Berlioz and the Beast

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).

Gonna fly now.

Still need to get caught up on the blog.

First off, I bought and downloaded the new Lady Gaga album on Monday since it was 99¢ at Amazon.com (and yes, I had to wait a day to get it like everyone else). Pop, especially today’s generation, is not at all my thing, but The Artist Formerly Known as Stefani Germanotta has impressed me, especially when she does the piano-and-voice Sir Elton thing. She’s a lot like me in a lot of ways: she was a child prodigy who was picked on a lot in youth for looking and acting weird, started playing piano at four, wrote songs as a preteen, majored in music in college only to drop out to pursue a different calling. Only she’s the new Madonna and Michael Jackson, and I’m still waiting to be the new Frank Zappa, the new Charles Ives, the new Harry Partch, the new Danny Elfman, etc.

Anyway, being one of those postmodernists (I guess) who mines ideas from anywhere, including pop/dance, I can get a lot from some of the tracks. Catchy tunes anyway.

I’ve also resolved to get into shape. I’ve been suffering from a chronic neurological illness that has made me tired and miserable, and the medications I’ve had to take have made things worse in some ways (mostly weight gain). Physical fitness is indeed inseparably tied to mental fitness. I’m trying a mixture of weightlifting and yoga right now, since I can’t do much running, just walking. The breathing exercises of yoga have not only helped me relax, but they’ve helped me not get cramps after a workout, which I’ve always had trouble with since I also has asthma and allergies that have made it hard to breathe.

Incidentally, one of the first film scores I heard as a kid was Bill Conti’s for Rocky. That’s some good workout music there. Also, you don’t hear enough fugues in movies.

I’m still fighting writer’s block. If inspiration doesn’t come, I can’t force it. I still need to re-record some music using the better SoundFont file and FluidSynth.