Revisiting the Revisions in Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette: A Study of the Autograph.

Although a number of scholars have written extensively about Berlioz's Roméo et Juliette, none has been able to say more about the many revisions Berlioz made between the premiere in 1839 and its publication in 1847 other than that the autograph manuscript in the Bibliothèque Nationale shows signs of cuts of unknown length. Study of the manuscript reveals small red-ink measure numbers appearing every 25 bars and at the end of each section where changes in tempo or key occur. Careful scrutiny of these measure numbers shows that they were entered by copyists preparing performance parts - some after Berlioz's revisions, but most before them. Furthermore, the drying of the glue Berlioz used to cover cuts with collettes has made it possible to see under the collettes. Thus it has been possible to discern exactly how many measures were cut by Berlioz and how many new measures were inserted. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]