Because he wanted to be considered a composer of serious,
substantial music, Camille Saint-Saens suppressed his "Carnival of the Animals"
shortly after its premiere, in 1886, disallowing any execution of the suite and
publishing only one movement, "The Swan", in his lifetime. And while that
movement is a welcome addition to pieces written for the cello, the whole
"zoological fantasy" is a most successful example of humourously themed music in
the classical repertory and has become, with full right, one of the composer's
most popular works.
It is cast as a suite of 14 short pieces and was
originally scored for, at first sight, rather small chamber group of flute,
clarinet, two pianos, glass harmonica, xylophone, two violins, viola, cello and
double bass, but is usually performed today with a full orchestra of strings,
and with a glockenspiel substituting for the rare glass harmonica. But the
brilliance of Saint-Saens' piece lies not only in the sheer number of
surprisingly witty and charming depictions of the animals; the composer uses
only the instruments he needs at the moment and draws exceptional music from
different combinations of his compact "cast".
My choice recording here is
a charming and warm account by the London Sinfonietta under the leadership of
Charles Dutoit, the recording that introduced me to the work itself and which is
one of my preferences for this particular piece.
I divided the movements
into three separate uploads with the finale actually being separated from the
rest of the tableaux, making for a well-placed recapitulation.
This is
also my first upload where I tried playing with the possibilities of Windows
Video Maker, thus I included several captions to mark the changes between the
movements.
1. No. 1. Introduction & Royal March of the Lion (strings
and two pianos). The introduction begins with the pianos playing a bold tremolo,
under which the strings enter with a stately theme (this section reminds one of
the agitation one experiences when something stupendous is about to happen, in
this situation, the appearance of a circus parade, perhaps). The pianos play a
pair of scales going in opposite directions to conclude the first part of the
movement. The pianos then introduce a march theme that they carry through most
of the rest of the introduction. The strings provide the melody, with the pianos
occasionally taking low runs of octaves or high ostinatos suggesting the roars
of the lions. The movement ends with a fortissimo note from all the instruments
used in this movement.
2. No. 2. Hens & Roosters (strings without
double-bass, two pianos and clarinet). This movement is centered around a
pecking theme played in the pianos and strings, quite reminiscent of chickens
pecking at grain. The clarinet plays small solos above the rest of the players
at intervals. In the middle of the section, you can almost see a rooster
marching along the rows of hens who nervously run around him.
3. No. 3.
Wild Asses (two pianos). The animals depicted here are quite obviously running,
an image induced by the constant, feverishly fast up-and-down motion of both
pianos playing scales in octaves.
4. No. 4. Tortoises (strings and
piano). A slightly satirical movement which opens with a piano playing a pulsing
triplet figure in the higher register. The strings then play a maddeningly slow
(so slow, in fact, that it begins to sound like a dramatic lament) rendition of
the famous "Can-Can" from Offenbach's "Orpheus".
5. No. 5. The Elephant
(double-bass and piano). This section is marked Allegro Pomposo, the perfect
caricature for an elephant. The piano plays a waltz-like triplet figure while
the bass hums the melody beneath it. Like the previous movement, this is also a
musical joke: the thematic material is taken from Felix Mendelssohn's
"Incidental Music to A Midsummer Night's Dream" and Hector Berlioz's "Dance of
the Silphs". The two themes were both originally written for high, lighter-toned
instruments (flute and various other woodwinds, and violin, accordingly); the
joke is that Saint-Saens moves this to the lowest and heaviest-sounding
instrument in the orchestra, the double bass.
6. No. 6. The Kangaroos
(two pianos). The main figure here is a pattern of "hopping" fifths preceded by
grace notes.
7. No. 7. The Aquarium (strings without double-bass, two
pianos, flute and glass harmonica). The melody is played by the flute, backed by
the strings, on top of tumultuous, glissando like runs in the piano. The first
piano plays a descending ten-on-one ostinato, while the second plays a
six-on-one. These figures, plus the occasional glissando from the harmonica are
evocative of a peaceful, dimly-lit aquarium.
Hope you'll enjoy :)!