Dariia Lytvishko | C. SAINT-SAËNS : Danse macabre Op.40 Organ transcription by E.H. Lemare

About the organ: Dariia Lytvishko gave a masterful performance of Camille Saint-Saëns’s “Danse macabre Op.40” Organ transcription by E.H. Lemare. The organ is an Vero 488 (Opera 800 US Version) with Physis Plus sound generation. Audio signals are routed from the organ to AD300.4 amplifiers via a Dante card and ultimately reach VP-310 passive speakers and a pair of VA-Sub15 subwoofers. More info: Vero 488: https://viscount-organs.com/organ-gal... Dante Card: https://www.viscountinstruments.com/a... Dante Amplifier AD300.4: https://www.viscountinstruments.com/p... VP-310 passive speaker: https://www.viscountinstruments.com/p... VA-Sub15 subwoofer: https://www.viscountinstruments.com/p... About the composition: La Danse macabre is one of the most celebrated works by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Composed in 1874 and published the following year, it is a symphonic poem that achieved immediate success and remains, alongside Le carnaval des animaux and the Symphony No. 3 in C minor Op.78, among the composer’s most frequently performed works. As a piece of program music, it follows a defined narrative: inspired by a grotesque poem by Henri Cazalis, itself derived from a ballad by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, it depicts Death who, at the stroke of midnight, summons the dead from their graves, setting in motion a frenzied dance destined to end with the arrival of dawn. Edwin Lemare, an English organist active in the United States between the 19th and 20th centuries, produced numerous orchestral transcriptions for organ, often marked by a high degree of virtuosity. His version of Danse macabre fully exploits the resources of large symphonic organs, translating the rich timbral palette of the original into a refined use of stops: the Chimes evoke the twelve strokes of midnight, while the main theme, originally assigned to the solo violin, is re-proposed with ever changing colors. Mutation and undulating stops suggest descriptive effects such as the wind, while the rooster’s crow, announcing the arrival of dawn, is rendered through the use of the Swell reeds, 8’ undulating stops, and tremolo. The conclusion is entrusted to brief chords with 8’ and 2’ foundation stops, imitating the pizzicato of the strings. ------------------------------------------------------ Follow Viscount Instruments: https://www.viscountinstruments.com/   / viscount_official     / viscountmusic     / viscountinstrument