PART V. WALPURGISNIGHT'S DREAM. He sees himself at the witches' Sabbath, in the midst of a frightful group of ghosts, magicians, and monsters of all sorts, who have come together for his obsequies. He hears strange noises, groans, ringing laughter, shrieks to which other shrieks seem to reply. The beloved melody again reappears; but it has lost its noble and timid character; it has become an ignoble, trivial, and grotesque dance-tune; it is she who comes to the witches' Sabbath. . . . Howlings of joy at her arrival... she takes part in the diabolic orgy. . . . Funeral knells, burlesque parody on the Dies irae. Witches' dance. The witches' dance and the Dies irae together. In a preamble to this programme, relating mostly to some details of stage-setting when the "Épisode de la vie d'un artiste" is given entire, Berlioz also writes: "If the symphony is played separately at a concert,... the programme does not absolutely need to be distributed among the audience, and only the titles of the five movements need be printed, as the symphony can offer by itself (the composer hopes) a musical interest independent of all dramatic intention." This programme differs from the one originally conceived by Berlioz. In a letter written to Humbert Ferrand, April 16, 1830, Berlioz sketched the argument of the symphony "as it will be published in the programme and distributed in the hall on the day of the concert." According to this argument the "Scene in the Fields" preceded the "Ball Scene." "Now, my friend," wrote Berlioz, "see how I have woven my romance, or rather my story, and it will not be difficult for you to recognize the hero. I suppose that an artist endowed with a lively imagination, finding himself in the mental state that Châteaubriand has painted so admirably in 'René,' sees for the first time a TOWN TAXI, Inc. NEW CABS REDUCED RATES BACK BAY 8860 GIVE YOUR ORDER TO THE USHER HOTEL PURITAN BOSTON 390 Commonwealth Avenue, near Massachusetts Avenue Subway Station Some globe trotters have been good enough to say that the Puritan S. M. COSTELLO, Manager Mehltn Unequalled in Tone Mehlin & Sons E Grand, Inverted Grand and VERY Mehlin Piano is a personal product; and built under the supervision of a Mehlin. It is the product of Mehlin inventive genius and skill. For generations the Mehlins have contributed their personality to its perfection. Mehlin pianos are the perfection of piano building as an art. They possess the attributes that distinguish an Art product -They challenge the world for sweetness, purity and sonority of tone. Uprights $500 Upward Grands $750 Upward Players $850 Upward Deferred Payments You will experience an unusual delight in listening to a Mehlin. We invite you to call, or write for Art Catalog and further particulars. CCHARVEYO The One Price Piano House of New England EXCLUSIVE REPRESENTATIVES 144 BOYLSTON STREET, BOSTON woman who realizes the ideal of beauty and charms that his heart has long yearned for, and he falls desperately in love with her. Strange to say, the image of the loved one never comes into his mind without the accompaniment of a musical thought in which he finds the characteristic grace and nobility attributed by him to his beloved. This double idée fixe-obsessing idea-constantly pursues him; hence the constant apparition in all the movements of the chief melody of the first allegro. "After a thousand agitations he entertains some hope; he believes that he is loved in turn. Happening one day to be in the country, he hears afar off two shepherds playing in dialoguing a ranz des vaches, and this pastoral duet throws him into a delightful reverie. The melody reappears a moment in the midst of the themes of the adagio. "He is at a ball, but the festal tumult cannot distract him; the obsessing idea still haunts him, and the dear, melody sets his heart a-beating during a brilliant waltz. "In a fit of despair he poisons himself with opium; the narcotic does not kill him, it gives him a horrible dream in which he believes that he has killed his loved one, that he is condemned to death, that he is present at his own execution. March to the scaffold: immense procession of executioners, soldiers, people. At the end the melody again appears, as a last thought of love, and it is interrupted by the fatal blow. "He then sees himself surrounded by a disgusting mob of sorcerers and devils united to celebrate the night of the Sabbat. They call to some one afar. At last the melody arrives, hitherto always graceful, but now become a trivial and mean dance tune; it is the beloved who comes to the Sabbat to be present at the funeral procession of her victim. She is now only a courtesan worthy to figure in such an orgy. The ceremony begins. The bells toll, the infernal crew kneel, a chorus |