Hector Berlioz

March to the Scaffold

Hector Berlioz wrote his Symphonie Fantistique in 1830, which tells the story of various episodes in the life of a troubled artist who poisons himself with opium. He is searching for true love, and the theme representing this love appears in all five movements. In March to the Scaffold, the artist has a terrible dream that he has killed his true love and is condemned to death by execution. The March alternates the sound of heavy footsteps with wild outbursts. This skilled arrangement will introduce your students to a great classic in the orchestral music literature.