Danse Macabre, Op. 40  

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835 - 1921)

Between 1871 and 1877 Saint-Saëns composed four symphonic poems, having been inspired by those of Franz Liszt.  The most famous of the four is "Danse Macabre" (1874), which has the following quotation from the poet, Henri Cazalis, in the orchestral score:

"Zig et zag et zig, la Mort en cadence,

Frappant une tombe avec son talon,

La Mort à minuit joue un air de danse,

Zig et zag et zig sur son violin."

The work commences with the twelve strokes of midnight.  The graves open and death is heard tuning his ghostly violin.  Skeletons flit through the shadows, clattering their bones as they join in their dance of death.  The tension mounts as the dancers work themselves into a frenzy until suddenly dawn breaks and the ghosts and skeletons scuttle away to their graves.

The two-piano version is the composer's own arrangement of his orchestral score.