The 'Symphonie Fantastique' (Episode in the life of an artist) was heard for the first time in Paris on 5 December 1830. Still we can feel the beating of the creator's heart at every performance. In the fifth movement Songe d'une Nuit du Sabbat the artist sees himself beyond the grave, the spectator at a fearful gathering of ghosts, sorcerers and monsters. The beloved makes her entrance, distorted and grotesque, and a burlesque parody of the Dies Irae chant blares forth.
