Songs vol. 1

Berlioz composed songs while still a child and in 1819, at the age of sixteen, he had a romance published at his own expense. Though he later turned primarily to large-scale forms, he never entirely abandoned the art song, for he was constantly inspired by poetry. His settings reveal a wealth of luxuriant melody that he viewed with pride to the end of his days. Many of his songs were subsequently scored for full orchestra.

This volume contains songs from Berlioz’s early and middle periods. It is based on the scholarly -critical New Berlioz Edition which gathers together all of his songs for the very first time and presents them in a reliable text at the cutting edge of scholarship. A detailed preface discusses the genesis and transmission of each song and outlines its source materials. Each song is preceded by its words in the original language and in English translation.

Thus, the volume provides an ideal foundation for rediscovering this romantic repertoire.