The number one inspiration of my Symphonie apocalyptique (still far from finished) should be obvious by the title—it is in fact Hector Berlioz’s magnum opus.
Symphonie fantastique was the first major modern example of a program symphony. Though several of Beethoven’s symphonies were epic works with a single unifying theme, Berlioz introduced in the early Romantic era an epic work with a unifying narrative. In this case, it was a lovelorn artist who overdoses on heroin and has a dream that ends up a nightmare; it was semi-autobiographical, as the French composer had his own obsession with the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson. (They eventually married, but there was no happy ending to this story.)
It was a soundtrack to a film, only without the film. What I’m writing is a soundtrack to an epic movie that may never be made, but it’s based on my own madness. In my case, however, it’s not just unrequited love, but visions of a bleak future for the world, of heaven and hell, of the Nietzschean Übermensch (which of course inspired Richard Strauss in his most famous work) ruling over a future dystopia. Like the Berlioz work, it also features the Dies Irae melody as one of the many leitmotifs. I’m using music I’ve written as far back as my preteen years.
(I’ve said already it was John Williams’ score to Star Wars and Bill Conti’s to Rocky that made me want to write film scores, eventually. But it was also Beethoven, Berlioz, Wagner, Strauss, Stravinsky, Holst and such that also inspired me.)
I’m using every compositional technique I know of: Baroque counterpoint including the canon and fugue, atonality, serialism and twelve-tone, minimalism, New Complexity, microtonality, Arabic and Turkish maqams and usuls, polyrhythms, blues, jazz, rock (especially progressive).
Symphonie fantastique was the first major modern example of a program symphony. Though several of Beethoven’s symphonies were epic works with a single unifying theme, Berlioz introduced in the early Romantic era an epic work with a unifying narrative. In this case, it was a lovelorn artist who overdoses on heroin and has a dream that ends up a nightmare; it was semi-autobiographical, as the French composer had his own obsession with the Irish Shakespearean actress Harriet Smithson. (They eventually married, but there was no happy ending to this story.)
It was a soundtrack to a film, only without the film. What I’m writing is a soundtrack to an epic movie that may never be made, but it’s based on my own madness. In my case, however, it’s not just unrequited love, but visions of a bleak future for the world, of heaven and hell, of the Nietzschean Übermensch (which of course inspired Richard Strauss in his most famous work) ruling over a future dystopia. Like the Berlioz work, it also features the Dies Irae melody as one of the many leitmotifs. I’m using music I’ve written as far back as my preteen years.
(I’ve said already it was John Williams’ score to Star Wars and Bill Conti’s to Rocky that made me want to write film scores, eventually. But it was also Beethoven, Berlioz, Wagner, Strauss, Stravinsky, Holst and such that also inspired me.)
I’m using every compositional technique I know of: Baroque counterpoint including the canon and fugue, atonality, serialism and twelve-tone, minimalism, New Complexity, microtonality, Arabic and Turkish maqams and usuls, polyrhythms, blues, jazz, rock (especially progressive).
