Hector Berlioz Symphony Fantastique

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“Symphony Fantastique” Hector Berlioz was one of many directors leading an orchestra group. In 1830 Berlioz a French composer led a group with his great work called Symphony Fantastique, which exemplifies the type of program music known as program symphony. A program symphony is one which has a story behind it where the music tries to portray certain events or moods. In this research it will discusses the importance of how this piece reflected him and what specific era Symphony Fanastique was created. This music piece was all based on his life experience of a young lady name Harriet Smithson. He saw her playing Ophelia in a production of Hamlet. Hopelessly in love with her, he turned his entire life upside down to meet her. Frantic months turned into years when he suddenly heard rumors about Harriet and another man. Believing himself cured, he wrote a fantastic symphony complete with a special theme, the idee fixe, to represent his former obsession. So this symphony was dedicated to her. Years later he does marry her. Unfortunately, the marriage did not insure the happiness of either Harriet or Hector end up getting a divorce.…show more content…
The drug was too feeble to kill him but plunges him into a heavy sleep accompanied by weird visions. His sensations, emotions and memories as they pass through his affected mind, are transformed into musical images and ideas. The beloved one herself becomes to him a melody, a recurrent theme idee fixe which haunts him continually. (Theory of music) Symphony Fantastique consist of five different movements, which is called idee fixe. They were known as Passions, A Ball, Scene in the Country, March to the Scaffold, and Dreams of a Witches Sabbath there was a story to all these five

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