ABSTRACT

Berlioz could definitely be called a man of letters: his literary production is substantial; his concert reviews reveal a very interesting style; and, moreover, Berlioz himself collected these reviews into books, where the same poetics can be seen to underlie both his musical and his literary works. This chapter explores the nature of these poetics within two important works: the Symphonie fantastique of 1830, first called Episode de la vie dun artiste, and the second part of that symphony, Le Retour a la vie, dating from 1832, whose title Berlioz changed to Lelio in 1855. The Episode de la vie dun artiste and Le Retour a la vie are two parts of a single work. More precisely, the Episode de la vie dun artiste forms the first panel of a diptych, completed by the composition of Le Retour a la vie. The Episode has a written libretto — a 'programme' — and Lelio is a theatrical work.