Le chasseur maudit (Cursed hunter) is a symphonic poem by César Franck, completed in 1882 and released in 1883.
The work is inspired by the ballad Der wilde Jäger (The Wild Hunter) by the German poet Gottfried August Bürger. It tells the story of a Count of the Rhine who dares to go hunting on Sunday morning, violating the Christian Sabbat. At the beginning of the play, the count touches his hunting horn defiantly, despite the warnings made by the church bells and the sacred songs that call to prayer. In the depths of the forest, the count is cursed by a terrible voice that condemns him to be persecuted eternally by the demons.
Franck's orchestration evokes the dark and fantastic atmosphere of the hellish hunt. The end of the piece recalls the macabre Songe d'une nuit de sabbat from the Fantastic Symphony by Hector Berlioz (1830). Also the influence of Franz Liszt is perceived, in addition to knowing that Franck had also heard at that time the rutile of Onfalia and the macabre dance of Camille Saint-Saëns.
Franck completed Le chasseur maudit on October 31, 1882. It was successfully premiered on March 31, 1883 in the Salle Érard, at a concert of the Société Nationale de Musique directed by Édouard Colonne. In the same concert also the symphonic poem Viviane of Ernest Chausson, disciple of Franck was released.
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