Swiss composer Frank Martin remains one of the most influential Swiss musicians of the modern era. This composition is based on a painting of a danse macabre which was produced in Basle and consisted of thirty-seven pictures painted on the cemetery walls of a monastery during the fifteenth century. This work was composed for a stage performance which would feature the figure of death as an empathetic and understanding being, deliberately opposing the mass chaos and bloodshed which was occurring in World War II. This monumental work requires a large body of musicians, which include for this production the ARMAB Orchestra, Sacreamentskoor, conducted by Henri de Graauw, Hineni String Orchestra, Basel Drum, and pianist Geoffrey Madge.
