Symphonie fantastique. Les Francs-Juges, Overture

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.