Illusions
[ih-loo-zhuh n]
n. this intangible thing that gives comfort and a false or misleading impression of reality that helps a person to feel a sense of refuge or hope.
Disillusions
[disəˈlo͞oZHən]
n. disappointment resulting from the discovery that something is not as good as one believed it to be; cause (someone) to realize that a belief or an ideal is false.
How and why do people/groups develop illusions and why are some illusions maintained while others are broken down?
Illusions and Disillusions are commonly found within the arts
Types of musical illusions and why they are...
"Music would take over at the point at which words become powerless, with the one and only object of expressing that which nothing but music could express"
- Claude Debussy
The famous composer, Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky provides us with an example of illusion and disillusion as it refers to his sexuality. Born in Votkinsk, Russia on May 7, 1840, Tchaikovsky was a life-long homosexual and lived in a society where this was unaccepted and harshly condemned. In order to support himself, let alone live at all, Tchaikovsky had to build the illusion of a heterosexual existence. Although successful as a composer, this illusion ultimately led to his downfall. Early on in Tchaikovsky's life, he received "a letter from an unknown woman that once more transformed Tchaikovsky's life. The letter was from the mysterious Nadezhda von Meck, a wealthy aristocratic heiress who was to support the composer financially for thirteen years" (Fry). With this financial aid, Tchaikovsky was then capable to fully commit himself to is compositions. Nadezhda von Meck became a big part of Tchaikovsky's life as he "wrote to her throughout his travels, pouring out his soul in a way he could do with no one else" (Fry). These confessions led Meck to discontinue her financial support, "claiming she had gone bankrupt - which was proved untrue - she cut off all support, leaving Tchaikovsky bitter and disillusioned. My own thought is that she might have somehow discovered what in those days would have been regarded as his dark secret" (Fry) of homosexuality. Not only did this defunding devastate Tchaikovsky, but "In 1978 the Russian scholar Alexandra Orlova made public an account of Tchaikovsky's death that had been given her by Aleksandr Voitov of the Russian Museum in St. Petersburg… In this version, Tchaikovsky took arsenic on the instructions of a so-called ‘court of honour' composed of former classmates from the school of jurisprudence. One of their number, a senior official in the imperial service, had intercepted a letter to the Tzar in which a member of the aristocracy charged that Tchaikovsky had had a homosexual liaison with his nephew" (Fry). How would you feel if your school acquaintances, disguised as the royal court, gave you arsenic because of your sexuality? That was how taboo and extreme Russia was in terms of sexuality. This gives us more insight to the frustrations and oppression Tchaikovsky may have felt. Tchaikovsky creates the illusion of heterosexuality for his own safety.
Tchaikovsky safely expresses his sense of illusion and disillusion through music. Whereas writing open ended letters might provide tangible evidence of his homosexuality, music enabled him to express his purest form of emotion and struggle. Just like morse code, each music note and rest tells a story. To quote Claude Debussy, "Music is the space between the notes". Since sound is intangible, it prevents someone from using this information to blackmail him. To the general public his music sounded beautiful and at times, very sad. For music is only "a complex texturing of emotion – sorrow leavened with hope and happiness tinged with a foreboding of despair" (Gutmann).
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One of Tchaikovsky's most famous works, and actually one of his last, was Symphony Number 6, or Symphony Pathétique. "Indeed, in retrospect the Pathétique can be seen as a reflection and culmination of the composer's deeply discordant life, the details of which have only recently emerged from the historical gauze of suppression" (Gutmann). The symphony begins with the bassoon, playing pianissimo sorrowful, the strings swelling in tremolo. Disillusion is exhibited.
The second movement (minute 19:17 in the video) is a waltz with a beautiful and graceful melody. But, is overshadowed with a little sadness.
Third movement (28:12) creates the feeling of happines "a vivid march that builds repeatedly over tense, chattering strings to a rousing brass-fueled climax so thrilling that audiences invariably burst into spontaneous applause" (Gutmann). But the symphony is not over yet.
The last movement (36:55) ends with a sense of despair and disillusionment. "In the words of composer Arnold Schoenberg, the finale 'starts with a cry and ends with a moan'" (Gutmann).
I also feel that even though music might be Tchiakovsky's way of expressing his illusion, it is still completely relateable. Do I have the same situation as Tchaikovsky, no, not really, but the overall expression of frustration, pain, and sadness is relateable to anyone.
Sometimes, illusions and disillusions are found in relationships. This was the case with Hector Belioz, a famous composer, when he was rejected by the woman he thought was the love of his life. Reflections of both illusion and disillusion are found in “Symphony Fantastique”. Louis-Hector Berlioz, "born December 11, 1803, La Côte-Saint-André, France, was a French composer, critic, and conductor of the Romantic period" (Barzun). When Berlioz was growing up, France was at war and schools were disrupted. However, Berlioz received an education from his father, an enlightened and cultured physician, who also gave him lessons in music and latin (Barzun). His first symphony, "Symphony Fantastique" is considered to be an autobiography.
The symphony was created by Berlioz, with his lovestrucken heart, smoked opium and had these dreams. Each movement representing a different dream. Berlioz creates the initial illusion when he sees his love for the first time in the beginning part of the symphony. Illusion soon morphs to disullion when Berlioz realizes his love is not returned. Then (spoiler alert!!) between the third and fourth movement, he dreams he murders her.
First Movement (0:00) - Dreams and Passions
The piece begins by introducing the listener to the vulnerable side of the protagonist, the Artist. The object of the Artist's love is represented by an elusive theme called the "idée fixe" – the object of fixation. Violins and flute float flirtatiously through the charming melody. The noise of the rest of the orchestra represents the Artist's frustration and despair, or the disillusion. Frightening outbursts alternate with moments of the greatest tenderness and all leads to a moment of complete frenzy and collapse.
Second Movement (13:40) - A Ball
The second movement invites us to a ball. Two harps lead the waltz as the music alternates between watching the dancers and spying on the Artist trying to gain the attention of his beloved. It can be heard as the theme of the girl, attatched, is played around with throughout the movement.
Third Movement (20:30) - Scenes in the Fields
The Third Movement of Symphonie fantastique opens with an echo from Berlioz's childhood: the sound of a cowherd's melody. Berlioz dreams of having a picnic with his love, frolicking around in the open feilds. Berlioz uses the huge orchestra to create the sense of suspension of time that intimacy can bring. The music is always only a heartbeat away from the jealous rages that arise when the Artist sees his beloved with someone else.
Fourth Movement (37:30) - March to the Scaffold
In the fourth movement Berlioz begins to reveal the truly sinister side of his imagination. The program notes read, "The Artist, knowing beyond all doubt that his love is not returned, poisons himself with opium. The narcotic plunges him into sleep, accompanied by the most horrible visions." The first of those visions is the "March to the Scaffold." In it, the Artist is executed for the murder of his love. The orchestra then echoes the sound of the real tunes that would accompany the condemned to their execution. The military band escorts the prisoner to the enthusiastic cheers of the strings. But, in the last instant of his life the Artist thinks of his beloved. Her theme begins but is truncated by the blade of the guillotine. The Artist's head bounces down the steps, the drums roll and the crowds roar. This is heard by the plucks of the cellos. (41:57)
Fifth Movement (42:30) - Dream of a Witches' Sabbath
The fifth movement is a satanic dream as Berlioz sees himself in the midst of a ghastly crowd of sorcerers and monsters assembled for his funeral. The air is filled with strange groans, bursts of laughter, shouts and echoes. Suddenly, the Artist's beloved appears as a witch, her theme distorted into spiteful parody. A vast church bell begins to chime the peal of death. Bassoons and tubas bark out the Dies Irae, the traditional funeral chant. The orchestra divides into teams to enact a sinister ritual and the groaning theme from the beginning of the movement transforms into a merry black Sabbath dance. The form of the dance is the fugue to represent his vision of hell and then the music whips into a frenzy as it bears the soul of the Artist to his damnation.
(Thomas)
Thus, it can be concluded that Berlioz has broken down the illusion of relationships. He becomes disillusioned because of the illusions of dreams and love were not in touch with reality. In other words, Berlioz's illusion of dreams and love was broken down by the harsh disillusion of reality of his beloved not sharing mutual feelings. This is commonly found in modern day soceity as the struggles of relationships is both illusioned and disillusioned. For one might illusion their love, or create a high bar of expectation, to only become disillusioned by the reality of the person.
