The music tells of an artist's self-destructive passion for a beautiful woman, describing his obsession, dreams, tantrums, moments of tenderness, visions of suicide and murder, ecstasy and despair.

The fifth movement is a satanic dream. The Artist sees himself in the midst of a ghastly crowd of sorcerers and monsters assembled for his funeral. The air is filled with strange groans, bursts of laughter, shouts and echoes. Suddenly, the beloved appears as a witch, her theme distorted into spiteful parody.

A vast church bell begins to chime the peal of death. Bassoons and tubas bark out the Dies Irae -- the traditional funeral chant. The orchestra divides into teams to enact a sinister ritual.

The groaning theme from the beginning of the movement transforms into a merry black Sabbath dance. The form of the dance is the fugue, which Berlioz chose to represent his vision of hell after struggling to master it. The music whips into a frenzy in such an ending had never been heard before.