SAINT-SAËNS: Danse Macabre - remix

• Buy "Reimagine," the CD/DVD combo featuring this remix.

An emperor, a beggar, a monk, a mother, a musician... No matter one’s station in life, the dance of death unites us all. Can we, the living, dance with the same unbridled revelry as these white skeletons who pass through the gloom? How fragile life is, how vain its earthly glories.

In creating “Remix” we crafted a modernized homage to the music of Camille Saint-Saëns, namely his Danse macabre and the “Fossils” movement from Carnival of the Animals. (Speaking of Carnival of the Animals, the “Remix” is actually an excerpt from our very own Zoological Fantasy.)

The “Remix” is just that -- a remix of Saint-Saëns’ music into a new composition, one that forays into adventurous harmonic territory and virtuosic pianistic exploits. We melded the bone-rattling humor of “Fossils” with the demonic drama of Danse macabre and created a work of flair and fury. An unyielding pulse underlies a series of increasingly ferocious outbursts, passed between the two pianos. Like a microcosm of the album (which begins and ends with versions of Danse macabre), the “Remix” ends as it began, but with a newfound sensibility.

To underscore the theme of “Reimagine” in our debut album and to reflect the cyclical nature of all things, we decided to frame the album with two versions of Danse macabre. These contrasting "reimaginings" showcase our versatility of approach as well as our dual interest in tradition and modernization.

© 2007 Anderson & Roe. All Rights Reserved.