While the invention of the symphonic poem is credited to Franz Liszt, French composer Camille Saint-Saens truly took the genre to a new level. The symphonic poem became popular in France in the early 1870s, supported by the newly founded Societe Nationale and its promotion of young French composers. Camille Saint-Saens composed his Le rouet d’Omphale in 1872, with three more soon following. The most famous was his Danse macabre. In all of these works he experiments with orchestration and thematic transformation. In this new release, the Orchestre National de Lille does a service to their fellow countryman, with Jun Markl as their faithful leader at the helm.