Analysis Of Hector Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique

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Art has always been a way in which humans have shared stories with one another. From the ancient stone age cave drawings chronicling great hunts to modern contemporary paintings such as that of Francis Bacon’s, depicting the turmoil and grief suffered by the troubled mind through the grotesque and haunting creatures that reside within his paintings, us humans have always found a way to describe the world around us and the fascinating and often disturbing stories that lurk around each dark corner, around each shimmering ray of light. Music, quite obviously, is a fantastic medium for telling long and winding tales. However many simply regard music as ‘entertainment’, something that can be put on at a party to fill in those awkward silences. However, …show more content…

In short, the five movements that form this shining bastion of the Romantic movement that swept the West in the 18th and 19th centuries depict a drug-induced series of morbid fantasies concerning the unrequited love of a sensitive poet involving murder, execution, and the torments of …show more content…

He sent her countless letters and even went as far as to rent rooms near where she lived just to be close to her. Unfortunately, these acts of feverish affection went unrequited. However Hector Berlioz was not to be disheartened so easily and at the ripe old age of 27, he wrote what is now considered to be the most beautiful and poignant pieces of Romantic Classical to ever grace the ears of the post-Beethoven world. The symphony tells the story of a young musician, who lovelorn and heartbroken, tries to poison himself with the use of opium. However the drug only causes the young man to fall into a heavy sleep, haunted with terrifying visions. Each of the five movements details each of these horrid visions. The first movement, ‘Reveries’, explore feeling of love, tenderness and melancholy through slow moving passages and gentle string melodies. Movement two, ‘Un Bal’ is a vision of his love at an extravagant ball. In ‘Scene aux Champs’, the young man envisions he and his beloved living in tranquillity in the French countryside. However towards the end of this movement, thunderclouds approach from afar. In movement four, ‘March au Supplice’, our hero suffers a nightmare. He is being led to the scaffolds on account of murdering his dearly betrothed in a fit of rage. Fast jabbing melodies emphasise the dropping of the axe and we are given

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