Review

Camille Saint-Saëns
Danse Macabre, Op.40 : arranged for 10-part brass ensemble

Arranged by Elliot Chasanov

1 piccolo trumpet in B-flat, 3 trumpets in B-flat, 2 horns in F, 2 trombones, and 2 tubas

Vancouver, BC, Canada
Publisher: Cherry Classics Music
Date of Publication: 2010
URL: http://www.cherryclassics.com

Primary Genre: Brass Ensemble - 6+ brass (choir)

Camille Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre was originally conceived as an art song for voice and piano before it was reworked in 1874 as a tone poem for orchestra, with the vocal line replaced by solo violin. The title translates to “Dance of Death,” and it was believed in medieval France that the Dance of Death unites all. Elliot Chasanov, Associate Professor of Trombone at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, has arranged this piece for 10-part brass ensemble. The instrumentation includes 1 piccolo trumpet in B-flat, 3 trumpets in B-flat, 2 horns in F, 2 trombones, and 2 tubas. The second trombone part can be easily played by either tenor or bass trombone. All individual parts are neatly written and include cues, which serve to help players navigate through the brisk waltz tempo. In Chasanov’s arrangement, the solo violin part is divided among the players, making all of the parts both challenging and interesting to play. While quick articulated eighth note lines run through much of the piece, the real difficulty lies in coordinating the triplet lines, which are passed pyramid style between three instruments in a single measure. This arrangement is written in the original key of g minor and condensed into a piece about half the length of the original tone poem. While the original work ends quietly, Chasanov’s arrangement ends on a fortissimo g minor chord with a fermata. Written for advanced performers, this piece is accessible to college brass ensembles and can serve as a terrific encore.

-Russell Ballenger
University of Mary