Saint-Saëns – Danse Macabre (1874)

Camille Saint-Saëns, born in Paris, France, in 1835, was a highly versatile composer, pianist, and organist of the Romantic era.  

A child prodigy, Saint-Saëns demonstrated remarkable musical precocity, composing from a young age and quickly gaining recognition as a virtuoso pianist. His compositions, spanning various genres, reflect a deep appreciation for classical forms while embracing contemporary influences.  

Saint-Saëns’ contributions to French Romantic music include symphonies, operas, concertos, and chamber works, showcasing his mastery of both traditional and innovative musical languages.  

Despite facing criticism from some quarters for his conservative stance, Saint-Saëns’ enduring legacy is marked by his technical prowess, melodic invention, and a commitment to bridging classical and modern styles. 

Saint-Saëns’ “Danse Macabre,” composed in 1874, is a tone poem that vividly depicts the medieval legend of the “Dance of Death,” where Death calls forth the deceased from their graves to dance on Halloween night. The contextual significance of this work lies in its exploration of the macabre and fantastical, aligning with the Romantic fascination with the supernatural and the mysterious. 

 Inspired by Henri Cazalis’ poem, Saint-Saëns’ composition features a violin solo representing Death’s fiddling and a prominent xylophone imitating the rattling of bones. The “Danse Macabre” captures a sense of eerie playfulness and sinister revelry, presenting a dramatic and imaginative narrative that unfolds through its evocative orchestration and rhythmic drive. 

“Danse Macabre” is a one-movement work that begins with a chiming midnight bell and features the distinctive violin solo portraying Death’s fiddling. The xylophone’s skeletal sounds and the swirling, ghostly orchestrations contribute to the work’s atmospheric quality. Saint-Saëns’ use of thematic transformation and the incorporation of traditional dance forms into a macabre context demonstrate his compositional ingenuity.  

The piece reaches a climactic point, depicting the height of the spectral dance, before gradually subsiding into the eerie calm of the early morning hours, with the cockerel’s cry on the oboe. “Danse Macabre” showcases Saint-Saëns’ ability to blend programmatic elements with imaginative orchestration, creating a vivid and evocative musical portrayal of the supernatural theme.