BERLIOZ, LOUIS H. 



With the demise of the "American party," 

 Mr. Benton allied his fortunes with the Re- 

 publicans. He held the office of Auditor until 

 1868, a period of twelve years, when he was 

 succeeded by James A. Bell, the present 

 incumbent. Mr. Benton was a man of great 

 industry, strict integrity, and strong will. He, 

 took great pains to impress his ideas of canal 

 management upon the canal policy of the 

 State. His reports were ably written, and 

 his arguments clearly stated. 



BERLIOZ, Louis HECTOE, a distinguished 

 French musician, composer, and author, born 

 at C6te-Saint- Andre, Department of Isere, 

 France, December 11, 1803; died in Paris, 

 March 9, 1869. He was the son of a phy- 

 sician of distinction, who, with the inten- 

 tion of educating him for his own profes- 

 sion, sent him, at an early age, to pursue a 

 course of medical study at Paris, but his pas- 

 sion for music led him, at the age of twenty- 

 three, to desert his college, and enter the Con- 

 servatoire. Under the instruction of Lesueur, 

 and of Reicha, the influence of whose peculiar 

 teachings has always been more or less percep- 

 tible in his works, Berlioz advanced so rapidly 

 as to gain, in 1828, the second prize, and in 

 1830 the first prize, for musical composition. 

 During his four years at the Conservatoire, he 

 wrote a Mass for four voices, chorus and or- 

 chestra, the "Waverley" overture, a "Sym- 

 phonie Fantastique," a "Fantaisie sur la Tem- 

 pete," a second "Fantaisie," entitled "Scenes 

 de Faust," the cantata of "Sardanapale," and 

 a "Symphonie Funebre et Triomphale," in 

 commemoration of the revolutionary events of 

 July. These works were highly valued by 

 musicians, mainly, it would seem, on account 

 of the technical proficiency and the remarka- 

 ble skill in orchestration which they exhibited ; 

 but it does not appear that they attracted any 

 degree of popular attention. In 1830 Berlioz 

 visited Italy, not so much for purposes of study 

 as of recreation. "While at Rome, he composed 

 "Lelio, ou le Retour & la Vie," a monodrame;- 

 "La Ballade du Pecheur " (words by Goethe) ; 

 " Le Chreur des Ombres " (suggested by " Ham- 

 let ")j and two overtures, "King Lear" and 

 "Rob Roy." Upon his return to Paris, in 

 1832, he became a regular contributor to the 

 Gazette Musicale and the Journal des Debats, 

 his writings in which were models of elo- 

 quence, force, and perspicuity. It is probable 

 that he won more adherents by strength of 

 argument than his musical works, unaided, 

 could ever have obtained for him. He became 

 the centre of a little group of enthusiasts, 

 whose united power was sufficient to induce 

 operatic and other managers to give him a 

 hearing, though not to persuade the public to 

 tolerate him. His first opera, " Benvenuto 

 Cellini," produced in 1838, was a disastrous 

 failure, and was condemned by every voice in 

 Paris except those of Berlioz and his friends, 

 the composer himself endeavoring to justify 

 the work in a series of essays, than which 



nothing more brilliant and spirited has been 

 known in musical literature. The world ad- 

 mired the writer, but refused to admit the 

 claims of the composer. The disappointment 

 and the mortification brought on a severe fit 

 of illness, a circumstance which called forth a 

 remarkable and unprecedented action on the 

 part of the violinist Paganini. He communi- 

 cated his sympathy in the form of a present of 

 twenty thousand francs, and his admiration by 

 a bold statement that the erratic French com- 

 poser was the equal of Beethoven. Although 

 unfortunate with his opera, Berlioz enjoyed a 

 certain success, about this period, with one or 

 two symphonies. "Harold" and " Romeo et 

 Juliette," both, we believe, inspired by Paga- 

 nini, were readily accepted and applauded. 

 His Requiem Mass, the most remarkable, in 

 respect of instrumentation at least, of all his 

 works, was performed, in 1837, at the obse- 

 quies of General Damremont, and, if not en- 

 thusiastically welcomed, was not condemned. 

 The year 1843 he devoted to a series of con- 

 certs in Belgium and Germany, for which he 

 composed the lively overture, "Le Carnaval 

 Remain," and by means of which he laid the 

 foundation of his fortune. At the Industrial 

 Exhibition of 1844 he enjoyed, for the first 

 time, the opportunity of presenting one of his 

 works on a scale of magnitude commensurate 

 with his designs. This was the " Hymne d la 

 France," which was executed by an orchestra 

 and chorus of one thousand musicians. In 

 1846 he produced, at the Op6ra Comique, a 

 "legend in four parts," entitled "La Damna- 

 tion de Faust," which met with a most flatter- 

 ing reception. "L'Enfance du Christ," a "sa- 

 cred trilogy," soon followed, and was well 

 received, though not so heartily as its imme- 

 diate predecessor. Between 1855 and 1863 

 he brought out a number of symphonies, all 

 avowedly intended to exemplify and elucidate 

 his special theories and convictions, and all ex- 

 hibiting his talents in their worthiest aspect. 

 His last composition of importance was a he- 

 roic opera, "Les Troyens," performed at the 

 Theatre Lyrique in 1863, a work regarded by 

 critics with great interest. While denied the 

 public acknowledgments which he craved, Ber- 

 lioz was not left wholly without personal 

 marks of recognition. In 1839 he received 

 the decoration of the Legion of Honor, and 

 the office of librarian of the Conservatoire; 

 and in 1856 he was appointed to the seat in the 

 Institute left vacant by the death of Adolphe 

 Adam. He was also an active member of the 

 juries on Musical Instruments, at the Interna- 

 tional Exhibitions of London and Paris. By 

 his literary works he acquired hosts of friends 

 and admirers in quarters where his musical 

 achievements would never have given him a 

 footing; and even the hostility of those who 

 were opposed to his aesthetic theories was dis- 

 armed by his masterly " Treatise upon Modern 

 Instrumentation, etc.," a work the value of 

 which to students, and to practising musicians 



