Berlioz Dream on the night of Sabbath

This haunting piece of music called “Symphony fantastique” was composed by the French Composer Hector Berlioz in 1830, the composer was 28 at that time. The full tittle for this piece is “Symphonie Fantastique – Episode de la vie d’une artiste en cinqu parties” (Fantastical Symphony, an episode in the life of an artist in five parts.)

This is his most famous composition, he was a prolific composer, but this one still puts people on the edge of their seats. Some scholars say that this as the first drug-inspired known composition. Not only does it have Opium in the story, but it is said that Berlioz itself was under the influence of opium while composing some of the movements of this beautiful piece of music.

One of the particular aspects of this composition is that it’s huge, you need around 90 musicians to actually play it the way the composer wrote it. It was bigger than anything that had ever been until that point. It was written and re-written over and over again until 1845, and that version is the one that we all love and cherish. This was his breakthrough work, the one that placed him under the public eye. You can almost hear the passing of the torch from Beethoven’s symphonies to Berlioz.

Berlioz goes deeper, darker, he goes into uncharted territories. The influence of Opera is poignant in this composition, you must be wondering exactly why, here it goes. This symphony is considered Program music, in this genre there’s literally a program that accompanies the composition. As a rule of thumb, there’s a text explaining what’s happening along the music, there’s a story to be told and we as mere listeners need to follow the music along with the libretto.

The particular story about this piece of music is about an artist who is in love with someone but is loved back. Because of it, he indulged himself with mind-altering substances (In this case, Opium).

For each of the movements and the preface, Berlioz wrote a program himself, and for learning proposes, this is what he wrote:

“The composer’s intention has been to develop various episodes in the life of an artist. In so far as they lend themselves to musical treatment. As the work cannot rely on the assistance of speech, the plan for the instrumental drama needs to be set out in advance.

The following programme must therefore be considered as the spoken text of an Opera, which serves to introduce musical movements and to motivate their character and expression.”

At the time this was composed, a symphony generally had 3 to 4 movements. Symphonie Fantastique had 5 movements which are called as follows:

1 – Reveries-Passions (Reveries-Passions)

2 – Un bal (A ball)

3 – Scene aux champs (Scene in the fields)

4 – Marche au supplice (March to the scaffolds)

5 – Sogne d’ una nuit de Sabbath (Dream of the night of Sabbath)

I don’t want to skim through all of the movements on this entry. I want to focus exclusively on the last movement and focus on what the composer wanted to convey.

He wrote for the program:

“He sees himself at a witches Sabbath, in the midst of a hideous gathering of shades, sorcerers and monsters of every kind who have come together to his funeral. Strange sounds, groans, outbursts of laughter; distant shouts which seem to be answered by more shouts.

The beloved melody appears once more, but has now lost its noble and shy character; it is now no more than a vulgar dance tune, trivial and grotesque; it is she who is coming to the Sabbath… Roar of delight at her arrival. She joins the diabolical orgy… The funeral knell tolls, burlesque parody if the Dies Irae, the dance of the witches. The dance of the witches combined with the Dies Irae.”

Just to give you a short explanation on what the Dies Irae is. Dies irae is a very old medieval latin hymn, that means “Dave Wrath.” It’s used and quoted over and over again in classical and contemporary music and literature. It’s really intense and deals with the last judgment.

This symphony was really bold and groundbreaking by that time. Not only because it was divided into 5 movements, it’s also more frightening and intense than anything that has come before it.

The introduction of the 5 movements starts in a slow, creepy, moody note. Special effects created by the string instruments create this unique fertile soil for the final movement to bloom. Pizzicatto and tremolos adds to this creepy atmosphere and Berlioz uses big dynamic changes to psych us out.

End of part 1