Think "Berlioz" and you think "orchestra". Indeed, the name of this eccentric, idealistic, supremely individual composer, has become fairly synonymous with the unrivalled flamboyance and grand gesture of his best known works, monolithic structures like Symphonie fantastique, Les troyens, and the Requiem. One would not expect such a blustering romantic to be drawn to the intimate genre of song, but Berlioz was. Not only did he compose in the song form from earliest days (his first lyric efforts date from 1818, and continue until about 1849, well into his forties), but he was largely responsible for liberating the French art song from the rhythmic, melodic, and harmony bondage of its ancestor, the foursquare salon romance inherited from the troubadors. Though it is not often acknowledged, it is with Berlioz that the important period of French art song begins. - Cori Ellison © 1990