The painting depicts the battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451 AD, where the Hun armies led by Attila fought a savage battle against a Roman coalition led by Roman General Flavius Aëtius and the Visigo
The painting depicts the battle of the Catalaunian Fields in 451 AD, where the Hun armies led by Attila fought a savage battle against a Roman coalition led by Roman General Flavius Aëtius and the Visigothic king Theodoric. According to legend, the battle was so ferocious that the souls of the dead warriors continued their fighting in the sky as they rose to Heaven.
The first section of the piece, marked Tempestuoso, allegro non troppo carries Liszt's instruction: "Conductors: the entire colour should be kept very dark, and all instruments must sound like ghosts." Liszt achieves much of this effect by scoring the entire string section to play with mutes, even in fortissimo passages. This section depicts an atmosphere of foreboding and suppressed rage before the battle breaks out.
The second section, Più mosso, begins with a "Schlachtruf" (battle cry) in the horns, which is then taken up by the strings. The main battle theme is then s