Miroir de Peine

This third album released by philharmonie zuidnederland contains works by the Dutch composer Hendrik Andriessen and Hector Berlioz. A highlight of Andriessen's French-influenced output has been chosen, the song cycle Miroir de peine (Mirror of suffering, 1923), with it's texts by Henri Gheon sung in highly expressive fashion by the mezzo-soprano Christianne Stotijn. The coupling is the Symphonie fantastique by Berlioz, written at the end of a period of 'mental overheating' in his obsessive love for Harriet Constance Smithson. This resulted in a musical gem, officially called Episode from an artist's life, Fantastical Symphony in five parts), in which he used every technique to get through to his audience. Here, Berlioz leaves nothing to the imagination.