of painting. Into this maelstrom of revolution, Berlioz—he of
the flaming locks, “that hairy Romantic” as Thackeray calls
him—flung himself with temperamental ardor; for he was a born
fighter and always in opposition to someone. The audacity and
dramatic energy of his compositions are but the natural result of
the tendencies of the period. Berlioz’s early career is of extreme
interest to us English-speaking people, because the first strong
stimulus to his imagination came from his acquaintance with
the dramas of Shakespeare. In 1827, some of the dramas, (such
as Hamlet, and Romeo and Juliet) were played in Paris by an
English company, and their effect upon Berlioz was overwhelm-
ing. He would wander about the streets raving of Shakespeare;
he promptly fell in love with the most beautiful actress in the
troupe—Henrietta Smithson, whom he later married[226]—and
then began the frenzied period of composing and concert giving,
which came to a climax in theFantastic Symphonyfirst per-
formed in 1830. Berlioz’s courage and perseverance are shown
by his winning the Prix de Rome, after four failures! His two
years in Italy (his picture may still be seen at the Villa Medici),
replete with amusing and thrilling incidents, were, on the whole
the happiest period of his stormy life.
[Footnote 226: For a convincing account of this tragic marriage
see the volume ofRecollectionsby Ernest Legouvé.]
But we must pass to some brief comments upon the characteris-
tics, pro and con, of his style. In the first place it was extremely
original; showed little or no connection with former composers;
has had no imitators, and cannot be parodied. Berlioz likewise
possessed great range of emotion—though he rarely touched the
sublime; a power of laying out works on a vast scale, and, in
general, of achieving with unerring certainty the effects desired.
The poet Heine said that much of Berlioz’s music reminded him
of “primeval monsters and fabulous empires.” And what a mas-
ter he was of rhythm!—one of the greatest in music! Prior to
his work, and that of Schumann among the Germans, the clas-
sic rhythms were becoming rather stereotyped; and the vigorous
elasticity introduced by these two composers has widened incal-
culably the range of dramatic effect. But his indisputable claim
to lasting recognition is his genius in the treatment of the or-
chestra. Berlioz had an inborn instinct for sensuous tonal effect
for its own sake, and not as the clothing of an abstract idea.
With him the art of making that composite instrument, the