Danse macabre, Op. 40
Composer: Camille Saint-Saëns
Date of Publication: 1872/1874
In the 1870s, French composer Camille Saint-Saens wrote his 4 symphonic poems (Le Rouet d’Omphale, Phaéton, Danse Macabre, and La Jeunesse d’Hercule), pieces whose music depicts a particular scene. Of the 4, Danse Macabre, composed originally for the violin and piano in 1872 but later
arranged for the entire orchestra ( piccolo, 2 flutes, 2 oboes, 2 clarinets, 2 bassoons, 4 horns, 2 trumpets, 3 trombones, tuba, timpani, bass drum, cymbals, triangle, xylophone, harp, and strings) in 1874, is undeniably the most famous. Based on an old French folk legend, Saint-Saens's 3rd poem details the story of Death emerging at midnight on Halloween to play the fiddle, prompting skeletons to rise from the grave to dance until the rooster's crow the following morning. The piece begins with ominous droning notes in the strings section, followed by diminished fifths played by the solo violin to imitate Death tuning his violin. Afterwards, Death erupts into his song, letting chaos break out in the graveyard, with the main theme reminiscent of a waltz. The skeletons dance for the remainder of the piece, played by the orchestra echoing the solo violin and their bones crackling, played by the xylophone. This continues for the remainder of the night (piece) until the rooster crow, played by the oboe, abruptly ends the festivities. Afterwards, the skeletons are forced back into their graves and the song dies away.
Fun Fact: In order to play the double stops at the beginning of the piece, the solo violin must tune their E string to an Eb.
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