Totentanz (Dance of Death) by Franz Liszt (1849)


I just saw this performed live. The melody is based on the ancient Gregorian Dies Irae.

Here is a crappy youtube link. The orchestra sounds terrible but you can get an idea. About halfway through, the piece climaxes with about a dozen glissandos (running the finger up and down across all the keys). It's nuts.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ce%20death



Obsession with Death
Some of the titles of Liszt’s pieces, such as Totentanz, Funérailles, La Lugubre gondola, Pensée des morts, etc., 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: Liszt was an enthusiastic Catholic, and he devoured Dante's Divine Comedy. According to Alan Walker, Liszt frequented Parisian "hospitals, gambling casinos and asylums" in the early 1830s, and he even went down into prison dungeons in order to see those condemned to die.

http://en.wikipedia.org/w...nz_(Liszt)
[Edited 10/19/07 20:56pm]

Dies Irae means "Day of Wrath" and was originally a musical prayer for the dead. The melodic theme is referenced in countless requiems and dirges, including Symphonie Fantastique by Hector Berlioz

Traditional Gregorian Mass Version
http://www.youtube.com/wa...fMHms5Cvsw

Leonard Bernstein conducting the Mozart Requiem
http://www.youtube.com/wa...ed&search=

Requiem by Hector Berlioz
http://www.youtube.com/wa...imZC_gkV1A

Verdi Requiem
http://www.youtube.com/wa...-0CjwiWr_c

I still love all those glissandos.

Dies Irie from Mozart's Requiem is the bomb. I've loved it for years.

ThreadBare said:

Verdi Requiem is the bomb too. They performed it at Princess Diana's funeral.

heartbeatocean said:

Irae, rather.

And, a friend hipped me to Verdi's Requiem while we were in college.

Unbelievable.

Yeah, that stuff is serious rock and roll.

http://www.youtube.com/wa...ed&search=

CHIC0 said:

Is that the Symphonie Fantastique movement that uses the Dies Irae? I was trying to figure it out to post a link, but wasn't sure.

CHIC0 said:

I saw that performed last year too.

Beautiful work. I swear I'd amputate my pinky toe to play the piano like that. Anything kind of dramatic piano music is alright with me. I still think the scariest shit I've ever heard was "Ave Satani", the theme from "The Omen". Mike Patton does a cover version of it.