Danse macabre Op. 40, Tone Poem for Piano 4-Hands (SAINT-SAENS CAMILLE)

SKU: ST.C448

Danse Macabre started life in 1874 as a tone poem scored for violin and orchestra which vividly describes a poem by Henri Cazalis. As the clock strikes midnight, the cloaked figure of Death appears and calls on the skeletons to dance to the waltz he plays on his violin. The E string is tuned a semitone lower to create a diminished fifth, the dissonant interval referred to as the devil in music during the Middle Ages. The dance builds and builds but eventually, as the cock crows, heralding the approaching dawn, the skeletons vanish back into their graves, and death departs.

This arrangement for violin and piano was made by Saint-Saëns himself in 1877.

Grade 8
Former Spartan Press Cat. No.: EMA116.

SKU: CY.CC2782

Danse Macabre is a tone poem for orchestra written in 1874. According to legend, Death appears at midnight every year on Halloween. The Dead come out of their graves to dance till dawn when the cock crows and they return to their graves until the next year.

Mr. Chasanov has done a hair-raising job of scoring his 3-minute arrangement for 10-piece Brass Ensemble of 4 Trumpets, 2 Horns, 2 Trombones and 2 Tubas for advanced performers.

SKU: PE.HX9028S

UPC: 659675479316.

Ryan Fraley's arrangement of Camille Saint-Saëns' Danse Macabre transforms the iconic nineteenth-century supernatural tone poem into a dynamic 1930s hot-jazz piece reminiscent of Django Reinhardt's swing style. The work brings the haunting themes to life, set against compelling backbeats. It features skillfully written solos for plunger trumpet and trombone, an open solo section for improvisation (transcribed solos provided), and a sizzling sax soli, inviting musicians to delve into a fusion of classical sophistication and the exuberant spirit of early jazz. Top trumpet note: F-sharp 5.

SKU: AP.43101S

UPC: 038081504469. English.

This work was originally scored as a tone poem that was written in 1874 by well-known French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. The basis of the piece is an old French superstition where at the stroke of midnight on Halloween, Death appears and summons the dead to dance while he plays his music for them. In a familiar 3/4, it's spooky enough for a Halloween performance and classical enough for any program or contest all year long! (3:15).