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At the beginning of the overture "Les Francs-Juges" there is a great and surprising fortissimo unison of all the wind, brass and woodwind instruments of the symphony orchestra. How can I resist the pleasure of quoting this memory from Berlioz, then a student (aged 23):
"I was so ignorant of the mechanics of certain instruments that, after writing the D-flat solo for the trombones in the introduction to Francs-Juges, I feared it would present enormous difficulties in performance, and I went, very worried, to show it to one of the trombonists at the Opera. He, upon examining the phrase, completely reassured me: 'The key of D-flat is, on the contrary, one of the most favorable for this instrument, he told me, and you can count on a great effect for this passage.'"
This reassurance gave me such joy that, on my way home, preoccupied and without looking where I was walking, I sprained my ankle. My foot hurts now when I hear this piece. Others, perhaps, will have a headache.(automatic translation)
(BERLIOZ. Mémoires, chapitre XIII)

26 bars, 1 page.
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