Le Chasseur maudit, M.44

Le Chasseur maudit (The Accursed Huntsman) is a symphonic poem by César Franck. The sections of the work are:
The piece is scored for piccolo, two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets in B♭, two bassoons, four horns, two trumpets in F, two cornets in B♭, three trombones, tuba, percussion (timpani, tubular bells, cymbals, triangle, and bass drum), and strings.

It was 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 a Sunday morning, in violation of the Sabbath. As the piece begins, the count defiantly sounds his hunting horn, despite the warnings of the church bells and sacred chants which call the faithful to worship. Deep in the woods, the count is cursed by a terrible voice which condemns him to be pursued by demons for eternity.

The Kennedy Center describes the story this way: