Dance with the Devil

Dance with the Devil was composed on the occasion of the 90th anniversary of the Dietach Wind Band (Upper Austria). Many legends from the period of the founding of this rather young village deal with the devil, and so it is appropriate to begin the composition with one of these legends. At the outset, the music sounds quite mysterious, even foreboding, representing men carrying lanterns as they travel to a tavern. People tell tales and legends, many of them dealing with the devil. While telling one of these stories, the blacksmith, a robust man, starts shaking violently. When the waitress finally sprinkles him with holy water, the bystanders understand why; the poor soul had been fighting against the devil. Heavily wounded, the blacksmith dies in the arms of his comrades. When the church in the village of Dietach was built, stories about the devil disappeared, and a strong and devout community developed. A quotation from the Corpus Christi song "Deinem Heiland, deinem Lehrer" finally leads to a cheerful section. The villagers, especially the band members, strive diligently for a positive future, not only by working hard, but also by feasting and celebrating when appropriate. That is why all the main themes come together in the piece’s exciting finale.