Hector Berlioz - Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale, Op. 15 (1840)

I used my own old Philips LP for this video and as such it has some distracting rumble on certain parts, I almost decided not to use it til I noticed most parts are OK. Using an LP also has less copyright issues....

Louis-Hector Berlioz (11 December 1803 – 8 March 1869) was a French Romantic composer. His output includes orchestral works such as the Symphonie fantastique and Harold in Italy, choral pieces including the Requiem and L'Enfance du Christ, his three operas Benvenuto Cellini, Les Troyens and Béatrice et Bénédict, and works of hybrid genres such as the "dramatic symphony" Roméo et Juliette and the "dramatic legend" La Damnation de Faust.

Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale,, Op. 15
Librettist: Antoni Deschamps (1800-1869)
Dedication: S.K.H. dem Herzog von Orléans

I. Marche funèbre. Moderato un poco lento
II. Oraison funèbre. Adagio non tanto – Andantino un poco lento e sostenuto (17:22)
III. Apothéose. Allegro non troppo e pomposo (25:35)

John Alldis Choir and London Symphony Orchestra conducted by Colin Davis. rec. 1969
Philips LP

Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale (English: Grand Funeral and Triumphal Symphony), Op. 15, is the fourth and last symphony by the French composer Hector Berlioz, first performed on 28 July 1840 in Paris (200 players with Berlioz conducting). It is one of the earliest examples of a symphony composed for military band.

Berlioz revised the score in January 1842, adding an optional part for strings and a final chorus to a text by Antony Deschamps. Richard Wagner attended a performance of this new version at the Salle Vivienne on 1 February 1842. On 5 February, he told Robert Schumann that he found passages in the last movement of Berlioz's symphony so "magnificent and sublime that they can never be surpassed."

Gloire!
Gloire! Gloire et triomphe!

Gloire!
Gloire et triomphe, à ces Héros!

Gloire!
Gloire et triomphe!
Venez, élus de l'autre vie!

Changez, nobles guerriers, tous vos lauriers,
Pour des palmes immortelles!
Suivez les Séraphins, soldats divins,
Dans les plaines éternelles!
A leurs chœurs infinis, soyez unis!
Anges radieux, harmonieux, brûlants comme eux,
Entrez, sublimes victimes!

Gloire et triomphe, à ces Héros!
Ils sont tombés aux champs de la Patrie!
Gloire et respect à leurs tombeaux!
Venez, élus de l'autre vie!

Gloire!
Gloire et triomphe, à ces Héros!
Gloire!
Et respect!
À leurs ...

Tombeaux!

Видео Hector Berlioz - Grande symphonie funèbre et triomphale, Op. 15 (1840) канала Bartje Bartmans