Berlioz: Symphonie fantastique

Berlioz's mighty Symphonie fantastique is at once grandly extrovert, and also deeply personal – a side to the work explored by Les Siècles and conductor François-Xavier Roth, who closely studied the composer's autograph score and even recorded the church bells of Berlioz's home town. As ever, they record on instruments historically correct to the 1820s, when the piece was written. It is coupled with the overture to an unfinished opera, Les Francs-juges, some of which Berlioz quotes in his symphony.

Featuring

François-Xavier Roth
Les Siècles
Hector Berlioz

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Interpretation

This recording of Symphonie fantastique by Les Siècles and François-Xavier Roth uses period instruments, reflecting a deep study of the manuscript and Berlioz's revisions.

Compositional Technique

The Symphonie fantastique was revolutionary, introducing instruments previously reserved for opera, giving titles to movements, publishing a program, and using a recurring theme called the 'idée fixe'.

Composition History

Berlioz began composing his Symphonie fantastique in 1830, influenced by Goethe, Shakespeare, Beethoven, and his passion for actress Harriet Smithson.

Composer's Artistic Vision

The Symphonie fantastique, subtitled 'Episode in the Life of an Artist', is an 'opera without words' that follows an artist's love, dreams, and opium-induced nightmares.

Compositional Technique

Berlioz's Symphonie fantastique features unprecedented effects from instruments not usually in the spotlight, such as the harp, oboe, cor anglais, and ophicleide.