Hector Berlioz

Corsaire Overture, Le, op. 21 H. 101

While Hector Berlioz (1803-1869) is usually closely associated with programmatic music, his LE CORSAIRE OVERTURE, Op. 21/H. 101 has no narrative behind the music, despite the title tempting an association to Lord Byron's poem. When first composed between 1844-1845, Berlioz took inspiration from ruined coastline fortification in Nice, where the composer watched the fishing boats and more distant ships. The original title was THE TOWER OF NICE. When it was rewritten for a 1851 performance in London, he changed the name to LE CORSAIR ROUGE after James Fenimore Cooper's novel THE RED ROVER, which also features a cliff-side tower. Berlioz later removed "rouge" from the title to avoid confusion, resulting in the assumption that the work was based on Byron's poem, a misconception reinforced by the music's swashbuckling nature. Instrumentation: 2.2.2.2: 4.2+2Crnt.3.1: Timp: Str (9.8.7.6.5 in set). Reprint edition.