Le carnaval romain & Symphonie fantastique

The Orchestre symphonique de Montréal and its music director Rafael Payare devote themselves to Hector Berlioz' "Sinfonie fantastique" and "Le carnaval romain" - two works that reveal the composer's flair for drama, variety and psychological intensity. In the "Sinfonie fantastique", Berlioz sketches the deranged inner world of an artist overwhelmed by passion, hallucinations and obsessions. From dreamy fantasies to a devilish witches' sabbath, the symphony is a milestone in the art of musical storytelling. Together with the rousing "Le carnaval romain", this album captures Berlioz at his most imaginative and uncompromising. As a special touch, the performance of the "Sinfonie fantastique" features the OSM's two newly acquired G and C bells, which expand the orchestra's sound palette and give Berlioz' original vision an impressive lustre.