Le Cinq mai op. 6

In 1830, Berlioz wrote a poem on the death of Napoleon I, one of his heroes. When writing a homage to the emperor, however, he preferred to set lines by Pierre-Jean de Béranger. Although the exact date of composition is not known, this work for bass soloist, chorus and orchestra must have been finished by autumn 1835, since it was premiered on 22 November of that year at the Paris Conservatoire under the baton of Narcisse Girard. The music was shaped by Béranger’s text, which dramatizes the moment that the narrator learns about the emperor’s death, on 5 May 1821. After the sombre orchestral introduction, the solo voice solemnly utters the first couplet, accompanied by figures on the strings stylising the ebb and flow of the waves. The mounting tension goes hand in hand with an increase in forces: basses from the chorus enter on the third, more emphatic couplet; the tenors are added for the final two couplets, which are moreover linked. When the tragic news is revealed (“Quoi ! lui mourir ! ô gloire, quel veuvage !”), the voices and orchestra utter plaintive motifs, while the bass drum imitates the sound of “coups de canon lointains” (distant cannon fire). The bass soloist sings the end of the stanza underpinned by a resigned chant. The refrain (“Pauvre soldat, je reverrai la France ; la main d’un fils me fermera les yeux”) also receives dramatic treatment, since Berlioz varies both its accompaniment and the vocal forces used. The first two occurrences are sung by the bass, the third is sung by the men’s chorus, and the women’s voices only come in on the last refrain.