The Septet in E major, Op. 65, was written by

Camille Saint-Saëns Charles-Camille Saint-Saëns (, , 9October 183516 December 1921) was a French composer, organist, conductor and pianist of the Romantic music, Romantic era. His best-known works include Introduction and Rondo Capriccioso (1863), the Piano ...

between 1879 and 1880 for the unusual combination of trumpet, two violins, viola, cello, double bass and piano. Like the suites Opp. 16, 49, 90, the septet is a neoclassical work that revives 17th-century French dance forms, reflecting Saint-Saëns's interest in the largely forgotten French musical traditions of the 17th century. The work was dedicated to

Émile Lemoine Émile Michel Hyacinthe Lemoine (; 22 November 1840 – 21 February 1912) was a French civil engineer and a mathematician, a geometer in particular. He was educated at a variety of institutions, including the Prytanée National Militaire and, mo ...

, a mathematician and founder of the

chamber music Chamber music is a form of classical music that is composed for a small group of Musical instrument, instruments—traditionally a group that could fit in a Great chamber, palace chamber or a large room. Most broadly, it includes any art music ...

society La Trompette, who had long requested Saint-Saëns to compose a piece featuring the trumpet. The septet consists of four

movements Movement may refer to: Generic uses * Movement (clockwork), the internal mechanism of a timepiece * Movement (sign language), a hand movement when signing * Motion, commonly referred to as movement * Movement (music), a division of a larger c ...

, each around four minutes in length: ''Préambule'' (Allegro moderato), ''

Menuet A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually written in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''. The term also describes the musical form that ...

'' (Tempo di minuetto moderato), ''Intermède'' (Andante), and ''

Gavotte The gavotte (also gavot, gavote, or gavotta) is a French dance, taking its name from a folk dance of the Gavot, the people of the Gap, Hautes-Alpes, Pays de Gap region of Dauphiné in the southeast of France, where the dance originated, accordin ...

et Finale'' (Allegro non troppo). The outer movements mix

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

influences with Romantic elements, the ''Menuet'' uses "Baroque clichés", and the ''Intermède'' is the only fully Romantic movement. The septet was successfully premiered on 28 December 1880 and published in March 1881.

Hugo Wolf Hugo Philipp Jacob Wolf (; ; 13 March 1860 – 22 February 1903) was an Austrian composer, particularly noted for his art songs, or Lieder. He brought to this form a concentrated expressive intensity which was unique in late Romantic music, so ...

and others praised the work, and some consider it a neglected masterpiece in Saint-Saëns's oeuvre, admired for its skillful writing, musical humor, and effective balancing of the unusual instrumental forces.

History

The septet is dedicated to

, a mathematician who in 1861 founded the

society La Trompette. Saint-Saëns and other well known musicians such as

Louis Diémer Louis Joseph Diémer (14 February 1843 – 21 December 1919) was a French pianist and composer. He was the founder of the Société des Instruments Anciens in the 1890s, and also gave recitals on the harpsichord. His output as a composer was exten ...

, Martin Pierre Marsick, and

Isidor Philipp Isidor Edmond Philipp (first name sometimes spelled Isidore) (2 September 1863 – 20 February 1958) was a French pianist, composer, and pedagogue of Jewish Hungarian descent. He was born in Budapest and died in Paris. Biography Isidor Philipp ...

would often perform at the concerts of the society, which took place at

Salle Érard Salle Érard The salle Érard () is a music venue located in Paris, 13 rue du Mail in the 2nd arrondissement of Paris. It is part of the hôtel particulier which belonged, from the 18th century, to the family of piano, harp and harpsichord manu ...

and later in the hall of the

Horticultural Society A horticultural industry is an organization devoted to the study and culture of cultivated plants. Such organizations may be local, regional, national, or international. Some have a more general focus, whereas others are devoted to a particula ...

. For many years, Lemoine had asked Saint-Saëns to compose a special piece with the trumpet to justify the name of the society, and jokingly he would respond that he could create a work for

guitar The guitar is a stringed musical instrument that is usually fretted (with Fretless guitar, some exceptions) and typically has six or Twelve-string guitar, twelve strings. It is usually held flat against the player's body and played by strumming ...

and thirteen

trombone The trombone (, Italian, French: ''trombone'') is a musical instrument in the Brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, sound is produced when the player's lips vibrate inside a mouthpiece, causing the Standing wave, air c ...

s. Saint-Saëns eventually relented, and in 1879 presented to Lemoine a piece titled ''Préambule'' as a Christmas present, later promising to complete the work with the ''Préambule'' as the first movement. The complete septet was successfully premiered on 28 December 1880. The string quartet was doubled at the premiere – in Saint-Saëns' opinion, it made a stronger impact that way. The work was first published in March 1881 with Durand.

Structure

The work consists of four

, each around four minutes in length.

Legacy

, who attended a performance of the septet in Vienna on 1 January 1887, wrote: "What was most engaging about this piece, distinguished by its skillful exploitation of the trumpet, was its brevity. A bit longer, and it would be a bore. This shrewd moderation and pithiness is admirable, and absolutely not to be underestimated. How many a German composer might envy Saint-Saëns this virtue!" Of Saint-Saëns's works, it was the septet that he reportedly liked most. In October 1907, Saint-Saëns confessed to Lemoine: "When I think how much you pestered me to make me produce, against my better judgment, this piece that I did not want to write and which has become one of my great successes, I never understood why." The septet was performed at Saint-Saëns' last public appearance as a pianist, shortly before his death, on the occasion of a celebration that

Académie des Beaux-Arts The (; ) is a French learned society based in Paris. It is one of the five academies of the . The current president of the academy (2021) is Alain-Charles Perrot, a French architect. Background The academy was created in 1816 in Paris as a me ...

members threw for him. James Keller writes that the septet "stands as a curiosity of instrumentation that balances its forces with far greater success than one might anticipate. Portions of this appealing and entertaining work rank high on the scale of musical humor." Jeremy Nicholas has called the septet a neglected masterpiece, alongside the

Piano Quartet A piano quartet is a chamber music composition for piano and three other instruments, or a musical ensemble comprising such instruments. Those other instruments are usually a string trio consisting of a violin, viola and cello. Piano quartets for ...

and the First Violin Sonata.

Arrangements

Numerous arrangements of the septet were made, including one for

piano trio A piano trio is a group of piano and two other instruments, usually a violin and a cello, or a piece of music written for such a group. It is one of the most common forms found in European classical music, classical chamber music. The term can also ...

by Saint-Saëns himself (November 1881), and the ''Menuet'' and ''Gavotte'' for two pianos (August 1881). His pupil

Gabriel Fauré Gabriel Urbain Fauré (12 May 1845 – 4 November 1924) was a French composer, organist, pianist and teacher. He was one of the foremost French composers of his generation, and his musical style influenced many 20th-century composers. ...

arranged the work for

piano duet According to the ''Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'', there are two kinds of piano duet: " ieces of musicfor two players at one instrument, and those in which each of the two pianists has an instrument to themselves." In American usage th ...

(October 1881). Albert Périlhou made a concert transcription of the ''Gavotte'' (April 1886).

References

Notes

Sources

External links

* * , performed by members of the

WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne The WDR Symphony Orchestra Cologne (German: WDR Sinfonieorchester Köln) is a German radio orchestra based in Cologne, where the orchestra performs at two main concert halls: the WDR Funkhaus Wallrafplatz and the Kölner Philharmonie. Histo ...

Orchesterakademie {{authority control Saint-Saens Chamber music by Camille Saint-Saëns 1880 compositions Compositions in E-flat major Music with dedications Compositions for trumpet