| 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 ... |
