DANSE BACCHANALE BY SAINT-SAENS

Today’s piece: ‘Danse Bacchanale’ from the opera ‘Samson and Delilah’.

Have you ever made a mistake that really screwed you up? Well.. this guy, Samson, had! Saint-Saëns’s opera ‘Samson and Delilah’ is based on a famous biblical story about a chosen and gifted guy with miraculous strength to save Israelites. Unfortunately he ends up losing his gift of strength by failing to resist, a philistine woman, Delilah’s seduction. It turns out, Samson’s strength comes from the uncut hair, and Delilah manages to seduce him to sleep with her and cuts his hair off. With his strength lost, Samson was publicly blinded, chained, and mocked by the philistines. This short orchestral number ‘Danse Bacchanale’ is for this moment of the story. This is essentially the crazy drinking party song that depicts how philistines celebrated the falling of Samson. The word ‘bacchanale’ originates from the name of the Roman god of wine, Bacchus. Musically, this piece embodies lots of exotic and sensual elements that were inspired by Saint-saëns’s frequent trips to the northern africa and middle east!

This is really fun and charming piece and really short (about 7 mins)!! You should definitely check it out! 🍻