What is the instrument used of Totentanz dance of death?

What is the instrument used of Totentanz dance of death?

The harshness from the piano mixed with the steady trombones and tuba makes for a really exciting introduction to Liszt’s Dance of Death. Stabs from the orchestra set off flourishing runs from the piano, as well as Liszt exploring the very bottom end of the instrument.

What is the form of Totentanz?

Totentanz consists of six variations that include canonic and fugato sections. The main theme is based on the Gregorian chant Dies irae, a melody that has been used by many other composers, most notably Berlioz in Witches Sabbath of Symphonie fantastique, op. 14 and Rachmaninoff in Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini.

What is the form of Totentanz dance of death?

Totentanz (English: Dance of the Dead): Paraphrase on Dies irae, S. 126, is the name of a work for solo piano and orchestra by Franz Liszt notable for being based on the Gregorian plainchant melody Dies irae as well as for stylistic innovations.

Why did Liszt write Totentanz?

Adam Liszt’s unexpected death from typhoid fever in 1827 devastated the 15-year-old composer. It was perhaps this event that led to Liszt’s artistic preoccupation with death, which is exemplified by his imaginative masterpiece, Totentanz.

What is the tempo of Totentanz dance of death?

Section 2 – Totentanz (Dance of death) This section starts with a new tempo, crotchet = 120, as the dance macabre rhythm is introduced by maracas. It’s in 7/4 and is based on 5 beats of quavers and 2 beats of semiquavers.

Is Totentanz a concerto?

The Concerto’s form is exceedingly novel. It is basically in one movement, with various themes recalled and transformed over the course of the work. Like the First Concerto, the Totentanz was composed beginning in the late 1830s. It was completed a decade later and revised 1853 and 1859.

Who wrote Totentanz?

Franz Liszt
Totentanz/Composers
Duration: 16 minutes in one movement. THE COMPOSER – FRANZ LISZT (1811-1886) – In the early 1860s, the crushing disappointments of Liszt’s personal life forced him to seriously consider the solace and rigor of monastic life.

Who created Danse Macabre?

Saint-Saëns
When Saint-Saëns initially wrote his Danse macabre in 1872, it was actually an art song. Poet Henri Cazalis wrote lines like, “The bones of the dancers are heard to crack,” but two years later Saint-Saëns replaced the voice with the violin and the dissonance amped up its tension.

Who leads Danse Macabre?

The Dance of Death (1523–26) refashions the late-medieval allegory of the danse macabre as a reformist satire, and one can see the beginnings of a gradual shift from traditional to reformed Christianity….Hans Holbein’s woodcuts.

Example of a woodcut from the book.
Author Hans Holbein the Younger
Publication date 1538

What is the meaning of Totentanz?

dance of death
masculine noun. dance of death, danse macabre.

Is Totentanz a symphonic poem?

Two standards of the Romantic repertoire for piano and orchestra. Liszt’s symphonic poem Totentanz (Dance of Death) consists of six variations on the familiar Gregorian “Dies Irae” plainchant melody.

What language is macabre?

History and Etymology for macabre French, from (danse) macabre dance of death, from Middle French (danse de) Macabré

What makes Liszt’s Totentanz unique?

The dark temperament of Franz Liszt’s Totentanz is what makes it stand out for many of his other orchestra works. Liszt’s handling of the Dies irae theme as part of a set of opposing variations mixes the old and new styles of classical music.

What is the musical form of Totentanz?

Completed in 1849, Totentanz (‘Dance of the Dead’) is a fiery work for solo piano and orchestra by Hungarian composer, Franz Liszt. The work is primarily based on the Dies irae melody, which Liszt takes and develops into a powerful set of variations.

How many times was Totentanz revised?

Totentanz (Liszt) The piece was originally planned in 1838 and completed in 1849; it was then revised twice, in 1853 and 1859.

What was Liszt’s obsession with death?

Some of the titles of Liszt’s pieces, such as Totentanz, Funérailles, La lugubre gondola and Pensée des morts, show the composer’s fascination with death. In the young Liszt we can already observe manifestations of his obsession with death, with religion, and with heaven and hell.

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