by Camille Saint-Saens
Camille Saint-Saens, the composer of the "Carnival of the Animals" was born in Paris, France, in l835. Saint-Saens grew up as a frail child, ill with tuberculosis. But he was also a child prodigy who performed works by Handel, Bach, and Mozart in public at an early age. Saint-Saens was a gifted pianist, organist, and writer. He composed his first symphony at the age of 18 and the second at 24. He reached his peak in the l860s, when he achieved an international reputation.
The late nineteenth century was a period of prosperity for most of Europe. Cities grew and thrived and regions united into nations. Artistic creativity flourished in this environment. Saint-Saens loved his work. He said that he lived "in music like a fish in water." Composing music for him was a natural activity, like "an apple tree producing apples." Although Saint-Saen's popularity diminished in France at the turn of the twentieth century, he continued to be regarded in Great Britain and the United States as the greatest living French composer. He died in l921.
Program Music One of Saint-Saens' most famous works was "Carnival of the Animals," a classic example of program music -- music that attempts to describe or depict a visual image. The composer usually indicates the "program" or image by a suggestive title. Programmatic music flourished in the 19th century. Composers during the Romantic Period were fond of associating music with visual images. They believed that the untrained listener could "understand" and appreciate classical instrumental music by reading the program notes and letting their imaginations roam. Composers of program music often chose as their subjects, images from nature. The images, such as birds or the wind, were illustrated by imitating their sound or motion through various compositional techniques. What visual images do you think Saint-Saens had in mind when he wrote "Carnival of the Animals?"
"Carnival of the Animals" "Carnival of the Animals" was not published in Saint-Saen's lifetime (except for the cello solo "The Swan"), but was released according to his will in l921. Saint-Saens regarded "Carnival" as a "private joke, "written for his family and close friends. He composed it in a few days while on vacation. Saint-Saens would have been very annoyed to learn that this would become his most popular work. "The Carnival of the Animals" is a playful piece of music. It is a musical Noah's ark in which various species romp in the minds of listeners. Check out the "Music Room" pictures.
Enjoy Ogden Nash's "Carnival of the Animals" poem while listening to the animals below! Click here for a coloring page:
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Hens & Cocks |
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The Kangaroo |
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The Elephant |
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Fleet-footed Animals |
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Aquarium |
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The Lion |