Franck: The Accursed Huntsman | François-Xavier Roth & Les Siècles

Can a Romantic symphonic poem tell a thrilling horror story? Of course it can! Listen to The Accursed Huntsman by César Franck. Watch the story played by the orchestra Les Siècles under the direction of François-Xavier Roth in this video. The concert took place in 2022 in the magnificent Dvořák Hall of the Rudolfinum in Prague.

César Franck's (1822 - 1890) symphonic poem The Accursed Huntsman (originally 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. The rider on the left tempts him to do evil, the one on the right wants him to do good. The count follows the evil one, who clearly is the devil himself, and this leads to a series of terrible crimes from the one initial sin: He has a farmer who admonishes him against hunting flogged and his fields trampled on. He unleashes a murderous bloodbath on a shepherd and his flock. He desecrates the chapel of a hermit. But then the raging hunter finds himself alone in the forest and hears a voice that curses him. As punishment, he is condemned to be hunted by demons for all eternity. The hunter becomes the hunted and experiences hell on earth.

César Franck's symphonic poem follows the literary source closely. The dramatic plot develops in four sections:
(00:00) Applause
(00:31) The Peaceful Sunday Landscape (Le Paysage paisible du Dimanche)
(03:09) The Hunt (La Chasse)
(08:37) The Curse (La Malédiction)
(10:34) 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. Its varied forms represent the states of mind of the hunter. In the first section, the hunting motif radiates self-will and pride. It is self-confidently contrasted with the singing of the faithful in the church and the sound of the church bells. The second section sets the scene for the hunt. Franck expresses the hunter's inner conflict between good and evil, so vividly described in Bürger's ballad, by means of an echo: the hunting theme played by the horns is restrainedly repeated by the woodwinds. You immediately sense that something is wrong. As it progresses, the hunting theme is taken over by the whole orchestra, and develops in a propulsive manner becoming increasingly aggressive. Three times the woodwinds counter with a softer melodic motif, which stands for the three victims of the hunter's crimes: the farmer (04:39), the shepherd (6:18) and the hermit (6:41); when the hunter suddenly finds himself alone in the forest and is afraid, the hunting motif is only heard in fragments and muted (07:22). In the third section, the curse against the count is heard in the low winds - but the theme of the curse also proves to be a variant of the hunting motif. In the fourth section, the hunting motif appears in a parodied form. Now it has been taken up by the demons surrounding the Count. The hunter has become the hunted. Shortly before the end of the tone poem, the bell sounds again, this time not as a harmonious church bell but as a monotonous death knell.

With The Accursed Huntsman, César Franck once again proves himself to be a thoroughly Romantic composer. Popular Romantic subjects such as spooky horror stories with ghosts and supernatural forces or contradictions between outward action and inner states of mind are set to music perfectly here. The Accursed Huntsman is a successful example of how musical means can be used to tell an exciting story.

Les Siècles is a French orchestra renowned for its diverse repertoire and historically informed performances. What sets the ensemble apart is its dedication to playing each work on period-appropriate instruments, faithfully capturing the sound and spirit of its time. Beyond the concert hall, Les Siècles is deeply committed to music education and outreach, regularly performing in schools, hospitals, and prisons to bring music to a wider audience.

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