The Resurrexit from Hector Berlioz's Messe solennelle (1825): A Case Study in Self-Borrowing

Hector Berlioz's Messe solennelle, his first publicly performed work, was important to his establishment in Paris as a composer. Although he later destroyed the Mass, he reused parts of the Resurrexit movement in three of his later works: Benvenuto Cellini (1836), the Grand messe des morts (1837), and the Te Deum (1849). This study examines the Resurrexit and its subsequent borrowings. In each instance that Berlioz borrowed from the Resurrexit, he extracted large sections and placed them in the context of later works. Each time that borrowing occurred, Berlioz constructed the surrounding music so that portions from the Resurrexit would fit stylistically and a seamlessly into the texture. In each borrowing, he left the melody unaltered, changing harmony and orchestration instead. This pattern of borrowing demonstrates that Berlioz developed his concept of melody early in his career, and that his method of self-borrowing was consistent in each subsequent use of the Resurrexit.

Grantor dc:publisher

University of North Texas

Year dc:date

1999

Author dc:creator

• Gill, Sarah M.

Contributors dc:contributor

• Brothers, Lester
• Cooper, J. Michael
• Collins, Michael
• Winsor, Phil, 1938-2012

• Berlioz, Hector, 1803-1869. Messe solennelle. Resurrexit.
• Resurrexit.
• melody
• self-borrowing

Statement dc:rights

• Public
• Copyright
• Gill, Sarah M.
• Copyright is held by the author, unless otherwise noted. All rights reserved.

Language dc:language

English

Identifier

oclc: 47043942
untcat: b2297045
https://digital.library.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc2249/
ark: ark:/67531/metadc2249

OAI identifier oai:identifier

info:ark/67531/metadc2249