, 1832 Berlioz was still composing his mass late in 1824, when he made arrangements to have it performed at the Church of Saint-Roch. He felt he needed a conductor for the large forces required. His teacher,
Jean-François Le Sueur, was co-director of the
Chapel Royale, where
Henri Valentino, a violinist at the Chapel, but also one of the two chief conductors of the
Paris Opera orchestra, had recently applied for the conducting post at the Chapel. Berlioz approached Valentino, who examined the score and agreed to conduct the performance, despite grave doubts concerning the forces at his disposal. The parts were being copied by
choirboys from Saint-Roch when Berlioz celebrated his 21st birthday on 11 December. The concert was scheduled for 28 December, and the church sent invitations on behalf of the choirboys to newspapers, friends and likely patrons. The general rehearsal was scheduled for 27 December. Berlioz described it in his memoirs: Berlioz had heard enough to make important revisions to the score, after which he copied out all the new parts himself. He also realized he needed to hire professional musicians, if his work was to be performed properly, but had little idea of how to finance such a performance. Nevertheless, Valentino remained supportive and agreed to conduct, when circumstances improved. Berlioz's friend, Humbert Ferrand, suggested Berlioz ask for a loan from
François-René de Chateaubriand, one of Berlioz's literary heroes, whose
Génie du Christianisme later served as inspiration for the
program of the
Symphonie fantastique. Berlioz wrote a letter asking him for 1,200 francs (or possibly 1,500), or in lieu of that to put in a good word with the authorities, but he received only a prompt and courteous reply, which arrived on 1 January 1825: In late January 1825 he tried without success to arrange a performance at the Church of Sainte-Geneviève (today the
Panthéon), with
Henri-Étienne Dérivis, a bass at the Paris Opera, to sing the solos. Berlioz wrote home to his sister Nanci about the failed rehearsal, and his father, who staunchly opposed his son's pursuit of a career as a composer, learned of it and cut off his son's allowance on 24 February, beginning a period of financial hardship for Berlioz that lasted until the end of the 1820s. A month before the scheduled concert, he ran into his friend Augustin de Pons in the foyer of the Paris Opera house, the
Salle Le Peletier. De Pons had been at the rehearsal in December and asked Berlioz about his Mass. When he learned of the situation he promised to arrange for funding to hire the Opéra chorus and a professional orchestra. The orchestra was formed from the Opera orchestra and the best of the players at the
Théâtre-Italien. Berlioz even sought and received the endorsement of Raphaël Duplantys, the Opera's Director. A few days before the premiere, Berlioz and his friend Ferrand visited the offices of some newspapers and journals, giving invitations to send a critic and to print announcements of the concert. Berlioz knew the staff at the
Corsaire, and Ferrand, those at the
Gazette de France, the
Diable boiteux, and
Le Globe. ==Premiere and initial reception==