Soundtracks:
Sleeping With The Enemy
Desperate Remedies
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Symphonie fantastique Opus 14, 'An Episode in
the life of an Artist'
The "Synphonie Fantastique" describes
the dreams of a forsaken lover about his lost love. It is one of the most
peculiar and revolutionary symphonies, and it was considered unprecedented
in its own time, in the intensity of drama, other than the fact it is,
in fact, not a symphony at all - but a symphonic poem. This programme work
is one of the best examples of the genre, and it was a model of descriptional
writing for composers after Berlioz. A defining theme (or 'idée
fixe' - leitmotif - a guiding motif) is repeated in every one of its five
movements and represents the love appearing in the young effectuated youngster's
mind. Wagner later made the idea of the leitmotif a fundamental of his
work, and Berlioz gained his place in history as one of the defining designers
of Romantic music.
To a great extent, the work is autobiographical,
for the young Berlioz indeed fell in love with the actress Harriet Smithson,
who didn't reward his love with her own. He described the piece as "a
gigantic symphony in which the series of my awful torments will be described...".
Description of Movements:
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1
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A description of "passionate day-dreaming"
- the lover imagines his love as a perfect love and falls in love with
her.
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2
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The dance, with a magical waltz, tainted by the object
of his desire, when she dances with another...
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3
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An adagio picturing pastoral nature scenery, contrasted
by the lover's melancholy solitude.
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4
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A movement in which the young man comes to realize his
love is unanswered, he dreams he kills the woman and is later led to the
scaffold.
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5
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A rondo form movement, presenting a dream about witches
(the 'Witches' Sabbath'), and about his love, who is a miserable body in
the gates of hell, where he goes.
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In real life, by the way, Berlioz managed to obtain
the love of his beloved actress. They were married, and to their fortune
(and ours, too...) he did not need any violence.
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