(1803 — 1869)
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This contents of this page have burgeoned sufficiently for me to desire to split it up into several distinct areas.
Firstly, there are a number of pages centering on specific composers I admire, or other composers, some of whose works I have edited. Click here for the Hector Berlioz pages; there are also pages for Ludwig van Beethoven, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Johann Sebastian Bach, and Ottorino Respighi. This is by no means a full list of my favourite composers, which would also include (in no particular order) Havergal Brian, Gustav Mahler, Jan Sibelius, Claude Debussy, Gustav Holst, Franz Schubert, Felix Mendelssohn-Bartholdy, Orlande de Lassus, Antonio Vivaldi, and so on... (now there’s a mixed bunch for you!)
Secondly, I am active in Melburnian and Australian choral circles as a singer, usually as countertenor or high tenor. I have sung in upwards of a dozen choirs, and performed a very wide range of choral repertoire over the years.
Thirdly, over the years I have been engaged in creating arrangements, transcriptions, and editions of various music, mostly choral, for my own enjoyment, or occasionally upon commission. You may browse some of these editions from the remainder of the page below, or view a more complete list of musical editions.
Early music: Guillaume Dufay, Jean de Okeghem, Josquin Desprez, Antoine Brumel, Thomas Tallis, Christopher Tye, Claudio Monteverdi, Heinrich Schütz
Finally, I have composed a setting of S.T. Coleridge’s poem Kubla Khan for the RMIT Occasional Choral Society. I will write more on this subject later!
(1803 — 1869)
One of the most original composers of the 19th (or any) Century, Berlioz polarised public opinion then – and seemingly ever since – about the quality of his music. Today his reputation is gradually increasing in stature with more regular performance of his works.
Click here for my full Berlioz page; I have a separate link which provides an instant translation of the Berlioz page into French. Please note the translation is computer-generated on the fly; and don’t blame me for its shortcomings, for I don’t speak French!
The following Berlioz scores are viewable in a Mac OS or Windows web browser, by clicking the link marked 
Scorch. They are notated with the latest version of Sibelius, and therefore require the newest Scorch plug-in – if you installed Scorch before June 2000 you will certainly need the new version. If you don’t have a compatible OS, use the 
MIDI links where available.
The technical limitations of MIDI make it a poor substitute for real instruments (and especially in the case of vocal music, singer’s voices) but it is quite possible to follow these scores with a recording if you have one; otherwise the quality of playback will be determined by the sound card, speakers or other equipment connected to your computer.
If you own Sibelius or have a demonstration version installed (version 1.4 is preferable), you may wish to download the 
Sibelius files as marked, for off-line viewing and listening. In order to do this, click the link and hold down the mouse button until a contextual menu appears; you should then be able to use one of the menu options to download and save the linked file onto your computer.
| H 7, Le Dépit de la Bergère: romance |  Scorch |
Sibelius |
(15 KB) | ||
| H 33, Huit Scènes de Faust, Œuvre 1 | |||||
| 4. Écot des joyeux compagnons: Histoire d’un rat | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(18 KB) | ||
| 5. Chanson de Méphistophélès: Histoire d’une puce | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(24 KB) | ||
| 8. Sérénade de Méphistophélès | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(15 KB) | ||
| H 60, Le Captive: orientale, Œuvre 12 | |||||
| A. Version I for voice and piano | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(15 KB) | ||
| C. Version III for voice, cello, and piano | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(16 KB) | ||
| H 75, Grande messe des morts (Requiem), Œuvre 5 | |||||
| 1. Requiem et Kyrie: Introitus | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(44 KB) | ||
| 2. Dies iræ — Tuba mirum: Prose | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(incomplete; 51 KB) | ||
| 3. Quid sum miser | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(14 KB) | ||
| 5. Quærens me | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(18 KB) | ||
| 6. Lacrymosa | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(incomplete) | ||
| 8. Hostias | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(15 KB) | ||
| 10. Agnus dei | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(39 KB) | ||
| H 76, Benvenuto Cellini, Œuvre 23 | |||||
| Grande Ouverture de Benvenuto Cellini | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(147 KB) |  MIDI |
(228 KB) |
| H 79, Roméo et Juliette, symphonie dramatique avec chœurs, Œuvre 17 | |||||
| 1. Introduction: Combats — Tumulte | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(39 KB) | MIDI |
(64 KB) |
| Prologue | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(incomplete) | ||
| Strophes | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(21 KB) | ||
| Scherzetto | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(28 KB) | ||
| 2. Roméo seul — Grande Fête chez Capulet | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(105 KB) | ||
| 3. Nuit sereine — [ Scène d’amour ] | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(19 KB) | ||
| 6. Roméo au tombeau des Capulets | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(48 KB) | ||
| H 92B, La mort d’Ophélie: ballade, Œuvre 18 No. 2 | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(38 KB) | ||
| H 110, Chant des Chemins de fer, Œuvre 19 No.3 | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(68 KB) | ||
| H 114, Nessun maggior piacere | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(12 KB) | ||
| H 118, Te deum, Œuvre 22 | |||||
| 1. Te Deum laudamus: Hymne | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(51 KB) | ||
| 2. Tibi omnes: Hymne | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(51 KB) | ||
| 3. Dignare: Prière | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(33 KB) | ||
| 4. Christe, rex gloriæ: Hymne | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(59 KB) | ||
| 5. Te ergo quæsumus: Prière | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(33 KB) | ||
| 6. Judex crederis: Hymne et Prière | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(96 KB) | MIDI |
(216 KB) |
| H 120, Vox populi, Œuvre 20 | |||||
| 1. La menace des Francs: marche et chœur | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(39 KB) | ||
| 2. Hymne à la France | Scorch |
Sibelius |
(53 KB) | ||
Also, many more Berlioz scores in Scorch format are available, courtesy of the Hector Berlioz Website : Berlioz Music Scores and Partitions de Berlioz (version française)
The Hector Berlioz Website : The best Internet site for information regarding Berlioz. The site includes extremely impressive “sister sites” which include Sibelius scores of Berlioz’s music, a site dedicated to Berlioz’s birthplace, as well as pictures of Berlioz, and a gallery of paintings which provided inspiration for his works. With the exception of some minor works and arrangements, the scores page includes almost all of Berlioz’s instrumental and orchestral music.
The Complete Berlioz : Works database maintained by ...
D. Kern Holoman, author of the Berlioz catalogue of works published in the New Berlioz Edition.
Phillip Rutherford’s Berlioz Shrine : another Australian site, this has several essays from the pages of 24 Hours, the Australian equivalent of the Radio Times for the national classical radio station ABC Classic FM. There is also a chat forum where you can exchange views with other Berlioz lovers world-wide!
Other pages: Le feuilleton fantastique d’Hector Berlioz / “FaustTiger”’s World of Hector Berlioz
I have to confess that Mr. Handel is not one of my favourite composers, which is possibly a reaction on my part to the over-complimentary esteem with which he is held in English speaking countries. Handel zealots will especially want to boil me in oil since I believe Messiah to be a over-performed, over-long, and rather boring oratorio, having sung the piece numerous times as an alto and a tenor. Putting boring oratorios aside, much of Handel’s other music is more interesting, but not as interesting as J.S. Bach!
The Carmelite Vespers were composed during Handel’s stay in Rome around 1706–8 and show a vitality and virtuosity that clearly outshine the later and more ubiquitous oratorios. These versions were prepared from the otherwise somewhat unreliable 19th century edition published by Chrysander as volume 38 of the complete Handel-Werke, and were the basis for the version performed by Schola Cantorum, directed by Gary Ekkel, at St Ignatius’ church in Richmond, Melbourne on July 15, 2000.
HWV 232, Dixit Dominus (138 KB) : This astounding work was composed by Handel when he was barely 22 years of age, and is written for a virtuoso 5-part choir, soloists, and string orchestra. Again you will need the Sibelius Scorch plug-in, or otherwise you should consult Choral Public Domain Library for a 
PDF version, or the Classical Music Archives for MIDI files. The full score and parts are also available in Sibelius format, for download in a zip archive.
HWV 237, Laudate pueri Dominum in D (79 KB) : This psalm setting uses a slightly larger orchestra with a pair of oboes and gives extensive work to the soprano soloist. Also available as a PDF and MIDI files at the addresses above.
HWV 238, Nisi Dominus (32 KB) : Another Vesper psalm from later in 1707, written for a 5-part choir, soloists, and string orchestra. Also available as a PDF and MIDI files at the addresses above.
Earlier in 2003 I sang in a performance of Mahler’s Symphony No 2 in C minor, known as the “Resurrection” symphony.
This provided the usual challenge for the tenors to test their sight reading skills in tenor clef rather than the usual treble clef an octave down, the result of which is an improved chorus score now available for download from the Choral Public Domain Library. Instead of the usual piano accompaniment, which normally involves a number of compromises in reducing the orchestral score, I am opting for an arrangement for four hands.
Related link: mfiles: music files and files about music
A selection of original compositions, classical music files from Bach and Beethoven to Strauss and Vivaldi, and extracts and examples from the symphonies of Gustav Mahler.
I also am interested in the music of the renaissance and the development of tuning and notation from around this time.
Early Music FAQ : An excellent resource on medieval music, in particular the discussion of Pythagorean tuning
The Just Intonation Primer : not an early music site per se, but this is a valuable site to further investigate the issues surrounding tuning.
Ligatures and Mensuration are two elements of the transcription of early music from manuscript sources; this web site provides a useful introduction to their notation.
White Mensural Notation : this is another site to consider investigating if you want to know more about the notation of music before the Baroque era.
ABC Classic FM - Main Page : Australia’s principal radio station for classical music.
Melbourne Symphony Orchestra : I am a subscriber to the MSO’s concerts – usually ones including works of Berlioz or Mahler!
Sibelius Software : Over the years I have used a variety of music notation software on my old Commodore 64, the Amiga, the Mac Plus, and my PowerBooks and I can report without hesitation that Sibelius is unquestionably the best I’ve ever seen, in almost every respect. And as this page demonstrates, scores can be easily published on the Internet and made both viewable and playable with the Scorch plug-in. Visit their web site and ask for the demo CD-ROM to be sent to you. Fantastic!
QDesign Codec : QuickTime 3 and 4 include a high-quality music compressor-decompressor, which to my mind yields better results than MPEG-1 Audio Layer 3 (i.e. MP3) at the same or lower bandwidths. The free player can be obtained from QDesign’s MVP Digital Music System site, which can be used to “rip” CDs into small-sized high-quality QuickTime movies, using the QDesign codec.
Classical Music Archives : a huge collection of classical music in MIDI format, maintained by Pierre R. Schwob. MIDI versions of the Handel scores on this page are available from CMA; the Berlioz scores will eventually be submitted for inclusion also.
Choral Public Domain Library : a large collection of choral music available for free download and use, maintained by Rafael Ornes. PDF versions of the Handel scores on this page are available from CPDL; the Berlioz choral works here will eventually be available from this source also.
Scores and text on this page are © copyright Philip Legge 1996–2004. All rights reserved.
Comments, suggestions, requests? Please e-mail me, but remember to replace the capital letters in the address with the appropriate characters.
Last update, GC 2004-01-29: optimised graphics link tags for Lynx.