118
[2ème] Symphonie
1 [? La Chasse d’Ossian / d’Ostia ?]
2 Marche funèbre: Andante –
3 Scherzo: Allegro vivace –
[Trio], (of which 32 are to be repeated)
Scherzo da capo
4 [Finale]
1 Andante tranquillo – Allegro agitato – Andante -
2 Scherzo: Allegro vivace -
[Trio] - (of which 32 are to be repeated)
Scherzo da capo
3 Andante molto -
4 Carnaval: Allegro vivacissimo -
Titles: This work, which can be identified in two versions, has no definitive title, although it has been widely known as Roma. In correspondence Bizet referred to it most frequently as his 'Symphonie', sometimes as his '1ère Symphonie', never as his '2ème Symphonie', never as Roma; at an early stage he wanted to call it Rome, Venise, Florence et Naples, each city represented by a movement. Two movements were performed in 1861. With a new slow movement three movements of the second version were performed in 1869 as Souvenirs de Rome, fantaisie symphonique, each movement with a descriptive title, although according to the Revue et gazette musicale (7-3-1869, p. 82) the titles were not assigned by Bizet himself. The titles were, for the first movement Une Chasse dans la forêt d’Ostie, for the slow movement Une Procession, and for the finale Carnaval à Rome. Galabert wrote in 1877: 'Le titre, Souvenirs de Rome, a dû être choisi au dernier moment, car Bizet ne m’en avait jamais parlé.' The autograph was finally headed 1ère Suite, and it was published posthumously as Roma : 3ème Suite de Concert.
Originally planned as a four-movement symphony with a Marche funèbre as the slow movement in second place, a new Andante replaced it in the second version, following, not preceding, the Scherzo.
Composition: 1859–69. Bizet began the year 1859 intending to write a symphony for his third envoi from Rome. It was begun in September while he was away from Rome, but in December he found that what he had done was a 'false route'. On 25 December he wrote that he had been working on two symphonies for two months and had destroyed them both. Within a few weeks he was working on it again, with a finale taking shape. On 3 February 1860 he mentioned the first movement as being suitable for the envoi. In August 1860 he spoke of a symphony 'in his head', the four movements being entitled Rome, Venise, Florence, Naples. What he actually submitted as his envoi in 1861 was the slow movement (Marche funèbre) and scherzo, together with an overture entitled La Chasse d’Ossian, which may have been a version of the symphony’s first movement, especially since its title in 1869 was Une Chasse dans la forêt d’Ostie. The Marche funèbre was performed once and the Scherzo four times in the years 1861–63.
Bizet resumed work on the symphony in 1866, replacing the Marche funèbre, some of which had been inserted in Les Pêcheurs de perles in 1863. In July 1866 he said the symphony was finished, but the orchestration was not done, and in June 1868 he again reported that it was finished. He was making revisions up to the first performance in February 1869. After Bizet’s death the symphony was published as Roma: 3ème Suite de Concert.
F-Pn MS 478. Movement 2 (Marche funèbre) only, formerly in the possession of Bizet’s father. 20-stave paper, 357 x 252 mm., 14 f., 26 p. of music.
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1
Private collection . Parts for violons I, violons II, altos, violoncelles et contrebasses, and harpe.Violons I: Symphonie. Originally a part for the Marche funèbre and Scherzo played in 1861, it has been revised by sewing up the Marche, renumbering the Scherzo, and adding the three other movements. First movement: 5 p., 16-stave paper, heavily revised and colletted. Then: No. 2 Andante Marche funèbre, 12-stave paper, sewn up. Then: (Scherzo): 12-stave paper, its number revised from 3 to 2. Then: Andante: 16-stave paper, heavily revised, continuing into the finale, again revised.
Violons II: this part follows the same pattern of contents as violons I.
Altos: this part follows the pattern as violons I, but it lacks the Marche funèbre, and the Scherzo is in a copyist’s hand.
Violoncelles et contrebasses: this part follows the pattern of violons I.
Harpe: this part follows the pattern of violons I, but the Scherzo is in a copyist’s hand.
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1
Private collection . 16-stave paper. Parts for flûtes, hautbois, clarinettes, bassons, cors I–II, cors III–IV, cornets à pistons, timbales, harpe, violons I (3 copies), violons II (3 copies), altos (2 copies), violoncelles (2 copies), contrebasses (2 copies). -
2
F-Pn MS 10600, gift of Mina Curtiss. 16-stave paper. Parts for cors III–IV and trompettes I–II.
A.C. 4571
title page, blank, music p. 1-147
1880. Bizet reported that the score was being engraved in 1869.
The '3ème Suite' in the title is based on Choudens’ reckoning of two earlier suites from L’Arlésienne.
Choudens continued to reissue this from later addresses. US-CLo.
Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig, pl. no. B 1969, 181 p., c. 1902, ed. Fritz Hoffmann. D-B, GB-Ob, US-BEm.
Eulenburg, Leipzig, no. E.E. 4404, 184 p., [1924]. IMSLP.
Eulenburg, London, no. 832, pl. no. E.E. 4404, 184 p., [1957], foreword by Felix Aprahamian.
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1
Choudens: A.C. 4603, 1879. US-CLo.
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2
Choudens, in Classe supérieure du piano, 2e volume, [1886], p. 80–103, 113–31, 166–73 and 147–65.
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3
Rühle, Leipzig, c. 1906, arranged by H. Threde.
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4
Schott, Mainz, c. 1914, arranged by Fred. M. Voss.
In Bizet Album für Pianoforte, Breitkopf & Härtel, Leipzig, 1906, arr. Carl Reinecke.
Steingräber, Leipzig, pl. no. 1530, 11 + 11 p., 1909, arranged by Emil Kronke. D-B. IMSLP.
see Le Doute
Choudens, A.C. 15507-8, 1924, arranged by Raoul Labis. B-Br Mus. 8.544-5 C
1Rapports des sections sur les travaux des Pensionnaires de l’Académie de France à Rome, pendant l’année 1860.
M. Bizet (Troisième année).
Marche funèbre et Scherzo. M. Bizet avait commencé dans ses travaux de troisième année, une symphonie que des circonstances regrettables ne lui ont pas permis de terminer. Deux morceaux seulement ont été soumis à notre examen : une marche funèbre d’un beau caractère et un scherzo dont le motif principal est traité avec grâce et habileté.
La Chasse d’Ossian (Ouverture). Pour suppléer à cette œuvre incomplète, le jeune Pensionnaire a adressé à l’Académie une Ouverture intitulée : La Chasse d’Ossian. Une instrumentation intéressante, un style élevé et une couleur poëtique se font aussi remarquer dans cette composition.
Une heureuse organisation musicale, développée par de fortes études, s’était révélée déjà dans les premiers travaux de M. Bizet ; nous sommes heureux de trouver dans son dernier envoi les marques d’un talent qui s’affermit et réalise nos espérances en faisant de nouvelles promesses.
2'A Symphony complete by Georges Bizet! Think of that, ye searchers after musical novelty! Well, Mdme Viard-Louis has got one in manuscript, and has confided the score to the keeping of her very excellent conductor, Mr Weist Hill. It is not impossible, indeed, that we may still hear it this season at one of the Viard-Louis concerts, to which we are already indebted for so much that was new and interesting. That the performance will be all that the late regretted composer himself could have desired may be taken for granted, with Mr Weist Hill to prepare and superintend it. It is pleasant to think that in this case English amateurs should be the first to make acquaintance with such a work.'
3'Le Scherzo de Roma est également une des premières compositions de lui qu'il m'ait jouées, peut-être la première. C'était au Vésinet. Primitivement, il avait envoyé ce Scherzo de Rome à l'Institut. Quant à la symphonie, qu'il ne devait achever que deux ans après, il commença à y travailler en 1866. Au mois de mai ou de juin, je l’ai entendu au Vésinet chercher des motifs au piano pour le premier morceau. Un jour, il me donna un devoir de contre-point à faire et me conseilla d’aller l’écrire dans la chambre de son père qui était absent, pendant que lui s’occuperait de sa symphonie. Le devoir n'avançait pas vite, car j'étais, en effet, fort distrait, prêtant beaucoup l'oreille aux sons du piano qui m'arrivaient de l'autre côté du jardin, du cabinet de Georges. M. Pigot a raconté dans son livre l'histoire du Scherzo et de la symphonie. Je n'ai donc simplement qu'à insérer dans cette introduction les lignes suivantes extraites de ma brochure de 1877: Le titre, Souvenirs de Rome, a dû être choisi au dernier moment, car Bizet ne m’en avait jamais parlé. Il voulait d’abord écrire une symphonie dans la forme de celles de Beethoven et de Mendelssohn, où eût pris place un Scherzo joué à l’Institut après son retour de Rome, et plus tard par l’orchestre de M. Pasdeloup. On a vu qu’en la retouchant il ne paraissait pas songer à faire de la musique descriptive.'
12-10-1861 |
Symphonie (Andante and Scherzo) at the
Séance publique de l’Académie des Beaux-Arts, envoi de Rome.
|
?-?-1862 | Scherzo: Cercle de l’Union Artistique (also known as the Cercle des Mirlitons), conducted by Deloffre (reported by Wilder in 1875) |
11-1-1863 | Scherzo: Cirque Napoléon, Concerts Populaires, conductor Pasdeloup |
18-1-1863 | Scherzo: Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, conductor Bizet
|
28-2-1869 | Concerts populaires, conductor Pasdeloup, three movements only (omitting the
Scherzo). Entitled Souvenirs de Rome, fantaisie
symphonique with movements headed: (I) Une chasse dans la forêt
d’Ostie, (III) Une procession, (IV) Carnaval à
Rome.
|
23-12-1871 | the finale arranged for two pianos, eight hands, played by Saint-Saëns, Fissot, Guiraud and Bizet, for the Société Nationale de Musique |
25-4-1872 | Société philharmonique de Paris, conductor Saint-Saëns (Scherzo) |
31-10-1880 | Concerts populaires, conductor Pasdeloup (complete work) |
20-10-1880 | London, Alexandra Palace, conductor Weist Hill |
14-11-1880 | New York, conductor Thomas |
17-12-1880 | Brooklyn, conductor Thomas |
24-1-1881 | Boston, conductor Thomas |
11-1881 | St Petersburg |
7-2-1884 | Boston, conductor Henschel |
18 & 25-1-1885 | Châtelet, Concerts de l’Association Artistique, conductor Colonnne |
? | Karlsruhe, conductor Mottl |
25-12-1887 | Angers |
12-2-1888 | Angers |
2-1888 | London |
20-11-1888 | Manchester, conductor Hallé |
5-3-1889 | Birmingham |
14 & 21-12-1890 | Société des Concerts, conductor Garcin (Andante and Scherzo) |
1895 | Cincinnati |
18-12-1898 | Vienna, conductor Mahler |
1906 | Cincinnati |
1910 | New York |
1954 | Cleveland, conductor Szell |
29-1-2005 | University of Chicago |
9-6-2009 | conductor Jean-Luc Tingaud (first movement) |
Balanchine’s ballet Roma, using the third, second and last movements under the titles Scherzo – Adagio – Carnaval was first performed by the New York City Ballet on 23-2-1955.
- Liverpool PO, Lambert, (78) ('Carnaval')
- New York City Ballet O, Barzin, 1955 (ballet version)
- Netherlands PO, Hausdörfer, 1955
- Royal PO, Beecham, 1956 ('Carnaval')
- USSR RSO, Kovalev, 1961
- CBSO, Frémaux, 1975
- USSR RSO, Mansourian, 1988
- Munich RO, Gardelli, 1989
- ON de Lille, Jean-Claude Casadesus, Erato 1990
- Royal PO, Bátiz, 1990
- ON du Capitole de Toulouse, Michel Plasson, EMI 1993
- RTÉ NSO, Tingaud, 2014
- Riccardo Zadra, 1995
- Pigot (1886) 19, 27-28, 36-40, 59, 65, 66-67, 124, 135, 139-46, 309, 326
- Pigot (1911) 29, 35-39, 56, 61-63, 121, 124-30, 267, 287-88
- Curtiss 38, 79, 101, 110, 112, 127-28, 130, 201, 221-22, 232-33, 299, 311, 465, 471
- Dean 19, 21, 24-25, 34, 42-43, 49, 50, 63, 74, 80-81, 104, 137-44, 183, 208, 248-49, 262, 264, 288-89
- Wright 5, 9, 10, 29, 36, 37, 82, 101, 109, 110, 338, 341, 353
- Lacombe 145, 242-43, 245, 250, 273, 282-83, 292-95, 338, 360, 410, 426–27, 435-37, 507, 536, 616-17, 732
- Eduard Hanslick, Aus neuer und neuerster Zeit (Berlin 1900), p. 77-79
- Hermann Teibler, Roma: Suite (Berlin: Schlesinger, c. 1904)
- Camille Saint-Saëns, Portraits et souvenirs (Paris, 1904), p. 173.
- Hans von Bülow, Briefe, t. VIII (Leipzig: Breitkopf & Härtel, 1908), p. 152.
- Octave Séré (pseudonym of Jean Poueigh), Musiciens français d'aujourd'hui (Paris: Mercure de France, 1921), p. 19n, 33.
- John W. Klein, 'Nietzsche's Attitude to Bizet', Music Review, xxi (1960), p. 220
- Mina Curtiss, ‘Roma: Bizet’s “Souvenirs of Italy”’, Center, 2 (February 1955), p. 7–10
- Hugh Macdonald, 'Bizet's Second Symphony', Noter, annoter, éditer la musique : Mélanges offertes à Catherine Massip (Paris, 2012), p. 539–550.