Franck: The Accursed Huntsman | Nathalie Stutzmann and the London Symphony Orchestra
César Franck's The Accursed Huntsman (the original French title is Le Chasseur maudit) unfolds vivid storytelling through orchestral color, mounting tension, and a finale that leaves the spine humming—fifteen unforgettable minutes of drama, atmosphere, and raw musical theater. Watch and feel the hunt become the hunted.
The concert took place on November 10, 2022, at the Barbican Centre in London, with Nathalie Stutzmann and the London Symphony Orchestra.
César Franck's (1822 - 1890) symphonic poem Le Chasseur Maudit, FWV 44 from 1882 is a prime example of so-called program music - instrumental works that are based on a non-musical subject. In the case of The Accursed Huntsman, this is the ballad Der wilde Jäger (The Wild Huntsman) by German poet Gottfried August Bürger (1747 - 1794).
The poem tells the story of a Rhineland count who goes hunting on a Sunday morning. This is considered to be sinful behavior because he should have gone to church. The awareness of sin is embodied by two horsemen flanking the count.
- First Section: The Peaceful Sunday Landscape (Le Paysage paisible du Dimanche)
- Second Section: The Hunt (La Chasse)
- Third Section: The Curse (La Malédiction)
- Fourth Section: The Demons' Chase (La Poursuite des Démons)
The defining feature of all the sections is the hunting motif played by the horns right at the beginning. In the course of the one-movement orchestral piece, this striking motif becomes the leitmotif.
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