fantastique

Berlioz: The Programme - The Idèe Fixe

IN THREE DIFFERENT VERSIONS of the program, we see that Berlioz changed his story in subtle ways. Some of these changes refer to Harriet. Do they reflect Berlioz’s own changing feelings for his heroine?


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October 2009
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
V. Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath

More nightmare than dream, as Berlioz describes: “[The artist] sees himself at the sabbath, in the midst of a frightful troop of ghosts, sorcerers, monsters of every kind, come together for his funeral. Strange noises, groans, bursts of laughter, distant cries which other cries seem to answer.” The idée fixe has turned grotesque and the movement finishes with violence and frenzy.


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October 2009
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
IV. March to the Scaffold

The drama unfolds: “Convinced that his love is unappreciated, the artist poisons himself with opium. The dose of the narcotic, too weak to kill him, plunges him into a sleep accompanied by the most horrible visions. He dreams that he has killed his beloved, that he is condemned and led to the scaffold, and that he is witnessing his own execution.”


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October 2009
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
III. Scene in the Fields

Here Berlioz wrote of his artist protagonist: “Finding himself one evening in the country, he hears in the distance two shepherds piping a ranz des vaches in dialogue. This pastoral duet, the scenery, the quiet rustling of the trees gently brushed by the wind, the hopes he has recently found some reason to entertain, all concur in affording his heart an unaccustomed calm, and in giving a more cheerful color to his ideas.”


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October 2009
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
II. A Ball

In this movement the story continues: “The artist finds himself in the most varied situations—in the midst of the tumult of a party, in the peaceful contemplation of the beauties of nature; but everywhere, in town, in the country, the beloved image appears before him and disturbs his peace of mind.”


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October 2009
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
I. Reveries, Passions

Berlioz gives this version of the idée fixe, which comes near the end of the movement, a completely different character--one of passionate frenzy--by changing the orchestration, dynamics and phrasing.


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October 2009
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Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique
I. Reveries, Passions

THE SCORE REVEALS the different techniques Berlioz used to paint an ever-changing portrait of his muse as the Symphony progresses.


AIR-DATE
October 2009
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3

Hector Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

In 1827, Hector Berlioz wrote a ‘fantastic’ symphony created with a special theme, an idée fixe, to represent the object of his desire, actress Harriet Smithson. Follow the sometimes romantic, sometimes grotesque expression of the Harriet theme and learn more about what inspired Berlioz to create his first masterpiece.


AIR-DATE
October 2009
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