Analysis of a choral work by Berlioz

La mort d'Ophélie (The death of Ophelia) - Hector Berlioz

La mort d’Ophélie is the 2nd movement in Tristia, Op. 18. The audio in the video is an orchestral version but the score shown is for piano, soprano, and alto. The lyrics are French and is based on Ophelia’s drowning in Act IV of Hamlet. The piece was originally composed in 1842 for solo voice and piano in, but in 1848 Berlioz revised it for female choir and orchestra. 

Listening to the piece, it makes me imagine a character calmly floating away from all the misery, but leaving behind people devastated by it. I imagine this because the music started calmly until 1:02 when altered tones are presented, altering the mood into something a little more tragic. Having had a few semesters of French, I somewhat understood the lyrics in the part that’s more tragic. The lyrics “Et de ces fleurs d’un rose pale”, I believe translates to “the color of the flowers have turned pale”, followed by “mort”, meaning “death”. After this short sonority of tragedy, the piece once again finds moments of calm. The vocals stop and the instrumental part moves on. When the voices comes back, it sounds like a new theme is introduced (2:45). It’s as if the music now tells the story of a different person who can’t accept the death of Ophelia, even justified at the sudden silence at 3:28. Even if the last word sang was “tomb”, the sudden silence was like a heavy, regretful “Noooo!” to all that’s happening. Afterwards the story of the music sounds like being torn between regretting and accepting the death of Ophelia. At 6:39, it seems the resolution is reached. The vocal and instrumental lines play the same notes. 

Surprising to me, after writing all this and deciding to choose a photo to add, this is what shows up:

"Ophelia" (1851-1852) by John Everett

Millais "Hamlet’s jilted lover Ophelia drowns in a stream surrounded by the flowers she had held in her arms. Though Ophelia’s death can be parsed as an accident, her growing madness and the fact that she was, as Gertrude says, “incapable of her own distress.” And as far as we’re concerned, Gertrude’s monologue about Ophelia’s drowning is one of the most beautiful descriptions of death in Shakespeare." - Emily Temple