Grand traité d'instrumentation et d'orchestration modernes

Berlioz Grand traité d'instrumentation et d'orchestration modernes

FRENCH TEXT

The ‘Grand traité d'instrumentation et d'orchestration modernes’ by Hector Berlioz was first published in 1844.  It is a standard work on the art of instrumentation, in which Berlioz was an undisputed master.  Throughout his life, he was interested in orchestral instruments and the expressive possibilities of the orchestra.  In the Traité, he addresses composers with his instructive advice on the range and technical possibilities of each instrument, using examples from the work of Gluck, Mozart, Beethoven and others (including his own) to show how the instruments should reflect the feeling and expression of the music.  The Traité is an important source for the scholarly study of the orchestra and its instruments in the 19th century.  Peter Bloom's new edition presents a thoroughly revised text, including several variants based on the two most important editions of the book as well as other printed or manuscript sources.

Peter Bloom is Grace Jarcho Ross 1933 Professor of Humanities, Emeritus, at Smith College and the author and editor of numerous studies on Berlioz, including ‘The Life of Berlioz’ (1998) and ‘The Cambridge Companion to Berlioz’ (2000).