Symphonie fantastique is an epic for a huge orchestra. Through its movements, it tells the story of an artist's self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman. The symphony describes his obsession and dreams, tantrums and moments of tenderness, and visions of suicide and murder, ecstasy and despair. The fifth movement is a satanic dream. The Artist sees himself in the midst of a ghastly crowd of sorcerers and monsters assembled for his funeral. The air is filled with strange groans, bursts of laughter, shouts and echoes. Suddenly, the Artist's beloved appears as a witch, her theme distorted into spiteful parody. A vast church bell begins to chime the peal of death. Bassoons and tubas bark out the Dies Irae -- the traditional funeral chant. The orchestra divides into teams to enact a sinister ritual. The groaning theme from the beginning of the movement transforms into a merry black Sabbath dance. The form of the dance is the fugue -- after struggling to master the form for the Prix de Rome, Berlioz chose the fugue to represent his vision of hell. The music whips into a frenzy as it bears the soul of the Artist to his damnation. His beloved gloats over the scene. Such an ending had never been heard before.
