BERLIOZ – Toccata H.99 (1844) – STRING TRIO

Other Identification:
Hector Berlioz (1803 – 1869) was a French Romantic composer, best known for his compositions Symphonie fantastique, the symphony with viola soloist ‘Harold in Italy’, the oratorio L’enfance du Christ and ‘Grande messe des morts’ (Requiem). Berlioz made significant contributions to the modern orchestra with his Treatise on Instrumentation. He specified huge orchestral forces for some of his works; as a conductor, he performed several concerts with more than 1,000 musicians. He also composed around 50 songs. His influence was critical for the further development of Romanticism, especially in composers like Richard Wagner, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov, Franz Liszt, Richard Strauss, Gustav Mahler and many others.

A short Toccata for harmonium by the composer appeared in Paris in 1845, composed in November the previous year for the “melodium organ” (harmonium) developed by Berlioz’s friend, the organ-builder Jacob Alexandre (1804–1876).

The harmonium, also called Reed Organ, is a free-reed keyboard instrument – there are no pipes; pitch is determined by the size of the reed. Volume is controlled by a knee-operated air valve or directly from the bellows pedals by an expression stop that allows the wind supply to bypass the reservoir. The instrument’s compass is normally four to five octaves. The harmonium was a popular church and household instrument until the electronic organ drove it from the market after the 1930s. Compositions for the instrument include numerous works by the French composers César Franck and Louis Vierne and a quartet for two violins, cello, and harmonium by the Bohemian composer Antonín Dvořák.