The Carnival of the Animals
Hi everyone! Today we’ll be discussing one of French composer Camille Saint-Saens’ most popular works, The Carnival of the Animals. Here is one of the more popular pieces from this collection, The Swan.
Given its popularity, it’s hard to believe that Saint-Saens did not want the suite performed publicly during his lifetime in the case that it would negatively impact his image as a serious composer. Audiences would continue to enjoy the work long after its public premiere in 1922.
As the title might imply, the 14 pieces of the suite take inspiration from animals. Aside from The Swan, other notable pieces include The Elephant, The Aquarium, and The Finale, which is a blend containing themes from previous pieces.
What makes the pieces unique is that they convey the characteristics of what the piece is named after. For example, in The Cuckoo, a pair of eighth notes - C and A-flat - are played throughout the piece, representing the familiar cuckoo noise that many have heard before.
In The Kangaroos, the main motif is represented by eighth notes with eighth note grace notes, conveying the hopping of kangaroos, with accelerandos and ritardandos representing pauses and speeding up of the kangaroos.
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Finally, the finale contains different themes present throughout the suite:
The opening is from the Intro of the entire suite:
The Chickens theme is present at (1:14)
The Kangaroos theme is present at (1:24)
And finally, the last bit contains the laughs of Donkeys (1:41)