Rêverie et Caprice for violin and orchestra op. 8

From the title of this score of 1841, one might expect a diptych reflecting the cantabile-cabaletta pattern of a scène lyrique. In actual fact, though, its structure follows an AA’ pattern, both parts comprising an Adagio and an Allegro vivace. The shift from the first tempo to the second, however, occurs gradually, brought about by changes in the dynamics (particularly in the fast sections) and increasingly dense rhythmic writing. The composer’s note at the head of the score, which describes the thoughts and emotions of a Romantic man enamoured of the absolute, justifies these mood swings: “He will rush headlong into those bright paths where life insouciantly fritters itself away, quivering with delight… Doubt keeps him bowed beneath its fierce embrace. He continues to suffer; he is in despair…” In fact, Rêverie et Caprice reuses the material from Teresa’s Romance “Ah ! que l’amour une fois dans le cœur”, intended for Act I of Benvenuto Cellini: Berlioz therefore transferred his heroine’s feelings to a man. Cut from the opera in 1838, the aria was saved by one of the few works written by Berlioz for solo instrument and orchestra. However, like Harold en Italie, Rêverie et Caprice rejects a concertante dialectic, since the violin is almost always at the forefront (like the voice in the original piece). Written for Belgian violinist, Alexandre Artot, this work was often programmed by Berlioz when touring abroad, and was given performances by renowned soloists such as Ferdinand David, Joseph Joachim and Henryk Wieniawski.