The Danse macabre – the idea that Death comes for everyone regardless of status or importance – has fascinated musicians for centuries.

In 2011, inspired by a vast sixteenth-century painting by Bernt Notke in the Niguliste kirik (St Nicholas Church) in Tallinn, the English composer Gregory Rose (b. 1948) set the mediaeval German texts which sit below each panel, turning Notke’s terrifying vision into a bleak but grimly humorous ritual.

This recording features the world-renowned Estonian Philharmonic Chamber Choir. It was recorded in the very church that houses Notke’s paintings and is conducted by the composer.

Gregory Rose – professor of conducting at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance in London – has worked with orchestras, ensembles and choirs throughout Europe and the Far East, particularly in Romantic and contemporary repertoire, and has conducted hundreds of premieres.

The orchestras with which he has worked include the Finnish Radio Symphony, St Petersburg Symphony, London Philharmonic and the National Symphony Orchestras of Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania and Eire, the BBC Concert Orchestra, and his own Jupiter Orchestra and Singers, Singcircle and CoMA London Ensemble. As arranger/conductor he has worked with Diana Ross, Linda Ronstadt and Madness.