Added: 4 years ago
From: vgermusic
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  • The winds sounded better than the strings...and the soloist was quite good. But somehow the rest of the strings sounded... But it's quite good :)

  • Listening depends on the maturing of the musician and even my high school band lacked that skill. So giving these guys kudos for stepping out there is not out of line!

  • I had to memorize this in music in my school

  • @TheAislinn23 You make that sound like a bad thing...

  • why is there always someone coughing? haha :P

  • @balletwb94

    Haha, yeah :p

    When a friend of mine had a concert, a little child said at the end, when it was totally quiet: "weeeewiiiiboooo"

    Haha, it was hard not to laugh, but it was so cute, haha, anyway: nobody had coughed when that happend ;)

  • @Kabooska I love this piece. Bit of a bitch to play at first. But yes, the E string is supposed to be tuned flat for the soloist. :)

  • I don't get it, what is so bad about this? They're kids and some violins are playing too high.

  • I wish my highschool was this good.

  • Well done, compliment!

  • i came back two years later to watch this video again, to give it another shot. that was a mistake. it still sounds horrible! there's a reason the cameraman didn't show the first violins after a while. not to be mean, it just wasn't good. an orchestra should know its limits.

  • i would have loved to see the flute and oboe player jamming too!!

  • I think this group did phenomenal, considering how difficult this piece is. I recently played it with my college orchestra, and it was HARD! props to these high schoolers for playing it as well as they did. yes, it was off and out of tune in some parts, but I can look past that since the rest of the song was pretty awesome.

  • Lead Trombone is quite good :D

  • Played this with my school :D

  • we're playing this in my eighth grade orch, and its not great, but its not terrible lol

  • I'm playing this in orchestra and it's ridiculous, I give you guys a ton of credit! We can't take it that fast because the freshmen can't play it!

  • charm, mysterious and grandeur, complicated feeling. Nostalgy when I played this when I was teen.

  • rare, charm and mysterious, grandeur, so complex combination, I have been searching this piece for many years !

  • wow

  • Bravo!! It's a talented, courageous and quite honorable performance! I'm French and it warms my heart to see young kids from the USA playing this beautiful and mysterious piece of music. +++ LF

  • for a school to find that many good players, i give them credit!

  • Woah. This is absolutely astounding! I love it :D

  • I have always dreamed to play this song on my violin =)

  • im playing this at orcestra atm and people do have to remeber there guys are still young and me being a young oboe player myself, i credit these guys. its fantastic and this is one hell of a piece to play. well done to the soloist too. this piece really takes it out of you.

    for there age, they are amazing! u have to admit.

  • 102 dalmatians: puppies to the rescue :D xD

  • Agree with the crosstuning of the violin - I also believe the discordia was written into the piece by the composer and at the first performance the technique was frowned upon as the piece was certainly quite far removed from the accepted zeitgeist of the time. To me its my favourite classical piece.

  • @gabbygall I agree, what the soloist is using is a Tri-tone, also known as the devils chord, and because of how strict religion was when this song was composed it was frowned apon to say the least.

  • People, yes we know that the soloist is supposed to be tuned down to an E flat as written in the score. (It's called scordatura, by the way) But, even with that done, he was still out of tune at some parts. That is all I have to say. Thanks.

  • Wonderful vigorous performance- the use of out of tune strings was what Saint-Saen's indicated! It created an outcry in 1875 as it does today- this is better conducted than many of the professional recordings- note how the conductor maintains the tempo- but creates a sense of drive as the piece progresses- everyone deserves great credit- Bravi !!

  • the obligato violinist really needs to work on his tempo.. he goes fast at some points

  • ... this is very good performance for a high school orchestra. *clapclapclap*

  • コンマスが走りすぎてる・・・

  • I agree. Sposed to be outta tune.

  • Classical music is the hardest music to play beside Technical metal, so please give them the credit that they deserve, it can't be absolutely perfect ! They played very well !

  • @Neuroneos lol technical metal

  • hahahahhah technical metal jokes

  • @elliottvongrim Sad to see that even classical music fans are close-minded. Can you find any type of music that is harder to play or faster than Technical Metal ? I don't think you can.

  • @Neuroneos but technical is just guitar wankery

  • Bleh, the first violins were out of tune.

  • @emikohayashi4912 Its supposed to be that way.

  • @fyrehanabi I don't mean the soloist, I mean the rest of the section.

  • the soloist also goes too fast

  • Wow you guys.... They are still pretty awesome.

  • He is just very flat.... ugh.... and yes we all know you tune down to an Eb, thats not the issue

  • To bad he's supposed to be playing out of tune all of you people who don't know what you're talking about. Lol.

  • they dont sound very confident.....

  • The soloist is playing very false…. too bad

  • @RedSaturne No, the soloist is playing in tri-tone, and doing it right.

  • The soloist is playing very false…. too bad

  • @RedSaturne the E string is supposed to be tuned down.

  • Wow ! C'est Merveilleux comme Musique :) vrm bon

  • Why is it that people who cough too much feel the need to come to events like this and drown out any soft melody with their obnoxious horking?

  • @bittysnack  THANK YOU.

  • I am actually kinda annoyed by the out of tune violin. Also I have the feeling the play a little too slow. But that's the fault of the director. Or whatever you call the guy in English.

  • @JumpingTomato Conductor

  • According to legend, "Death" appears at midnight every year on Halloween. Death calls forth the dead from their graves to dance their dance of death for him while he plays his fiddle represented by a solo violin with its E-string tuned to an E-flat in an example of scordatura tuning. His skeletons dance for him until the rooster crows at dawn, when they must return to their graves until the next year.

  • Stop being so ridiculously picky. These kids are GOOD; the violinist is FINE. These are KIDS, for chrissake... At least they're here doing MUSIC instead of drugs...

  • @bckm54 Amen to that!

  • @bckm54  I thought they play on drugs

    ;)

  • @bckm54 What's wrong with drugs? They make music even better then it already is! (Talking about LSD&MDMA, not about meth and crack crap).

  • @chaincells Music can be good without a need to screw your health.

  • @MozartJunior22 Exactly, that's why I said you should consider LSD/MDMA and other drugs that aren't unhealthy (well maybe they area little, but on the same level as caffeine and walking next to a lot of cars, wich almost everyone doesn't even notice's). And as I already told, you shouldn't do meth/crack etc.

  • @bckm54

    if he was doign drug he would play fucking rock nroll FUCK YEAH

  • @bckm54 well wats wrong with doing both hahaha XD

    

  • @bckm54 Geez just criticizing...how do you think he's every gonna get better?

  • @bckm54 He was okay, and you're right, kids can't play very well. In my experience this piece requires a group that's willing to listen to one another.

  • Like a brazilian clarinetist as I am, I have to say...

    Beautiful, really, really, really, beautiful. Congratulations. I loved!!

  • This is a difficult piece of music. It is truly wonderful to see these musicians preform it so well. I don't care if there were wrong notes, or that the tuning was out at times.

    Thanks for posting this fine piece of music. You should be proud.

  • Im really amazed to see that an orchestra could have a so bad level.. In fact the orchestra as an amateur is ok but the violonist solo please no!!! You cant play this song the way you play it. The intonation and the base of this kinf of music need to know specific technique with your violin you dont use!! But well!!!

  • @inXloveXaboutXyou The intonation is fine, the soloist is playing in tri-tone.

  • dannmmm i miss the cello and orchestra....... :(

  • this and havanaise are my favorite compositions by saint saens.....you may also hear it in a pop version by ekseption....a dutch group of the 70ies........

  • I have played this solo for about 3 years now... I just have to point out that the guy sitting at the first chair is trying way too hard, that's why he ends up rushing. There were some major timing issues and a few intonation issues. Even off key tri tones resonate perfectly when played right.

  • These kids did a great job.

  • Oh my God that's an aweful version !!!!

  • me gusta esta pieza solo agregar que a los violines les falta mas estilo aunque me agrada como suena, ideal para una orcquesta estudiantil, buen trabajo. saint-saens y la cancion macabra

  • i like this piece, i hear good intonation, so the violin is required style, ok they´re youth orchestra, is goo job. saint-saens devil´song

  • Ah, you've gotta love the tri-tone in the intro.

  • Picky picky picky. I can hear the few intonation problems in the solo, but i can also hear the beautiful authenticity and understanding of the music, and the style of playing required. I think in that respect the young man in 1st desk does a good job.

    thankyou for posting this video.

  • It seems like he was speeding up. When our honors orchestra played this song at the concert (yesterday), the solo part seemed a lot slower. The 1st chair who played the song played the violin since like 8 years old and he played well.

  • cool

  • the first violinist isn't worse than the others...

    good piece

  • The first violin just looks way too rushed. He clearly doesn't know the piece.

  • @MrBlackhawksfan That is the Tempo. He is doing it right.

  • Crap first violinist, sorry but it really ruins the piece :@

  • @pokemaster1471 The first violin is doing great. What he's playing is a tri-tone so thats why it sounds weird.

  • Is it me or is the whole thing kinda rushed?

  • @arcanum86

    No, this is the right speed. But the first chair violin absolutely sucked. Wrong notes are just atrocious.

  • @stealthedscout

    No, by first violin I mean the first violin of an orchestra - the lead violinist who carries the melody and plays the solo passages. In this case, the violin section (and the rest of the orchestra) were excellent but the first violin is way off. And it wasn't just his violin being out of tune because his entire performance was not up to the standard of the rest of this orchestra.

    I hope this makes my prior comment clearer.

  • @spitfire9b did you know that in oprder to play this piece, the leading violin`s E string has to be tuned flat? but aside of that, he didn`t do quite well...

  • I'm sorry if my comments misled you.

    Yes I'm aware of the flat notes to be played but he's so bad, missing the correct notes that his violin sounded completely was in tune.

    I got one for you: did you know that Saint-Saens wrote Danse Macabre as an art song for voice and piano? Not many know this, but I found out as a young music student when I had to play this piece on piano in a music competition (I was 11 years old & no, I didn't win).

    This piece remains one of my favourites.

  • @InsaneInsolent How flat?

  • @spitfire9b In this particular piece the First violinist is supposed to be flat to be symbolic of the "devils" violin. It was written that way.

  • @divercub

    Yes I am aware how the music for first violin is supposed to be played: flat & sound off key. That said, this young violinist is still way off the music AS COMPOSED by Saint-Saens. His key & timing are off and he is playing notes not written by the composer. Generally he is not up to the calibre of the other musicians in this youth orchestra & is a deterence to an otherwise excellent performance.

    BTW, I know this piece extremely well, I have been playing it for almost 60 years.

  • ppppfffffft wish!! XD but unfortunately no roflmao

  • i love it!!!

  • First violin is way off, but the remaining musicians in the orchestra are excellent, truly outstanding, especially when you consider that they are high school students!

    Thanks you for sharing.

  • my middle school did this

  • Simply beautiful ..........................

  • ha! I didn't know that FMCMEA High school did this!! man I wish the FMCMEA did it this year that would be so cool! The concerto master played out of tune haha. He could've been better...

  • "Watch percussion!"

  • Yeah, I know the violin is supposed to "out of tune," or whatever, but homeboy could at least play the notes as they're written on the page.

  • very good

    """""""""""""""""

  • that first violin doesn't play in tune! the orchestra is better!

  • OMG. He's like 3/4 tone flat.

  • Very nice! This is why we need music programs in schools.

  • r skools versions way dif. we use a cello @ da beginning

  • Comment removed

  • hbravo bravo

  • But are the persons who touch students?

    Congratulations! well done!

  • yay im the 2nd oboe(=

  • what scool is it they all did very well i new they didn't seem older kinda youngish but no problem.

  • 幾つか聴いた上では良い感じがしましたが、それほど、ヒステリッ­クな高音も強調されておらず、まだ、全体的に高音寄りで、もう少­し重さが感じられたらなと思います。

  • The beginning is quite good...

  • our schools version is WAY different

  • The soloist is supposed to be out of tune. This is the dance of death it needs to be a bit harsh on the ears. The dead don't care about being in tune.

  • When my school played this the director told our concert-master to put her violin out of tune.

  • The violin is put out of tune so that the violinist can play new notes with different fingerings. However, in this video the violinist is just out of tune, meaning that he is out of tune from what he should be playing. Either you play what you should or you don't, like the violinist in this video. He's only slightly out of tune, anyways, so it doesn't matter that much.

  • I agree with you. The composer wants to create dissonance and tension throughout the piece.

  • @fyrehanabi

    With respect, i beg to differ. Although certainly unorthodox, Saint-Saëns never intended this to be haphazard or even discordant. Indeed, he took great pains to find the precise notes that, without being jarring, would inspire feelings of profound unease in the listener. There is no room to be out of tune here.

    Still, flaws aside, I enjoyed the soloist's articulation, which was backed solidly by the rest of the orchestra. A fine performance by a group of high school performers.

  • @earthenvessels What do you mean without being jarring? The first violin chords are tritones... You don't get much more jarring that that. The violins E string is tuned to Eb for that very purpose! That said, I have heard much better renditions of this piece.

  • @earthenvessels Mobscene9305 is right, tritones have the nickname of the Devils Chord for a reason and it sure isnt because they sound nice. That particular tritone is called diabolus in musica or "the Devil in music". It is hard to play and equally hard on the ears.

  • @fyrehanabi I stand corrected. I clearly have a lot more to learn about musical theory.

    However, as a matter of personal preference I maintain that there's a difference between creepy and jarring. Danse macabre, in tune, is creepy but enjoyable to listen to. Out of tune, it is just jarring - not enjoyable at all.

  • @earthenvessels That is true, out of tune this song can sound awful. But, the version being played is in tune.

  • @fyrehanabi the violinst is suppose to out of tune.....

  • @sonofsamIV yes, the conductor I work with is one of the best in my state, and when we played this he had the concert master put her violin out of tune to play this and use a different, intune one, for the rest of the performance.

  • Comment removed

  • @fyrehanabi ha. the dead dont care about not being in tune either

  • Comment removed

  • @Blackwhite2277 sure about what?

  • @Blackwhite2277 yeah, the E string should be tuned to a E flat.

  • it was exellent but the xylaphone not needed

  • Lol, i agree that the xylophone did not the greatest job there (nervous?) but Danse Macabre is supposed to be with Xylophone.. it reminds you of the dead and gives the impression of people playing on human bones)

    As for the solist; The bit out of tune part was actually pretty good! nice performance =)

  • More fine tuning is probably needed , I reckon!

    other then that, a Good rendition.

    (never knock the gifted)

  • hey! my freshman year!!! i am the first oboe player.... i remember this, i loved this piece.

    and as for the soloist, albert is amazing. he was only a sophomore when he did this. and the solo is SUPPOSED to be out of tune and a bit out of time, those of you that say he sounds terrible because of intonation. so i'd say he did a pretty damn good job.

  • nice coughing in the beginning

  • @KillzFrFuN Theyr'e in fact out of tune and out of tempo as well! Not very thight!!

  • @vivegedda They are not out of tune, they are playing in tri-tone and that is the tempo.

  • J'adore cette musique c'est la prof de musique qui nous l'a faite découvrir. je suis devenue accro.

  • Both the soloist and the strings are pretty out of tune...

  • i noticed that too haha awesome name

  • He's supposed to be out of tune, the song is supposed to be a bit harsh on the ears.

  • It sounds really great!! :D love it

  • I saw nothing wrong with the soloist, he brought out the intensity needed for this song with quite impressive precision. The string section in general was out of sync the entire song though...I dunno if it was just the recording or the acoustics of the concert hall. Bonus points for this video since the lead trombonist and bass bone nailed their part...sweet

  • These kids nailed it pretty well, actually. This is a sweet piece of music, and they got the wildness of the danse into it, as it picks up in intensity until the morning when the rooster crows to end it all. Nice work!

  • His G-string note is so weak and terrible!

  • It's supposed to be. In the tone poem the violin is Death tuning his fiddle, so the strings are purposely mis-tuned. Saint-saens is an awesome composer of tone poems!

  • the soloist was pretty bad, and so was the arrangement . . . well, the whole thing was just bad.

  • This piece is impossible to sound bad XD

  • @Madrid1230 As I have said to many people the song is supposed to sound like that, most of the song is in tri-tone.

  • Impressiv... look at their age!!!!

  • КОШМАР!!!!1КАК ОТСТОЙНО!!!1УЖАС!!!ЗАЧЕМ БЫЛО ТАК ПОРТИТЬ???!!!

  • A very well done to them all!!

  • awesome...

  • The soloist was rushing occasionally.

  • Lets lynch the berk!

  • Naughty!

  • Smack my bum!

  • We'll 'ave none of that on 'ere - it's classical, not yer pop stuff!

  • I noticed that too.... nevertheless to listen to it live must be amazing! I get goosebumps just to watch it here...

  • He hit quite a few flats. Mind you, they all did. It's actually painful in parts. Though I wonder if that's due to poor arrangement of the piece, since their skill is obvious.

    Incredible playing though for an orchestra of this age. Impressive.

  • Poor arranging doesn't equal missed or wrong notes. Although, kids that young trying to play in a full orchestra like this is very difficult, so kudos for that.

  • @tlisia The song isn't poorly arranged, it was supposed to sound flat.

  • this song is used in dutch themepark Efteling =) (In a haunted castle), It's absolutely brilliant.

  • bravo that sounded awsome bravo

  • lol alot of people are squeking! XD

  • These kids have done a great job.

  • here we have the famous and original danse macabre from that great french composer Camill Saint-saens, death is supposed to be playing the violin part, and then you have the xylophone simulating the crashing of bones, although grotesque and having been a failure the day of its premiered, january 24 ,1875, ia nowadays appreciated and played quite often

  • wow!!

  • Very good except for the guy coughing in the background.

  • didn't the soloist go slightly off time..

  • actually in the score it's written that the soloist is supposed to go slightly faster

  • I thought so too, but I heard it in every version.

  • The sound is great, but I will admit that the orchestra needs to use much more of their bows. You paid for the whole thing, why don't you use it all? And the Cellists need to straighten their wrists and bring up their elbows. And viola's, don't be afraid to play loudly! Violas are a big part of the sound quality, but we can't hear you when you play softly. especially in this piece there are some awesome viola parts.

  • Agree with you completely! (about the bows and posture etc :-p) Take it you play? I play violin, and i have to say, Danse Macabre has to be one of the best pieces of music to play in an orchestra like this, Love it!