This symphonic poem was written in late 1882, when the composer was 27. It deals with one of the legends of the Round Table. The poem comprises three episodes, which are described in a quotation that Chausson placed at the header of the score:

Viviane and Merlin in the forest of Brocéliande. Love scene. Trumpet calls. Emissaries of King Arthur ride through the forest in quest of the Enchanter.

Merlin remembers his mission. He seeks to flee and to escape Viviane's embrace.

Scene of the Enchantment - to keep him with her, Viviane puts Merlin to sleep and surrounds

him with may-trees in blossom.

More than a story, this outline is a pretext to create the atmosphere of a legend. The music begins at the extreme pianissimo, creating a sort of sound mist, from which gradually the main themes emerge and take the form of an idyll. The sound of distant trumpets can be heard. An agitated section follows, describing

Merlin's struggle. Then he falls asleep. The oboe plays an enchanting melody, and gradually the music returns to the mist of the beginning.

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