BERLIOZ: Symphonie Fantastique - Les Siecles

Drawing on various themes dear to the early Romantic movement of the 1820s, the Symphonie Fantastique turned the rules of a classical symphony on their head – to better serve Berlioz’s intentions. This new reading by the ensemble Les Siècles is based on a close study of the composer’s autograph score and benefits from an intimate familiarity with period instruments, which here include the church bell of his hometown, La-Côte Saint-André! The Fantastique includes passages from an early operatic effort he left unfinished: Les Francs-Juges, only the overture to which has come down to us – a piece François-Xavier Roth deems worthy of being placed alongside Berlioz’s more famous symphonic works we cherish today.

HECTOR BERLIOZ [1803-1869]
Symphonie Fantastique, op. 14, H. 48
C Major / Ut majeur / C-Dur
· I. Rêveries - Passions (14'19)
· II. Un bal (6'54)
· III. Scène aux champs (15'08)
· IV. Marche au supplice (6'20)
· V. Songe d'une nuit de sabbat (9'46)
· Grande Ouverture des francs-juges, op. 3, H.23 (12'00)