Saint-Saëns: Danse Macabre for String Quartet
by Camille Saint-Saens
String Quartet - Digital Sheet Music

String Quartet String Quartet - Level 4 - Digital Download

SKU: A0.549990

Composed by Camille Saint-Saens. Arranged by James M. Guthrie. Instructional,Romantic Period,Standards. 70 pages. Jmsgu3 #4360031. Published by jmsgu3 (A0.549990).

Camille Saint-Saëns was a French composer, pianist, organist, and conductor of the Romantic period. He was a musical prodigy, making his concert debut at the age of ten and composing his first symphony at the age of 16. Saint-Saëns left an immense musical legacy behind, having written five symphonies, five piano concertos, several operas, incidental music, a wide breadth of chamber music, and numerous works for solo piano and solo organ. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso, the Second Piano Concerto, the First Cello Concerto, Danse macabre, and the opera Samson et Delila. Saint-Saëns was notable for his pioneering efforts on behalf of French music, and he was a gifted pianist and organist as well as a writer of criticism, poetry, essays, and plays. He was a scholar of musical history and remained committed to the structures worked out by earlier French composers, making him an unusual figure within the framework of the Romantic period. Despite this, his signature use of colorful harmony influenced the French Impressionist composers which would rise to popularity toward the end of his life. The significance of Saint-Saëns' music lies in his ability to seamlessly weave unusual, exotic harmonies and melodic lines into ingrained musical forms, simultaneously surprising and delighting the listener. He adhered to the classical models, upholding a conservative ideal of French music that emphasized polished craftsmanship and a sense of form. His formidable intellect was not limited to music, as he had a profound interest in and knowledge of geology, botany, butterflies, astronomy, archaeology, and math.

The significance of Saint-Saëns' "Danse Macabre" lies in its representation of death as the great social equalizer and its association with Halloween and the macabre. The piece, originally an art song for voice and piano, was later expanded and reworked into a tone poem for violin and large orchestra, becoming one of Saint-Saëns' most famous works.

·       Representation of Death: "Danse Macabre" was inspired by the French legend that Death plays the fiddle at midnight on Halloween, causing the skeletons in the cemetery to crawl out of their graves for a dance party.
 The theme of death as the great social equalizer, where no one can escape the dance with death, is depicted in the music and has been the inspiration for various paintings and pieces of art.
·       Composition and Reception: The piece is in the key of G minor and is scored for an obbligato violin and an orchestra consisting of various instruments.
 When it was first performed in 1875, "Danse Macabre" received mixed reviews, with some critics expressing anxiety due to its dissonance, use of a xylophone, and hypnotic repetitions. However, it is now considered one of Saint-Saëns' masterpieces and is widely regarded and reproduced in both high and popular culture.
 
·       Association with Halloween and Popular Culture: Due to its connection with the French legend and its depiction of the macabre, "Danse Macabre" has become the official anthem for Halloween and is often used in spooky or dramatic contexts. 
The piece has been referenced in various works, including Neil Gaiman's novel "The Graveyard Book" and his book "American Gods," as well as being performed by figure skaters Timothy Goebel and Yuna Kim.
 
 Thematic Transformation and Novel Instrumentation
: "Danse Macabre" is one of four tone poems composed by Saint-Saëns in the 1870s, all inspired to some degree by examples from Franz Liszt. The piece explores Liszt's thematic transformation concept and uses novel instrumentation, such as the xylophone to depict the rattling of skeleton bones.