress Henrietta Smithson ) ... with that beautiful, sweet voice of his, he, the poet as yet untouched by cruel passions, was singing his favorite ballad (Berlioz' setting of The Fisherman by Goethe). Five years are gone since I set Goethe's song to music for him. Oh! how happy we were then.
In a letter wri tten from Grenoble to his devoted friend Humbert Ferrand, obviously the H oratio of which Lelio spoke, Berlioz underscores the mingling of Shakespeare and Goethe in his thoughts.
Come as soon as you can. I beg you ... We will read Hamlet and Faust together. Shakespeare and Goethe, the mute confidants of my life, oh! come. The day before yesterday I have written, d riving in the carriage, the ballad of the King of Thule in Gothic style; I will give it to you to put in your Faust if you have one .. . 'Horatio, you are the man whose society has suited me best!' I suffer much. It would be cruel of you not to Come. (16 September, 1828)
The Ballad of the King of Thule became a part of Berlioz' Opus 1, Eight Sfcenes from Faust; completed in 1829, it fonned the basis for the Damnation a Faust, eighteen years later. Of Goethe's epic dramatic poem Berlioz wrote:
I was fascinated by it and always carried it about with me, reading it anywhere and everywhere- at dinner, in the theatre, even in the streets.
~ut in the Eight Scenes, where you would suspect the close alliance with Goethe ::. ~ake the upper hand, it is Shakespeare who comes to the fore. In the manur fIpt Score, in good English, each of the Scenes is preceded by a question thl'?m .Hamlet or Romeo and Juliet, the two plays which Berlioz knew best at
IS time. -515-
1. Easter Song
2. Peasants Under Lime Tress
3. Concert of Sylphes
4. A Group of Jolly Com-panions (Brander's Song of the Rat)
5. Song of Mephistopheles (Song of the Flea)
6. The King of Thule (Marguerite's medieval song)
7. Marguerite's Romance
Chorus of Soldiers under Marguerite's window
8. Mephistopheles Serenade
Ophelia: Heavenly powers, restore him. -Hamlet
Capulet: Who'll now deny to dance? She that makes dainty, I'll swear hath COI1l - Romeo and Juliet .
Mercutio: I talk of dreams which are the child.ren of an. airy brain, begot of nothmg but vam fantasy, which is as thin of substance as the air, and more inconstant than the wind.-Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet: How now? a rat? dead, for a ducat, dead.- Hamlet
Hamlet: Miching mall echo : it means mischief. -Hamlet
Ophelia: He is dead and gone, At his head a grass green turf, At his heels a stone. - Romeo and Juliet
Romeo: Ah me! sad hours seem long.- Romeo and Juliet
Mercutio: Come, let's be gone, the sport is over. - Romeo and Juliet
Hamlet: I t is a damned ghost.- H amlet
These eight scenes, modified in some ways, provided almost half of the Damnation in its final form. It is no accident that their music matches the quality of the Shakespearean quotations more perfectly than it does Goethe's texts or the context from which they were taken.
Taking Gerard de Nirval's 1827 translation of Faust as a springboard, Berlioz created his own drama, "not trying to imitate Goethe's masterpiece," he later wrote, "but only to use it as an inspiration and extract all of its musical substance." He a ttempted nothing less than the distillation of a Shakespearean tragedy from the sprawling pageant which Goethe once said embodied everything" from heaven through the world to hell." By blending the events of the First Part of Faust with the philosophy of the Second Part, he simplified tile story and heightened the characterization of the three principals, Fa.ust, Mephistopheles, and Marguerite. More than this, he gave Faust a pl?t anted comprehensible philosophic direction, something Goethe never mt~n . Goethe's opinion was rather this: "The more incommensurable and lllCOm-prehensible for the understanding a poetic creation may be, the better."
The Damnation of Faust is Berlioz' Hamlet; he had already written his Roroeo~ With whip-like concision he unfolds the tragedy of the ever-striving Faust, ~ able to reconcile himself with the ways of society and bored with his const~C lit}' philosophy. The alternatives that Mephistopheles offers him, drunken ~tJa that and the simple love of Marguerite, fail to fill the void. At last he reahze\ is only a union with nature can give him respite. When he learns Marguerl :ave dying in prison as a result of their affair, he signs away his soul to hers and goes to hell.
The atmosphere of the Bard of Avon is everywhere. Faust's "Invocatio~t ~f Nature," like Hamlet's "to be or not to be" soliloquy, is the hero's moroe
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'hich is as and more .-Romeo
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! mischief.
is head a s a stone.
. - Romeo
rt is over.
let
the Damle quality s texts or
d, Berlioz , he later sical subespearean ed everyJts of the lified the s, Faust, tot and a intended. d incom-." s Romeo. jaus!:, uJlillstruCted bestiality lizes that 5llerite is
to save
"ation to ~ment of
realization and the climax of the d rama. Everything is downhill from there ,df-Like Ophelia, Marguerite chants "snatches of old tunes, as one incapable :i'her own distress," a prelude to her madness in the face of unrequited love,
bistopheles is drawn with a power and a balance between humor and ~~rous cunning that is the equal of any of Shakespeare's major figures.
a.r!iOZ is before anything, a musical dramatist. His keen dramatic sense maniV". itseif at every turn. He has Marguerite appear in the midst of a field ~~es the same roses with which the angels pelt Mephistopheles to save
ust's :Wul in the original Goethe poem. The roses, the age-old symbol of ~t's passion, with which the virtues fended off the demons in the medieval
The Castle of Perseverence, emphasize the redeeming quality of Marpla:rite,s love. The musical references which he makes, the flashy chords that Crald Mephistopheles' every appearance, bringing in the theme of the King of Thule song just before the love scene between Marguerite and Faust, closing the Will-of-the-Wisps M inuet with a double-time version of Mephistopheles' SereJlllde before he even sings it, for example-all give the piece a subliminal unity that strengthens the dramatic purpose. Berlioz' extension of Goethe's ride of Mephistopheles and Faust to the Abyss, the complete scene in Hell which Goethe only suggests, the actual damnation of Faust, which directly opposes Goethe's salvation of his hero, his closing of the drama with a chorus 01 angels carrying Marguerite's soul to heaven that makes the work vanish rather than end-all of this is done with a dramatic aptness that absolutely suits the story as Berlioz conceived it.
Berlioz once wrote to Ferrand: Listen to what I say, Ferrand, if ever I should succeed, I have no doubt whatever that I shall become a colossus in music. For a long time now a descriptive symphony of Faust has been fennenting in my brain. When I set it at liberty, I want to astound the entire musical world .
Berlioz, the perfect romantic artis t, may have recognized his own image in these lines from Christopher Marlowe's Doctor Faustus :
0 , what a world of profit and delight, Of power, of honor, and omnipotence Is promis'd to the studious artisan. All things that move between the quiet poles Shall be a t my command. Emperors and kings Are but obey'd in their several provinces But his dominion that exceeds in this Stretcheth as far as doth the mind of manA sound magician is a demi-god!
ORATORIO CHORUS
RONALD J. REINOEHL
J an Harrington, Assistant Conductor
Heidi Augsburger Kyung-Nook Bang Linda Bates Ann Brenner ~arqua Lee Brunette
eannaBryan Susan Busch Debra Charis C~ristie Clayton Cmda Cranor taro1 Dangelmajer S Orayne Ewald .
UZanne Fuhr Edith Gilliard ~hargaret Glaser
eryl Grant
Soprano Sandra Guskin Susan Harwood Michelle Hayes Susan Hupp Martha I hde Jan J acobson Bok-joo J hong Jeannette J unk Valerie K ennedy Kathy Kozacik Leslie Low Catherine McChesney Miriam L inkimer Linda Myers Nancy O gle Myra Perkins
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Susan Prather Marlene R eininghaus CeIeIIia R ogers Virginia Saitely Christine Schneider Mary Shearer Alexandra Stalas Beverly Troy Marianne Van Acker Valda Van Ness Donna Vruno Mary Wakefield Marion Whatley Beverly Wood Laura Y ouens
Harriet Baron Jeanne Bowers Ruth Brown Tatiana Callan Christine Casino Diane Colotom Jeanne Conard Christine Cook Kate Covington Paige Decker Lillian Dunlap Diane Durand Helena Freire Harriette Hall Susan Hanscom
Bruce Baughman John Bills Michael Brewster Timothy Brown Dale Caldwell Fernando Caso Bruce Chamberlain Craig Curtis Kenneth DeLap Stephen Drummond James Duncan John Fast Jack Fox
Thomas Ahrens Matthew Berney Thomas Biggins Alberto Bird William Boggs Richard Bozman Harold Briggs Darle Bruckman Allan Colin John Couch Vincent Corrigan Thomas G. Cowan James Davies Robert Eakle Donald Ecklund William Entriken Steven Fish Paul Fischer Charles Foreman Franklin Foulks Peter Gach Brian Gray
Alto N ozma I-licks Kathryn Hoppe Jeequeline Jacobs Ruby Jandrich Karen Janecek Julianne J ens Evelyn La Bruce Paula Liscio Sidney Long Virginia Long Sherry Milligan Linda Mitrovich Kathryn O 'Brien Pamela Pittman Janet Reeves
Tenor John Gilmore Mark Hotsenpiller Michael Huddlestun Gregory Isaacs Herbert Kellner Thomas Koch Joel Lillethun Wing Chiu Lun Harold McManus Mark McNulty David Montano Douglas Murdock John Myers
Bass Kenneth Greenhouse Kerry Grippe Milton Gurin W ilJiam Henderson William Hicks George Hill David Him.m
fasanobu Ikemiya Daniel James Ronald Jochim Robert Johnson Leo Jeffer Stephen Kabat Charles Killion Neil Larson Timothy Lewis Ly An Tin R obert Mayerovitch James Millen Edward Morrison Benton Miller Christopher Muller
Donna Robinson Katy Romanou Sandra Schupfer Susan Scott Ellen Seeling Jeanette Shelton Eugenia Sinor Rosanne Soifer Page Swift Geneva Trotter Holly Van Heeke Nancy Watson Carol Weaver Shelley Whittingham Carole Wright Amy Zucker
Kalvert Nelson Elliot Palay Franklin Parrish Steven Puder Daniel Rosenbaum Daniel Sage Claude Sluder Kenneth Smith Philip Stephenson Stanley Torgerson Paul Waible David Williams
Vytas Nakas Stephen Nielson Merrill Palmer Joseph Parr John Pennington Alain Planes Kim Pennington Alberto Reyes J ames Roberts Robert Salek R obert Schroll Robert Steele Bruce Stephenson John Struble Jerry Troyer Lance Van Leuten Ronald Vogel Jeffery Wagner Silas Warner Kilend Watanabe William Wiant Brad Winters
CHILDREN'S CHORUS Marjorie Kleiman, Conductor
Devon Allison Maria Deis Ann Martin David Shaw Leigh Allison Martha Hayes Daisy Martin Tia Sorensen Kathy Bonser Lisa Hornibrook Zeke Martin Mark Tischler Carol Brown Debbie Kennon Barbara Mehlinger Virginia Walker Janet Campbell Nancy Lawson Jennifer Pont Michele Winkler Kathleen Clapham Grace Mannion Susan Primrose
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ORCHESTRA PERSONNEL
Violin 1 Cello Horn
Kenneth Patti Nella Hunkins Thorn Gustavson
Jean Piguet Denis Brott Susan Work
Heiichiro Ohyama Coenraad Bloemendal Evelyn Zeller
Erika Klernperer Barbara Haimberger Richard Runnels
Lois Skelton Mark Friedhoff LindaBrouk
Zoltan Szabo Linda Rogers Off-Stage Horns Georgia Ramp Carole Gatwood Mary Knepper Mika Hasler Jan Fischer Pakala Fernandes susan Conner Jan Rentz Candace Kitcoff Mina Fisher Trumpet
Leonard Braus J eHrey Levenson James Snapp Lorraine Glass John McClary Steve Dimmick
Joan Torrieri Bass J ames Polivka
Tom Wiley David Stephen David Kunstler Daniel Ertel Off-Stage Trumpet Elizabeth Rice Robert Meyer
Stephen Willis David Craigmile
Violin II Gregory Hippen David Bach
Deborah Bloom Mark Dresser Trombone Matson T opper Anne Trout James Kasprowicz Diane Kami Anthony Grosso John McMurray Christine Waitkevicz Dennis Miller Chris Howson Jacqueline Meijers Lynn Carter Roy Pickering Joan Skelley Yoshie Iida Flute Tuba
Linda Case Kenneth Andrews John Turk
Randy Ingram Alice Weir Timpani Swan Goldenberg Kathy Goll Thomas Miller EdieBoyll Oboe Fred O pie Pam Smith Ann Kester Jerry Thornburg Percussion
Pam Foard Elaine Plummer Ross Sears
Danae Meray-Horvath English Horn Richard Ries
Rebecca Boldt Anne Respess Tim Connery
William Cobb Clarinet Mike McMurtrey
Margaret Helfrick Harp
Viola Michael Limoli Gail Bass Michael Shirk Anne Eisfeller
Rhoda Rhea LoalDavis Bassoon Manager
Charles Meinen Cynthia Estill Stephen Merren
Peter Webster Gregory Vaught Set-Up Mary Kanner Carolyn Stutzke Hiro Nishiguchi David Troutman Don Hein James Snapp Deborah Cook Brenda Segal
Librarian
Elizabeth Martz Constance Simpson
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