Background and Dedication

Based on a poem by the French poet Henri Cazalis (1840-1909), Saint-Saëns first composed a song of the same name in 1872. The symphonic poem was composed in 1874. It was dedicated to Madame Caroline Montigny-Rémaury (1843-1913). She was a pupil of Liszt and a renowned virtuoso pianist of her time, to whom, besides this work, Wedding Cake, Op. 76 and other pieces were dedicated. The premiere took place on January 24, 1875, at the Théâtre du Châtelet, conducted by Édouard Colonne. In 3/4 time, G minor, Mouvement modéré de valse (at a moderate waltz tempo).

Historical Context and Comparison with Liszt's Totentanz

Upon hearing the phrase "Danse Macabre," pianists would likely recall Liszt's work of the same name. Here, for convenience, we will refer to it as Totentanz to distinguish it. Saint-Saëns revered Liszt and considered him a benefactor who had supported his career; thus, he must have been aware of Totentanz and undoubtedly had it in mind during his composition. And regarding Liszt's Totentanz, it is important to note that the "Danse Macabre" was not Liszt's original idea but a traditional artistic motif in Europe since the Middle Ages. Medieval Europe was exhausted by plagues, typified by the Black Death, and the ravages of war, such as the Hundred Years' War; there was no other era when people were so acutely aware of living alongside death. Against this historical backdrop, concepts such as "Memento Mori" (remember death) and "Vanitas" (the transience of life) became strongly emphasized, leading to the emergence of artistic motifs like transi (sculptures depicting decaying corpses) and still-life paintings conveying the allegory of vanitas. Within this trend, paintings such as "Danse Macabre" and "Triumph of Death" appeared. The work said to be the distant cause of Liszt's composition of Totentanz is Buffalmacco's Triumph of Death in the Camposanto Monumentale in Pisa, Italy. Liszt's Totentanz adheres to the original concept of the "Triumph of Death," roughly expressing humanity's powerlessness and helplessness in the face of death's onslaught, and how they are overwhelmed by its might. On the other hand, observing Saint-Saëns's Danse Macabre reveals an interesting distinction between German and French music. In contrast to the conceptual Liszt, Saint-Saëns is highly visual (or concrete), with the music describing scenes as the narrative progresses, making it akin to a film score; one might even imagine a short film being shot to the music. This lineage, of course, leads to Paul Dukas's The Sorcerer's Apprentice, and the reason for this narrative quality is also that the symphonic poem is based on the song of the same name, which in turn is based on Henri Cazalis's poem.

The Poem

Zig, zig, zig, Death beats time with his heel on a tombstone.

At midnight, Death plays a dance tune.

Zig, zig, zag, on his violin.

The winter wind howls, and the night is dark.

Groans escape from the linden trees, and pale skeletons cross the darkness, running and leaping in their shrouds.

Zig, zig, zig, each one leaps, and the bones of the dancers can be heard rattling.

Hey, stop, they signal, and suddenly they cease their round dance.

And they push and shove, fleeing, for the cock has crowed.

(Note: In France, traditional burial involves flat, large tombstones that cover the coffin, making them convenient for tapping out rhythms with the feet, like tap dancing. The European linden tree, while considered sacred, was also sometimes regarded as an ominous tree associated with witches.)

Saint-Saëns's Poetic Approach and Musical Narrative

In fact, the portion quoted by Saint-Saëns for his composition and publication omits parts of the original poem. The original poem's title is "Equality, Fraternity..." and the omitted parts contain content consistent with the "Triumph of Death" concept, stating that "kings and commoners are equal before death (all must die equally)." However, the didactic and conceptual sections were consciously skipped, and only the dynamic, narrative portions were extracted. Saint-Saëns was so fond of literature, especially poetry, that he later published his own collection of poems and would casually write and send poems in letters to close friends. Tracing the origins of French poetry leads to The Song of Roland, which was an epic poem written in verse. Thus, it might have been quite natural for Saint-Saëns, who was familiar with poetry, to be interested in the symphonic poem as a form of expression and to attempt to tell a "story" through music. Of course, this only blossomed with the groundwork laid by the tradition of program symphonies and symphonic poems, starting with his revered Beethoven and continuing through Berlioz and Liszt. Furthermore, there are connections to "Dream of a Witches' Sabbath" in Symphonie fantastique, Totentanz, and the Gregorian chant "Dies Irae." It can be argued that Saint-Saëns, as an homage to his great predecessors, set himself the task of creating his own "little Symphonie fantastique" and "Danse Macabre," and then delivered his answer. In Saint-Saëns's case, while "Dies Irae" is indeed quoted, the emphasis is not on a scene of trembling fear before the Last Judgment, but rather on a humorous image of skeletons dancing in a grotesque yet comical manner, scurrying back underground as soon as the sun rises and the cock crows. This is likely the reason for the piece's popularity. Furthermore, the universal existence of similar tales, such as the Hyakki Yagyō (Night Parade of One Hundred Demons) in Japan, is likely another factor contributing to its popularity.

Musical Structure and Orchestration

The structure of the piece follows the narrative's timeline: first, midnight is struck by the harp. The cellos and double basses depict the tombstones stirring and Death emerging from within, whereupon Death slowly begins to tune his violin. As it is Death's violin, it is not an ordinary violin but a devil's violin. Therefore, the tuning is also unusual, using scordatura to include the "devil in music" (tritone) interval. Then, the "Waltz Theme (First Theme)" is played by the violin, followed by the "Winter Wind Theme (Second Theme)." More companions arrive from underground, the dance circle expands, and as it becomes livelier, the devil's violin also gets into the spirit. To create a grotesque atmosphere, cymbal sounds ring in the background, and eventually, bones begin to clatter against each other (xylophone). From rehearsal mark C, a fugue based on the "Winter Wind Theme" begins, and a storm surrounds the graveyard. Within it, a calm period, like the eye of a typhoon, unfolds (though the melody is a parody of "Dies Irae," maintaining an eerie atmosphere), and the dead dance joyfully (rehearsal mark D). Getting further into the mood, Death plays the "Winter Wind Theme" lyrically on his violin, reveling in it (rehearsal mark E). With the climax of the fugue based on the "Winter Wind Theme" (rehearsal mark G), the feast reaches its peak (rehearsal mark H). However, perhaps sensing the approaching dawn, a melancholic, unsatisfied melody is played (rehearsal mark I). For a final dance, a grand, chaotic frenzy ensues (rehearsal mark K), but mercilessly, morning arrives, and as the cock (oboe) crows (rehearsal mark M), the feast is over. Death plays a resentful melody, and behind him, the dead scurry back underground, each eager to return. The End (last two measures). This "The End" style is interestingly carried over to the last two measures of The Sorcerer's Apprentice. It is as if the narrative style of "Once upon a time... The End" from fairy tales has been inherited. This fairy tale style also exists in France; for example, in Poulenc's L'histoire de Babar, le petit éléphant, FP 129, the word "The End" is explicitly assigned musical notes.

Considerations for Piano Performance

When performing on the piano, one must pay attention to the original orchestration regarding timbre. First, the distinctive scordatura of the violin is noteworthy. This was not merely aimed at making the tritone easier to play, but rather at achieving a raw, wild, and eerie timbre from the "open strings." Unlike the piano, string instruments must produce various sounds from four strings, leading to instrumental constraints and specific characteristics. That is, there is a difference in timbre between open strings and stopped strings, making it impossible to produce a uniform timbre like on a piano. This scordatura takes advantage of that very characteristic. Incidentally, wind instruments also have to produce various sounds from a single tube, making it difficult to maintain uniformity not only in timbre but also in pitch. When considering 19th-century early music, please keep in mind that at the time, flute instruction books featured specific fingerings for leading tones, and a sense of tonality different from equal temperament was common. Furthermore, in the original score, natural horns were assigned to the first and second horns, and valve horns to the third and fourth. This was due to the low quality of valve manufacturing technology at the time, which resulted in poor timbre due to lack of airtightness. Valve horns were used for chromatic passages difficult to play on natural horns, while natural horns were used for sections where timbre was prioritized (rehearsal mark E). And please remember that natural horns could be changed to any key using crooks, and composers would select and specify in the score the desired timbre from countless possibilities, combining the timbre of each key with open notes and stopped notes produced by hand-stopping. Of course, it is impossible to reproduce all of these on the piano, but being able to imagine them in one's mind can broaden the scope of performance. The use of percussion is also distinctive, and as mentioned in the discussion of the piece's structure, it is effectively employed to evoke visual imagery.

Reception and Piano Arrangements

"Monsieur Croche's grumbling complaints softened somewhat when he came to Danse Macabre. He recalled with amusement the critical whistles that had been vigorously blown at the premiere of that piece." (Monsieur Croche, the Dilettante Hater, translated by Hidetaro Sugimoto, Hakusuisha)

As this quote suggests, although the premiere was met with booing, its subsequent success is well-known. Reflecting this, there is a wide variety of piano arrangements. Even considering only those made during the composer's lifetime:

• Solo arrangements by Liszt (1876)
• Solo arrangements by Cramer (1876)
• Solo arrangements by Ritter (1880)
• Two-pianos, four-hands by Ernest Guiraud (1875)
• Two-pianos, eight-hands (1877)
• The composer's own two-pianos, four-hands (1875)

Finally, I will quote a letter from Liszt to Saint-Saëns dated October 2, 1876:

"My dear friend, I am sending you today my arrangement of your Danse Macabre, and I beg you to forgive my inability to successfully reduce and transfer the magnificent colors of the score to the piano. No one is obliged to do the impossible. No one has ever yet been tasked with playing an orchestra on the piano. Nevertheless, we must constantly strive towards the 'ideal' through all forms, however difficult or imperfect they may be. It seems to me that life and art are good only in their process."