Description
Camille Saint-Saëns wrote The Carnival of the Animals essentially for fun, whilst on holiday in Austria in 1886. However, concerned to maintain his reputation as a serious composer, save for The Swan, he did not allow it to be published during his lifetime. Today ‘Carnival ‘ is probably his best-known work.
The “Grand Zoological Fantasy” (as it is subtitled)- is a 14-part work in which a number of animals and habitats are musically portrayed. Amongst lions, wild asses, tortoises, an elephant, kangaroos, an aquarium, donkeys, a variety of birds and pianists (!), fossils – arranged here – also feature.
In Fossils Saint-Saëns self-quotes some of the bone-rattling xylophone material from his Danse Macabre (which really brings to mind prancing, rattling skeletons) but also throws in a couple of nursery rhymes (including Twinkle, twinkle little star – which Mozart actually originated) and a snippet from Rossini’s The Barber of Seville. Perhaps Saint-Saëns was insinuating that Mozart and Rossini were themselves musical fossils?
Arrangements also available for wind quintet, wind quartet and wind trio. Carnival of the Animals is also presented in its entirety in this arrangement for wind quintet and piano. See also The Elephant for bassoon quartet.
