"Danse Macabre"

I came across a college journal of mine today from a writing class I had at Indiana University. It was fascinating to be reminded of who I knew, what was important to me, and what thoughts I deemed significant to record. I sure wasn't a very good writer.

This is an entry from February 25, 1986 about a piece I still love today, called "Danse Macabre" by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. With today's technology, you can listen to the piece and read about my 19-year-old impressions of it.

Enjoy!

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"Danse Macabre" by Saint-Saëns is eerie and kind of scary, but it is also playful in parts. The crescendo of strings and timpani are wind in a moonlit cemetery. the flutes and xylophone are skeletons dancing among tilted headstones and dead leaves. As the brass instruments sing a forceful melody, louder and stronger, the cymbals crash and the dance intensifies. The, suddenly, the oboe crows the dawn and a solo violin sighs and cries the end of the dance.

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("Danse Macabre" performed by the Philadelphia Orchestra)