The ''Romance'' in D major, Op. 37, is a composition 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 ...

for flute, accompanied by piano or orchestra, written in March 1871.

History

The piece was composed shortly after the

Franco-Prussian War The Franco-Prussian War or Franco-German War, often referred to in France as the War of 1870, was a conflict between the Second French Empire and the North German Confederation led by the Kingdom of Prussia. Lasting from 19 July 1870 to 28 Janua ...

. After the Armistice of Versailles was signed on 28 January 1871, the

Paris Commune The Paris Commune (, ) was a French revolutionary government that seized power in Paris on 18 March 1871 and controlled parts of the city until 28 May 1871. During the Franco-Prussian War of 1870–71, the French National Guard (France), Nation ...

assumed power in Paris on 18 March. Fearing for his safety, Saint-Saëns fled to exile in London. Under these extreme conditions, he wrote the ''Romance'', an enchanting piece that seems to be musically undisturbed by the circumstances of composition. The piece was dedicated to , a then well-known

flautist The flute is a member of a family of musical instruments in the woodwind group. Like all woodwinds, flutes are aerophones, producing sound with a vibrating column of air. Flutes produce sound when the player's air flows across an opening. In th ...

. Because of political upheaval in France, the work was premiered by de Vroye and Saint-Saëns in mid-1871 in

Baden-Baden Baden-Baden () is a spa town in the states of Germany, state of Baden-Württemberg, south-western Germany, at the north-western border of the Black Forest mountain range on the small river Oos (river), Oos, ten kilometres (six miles) east of the ...

, Germany. The Paris premiere was given by

Paul Taffanel Claude-Paul Taffanel (16 September 1844 – 22 November 1908) was a French flautist, conductor and instructor, regarded as the founder of the French Flute School that dominated much of flute composition and performance during the mid-20th century. ...

and Saint-Saëns at a

Société nationale de musique Groupe Lactalis S.A. (doing business as Lactalis) is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier S.A. Lactalis is the largest dairy pr ...

concert at the

Salle Pleyel The Salle Pleyel (, meaning "Pleyel Hall") is a concert hall in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, France, designed by the acoustician Gustave Lyon together with the architect Jacques Marcel Auburtin, who died in 1926, and the work was completed i ...

on 6 April 1872. Saint-Saëns was a close friend of Taffanel, even becoming godfather to his daughter. Taffanel would become the ''Romances real champion, performing it numerous times over the years.

Music

Saint-Saëns composed six chamber music works titled ''Romance'' – the instrumental

romance Romance may refer to: Common meanings * Romance (love), emotional attraction towards another person and the courtship behaviors undertaken to express the feelings ** Romantic orientation, the classification of the sex or gender with which a pers ...

in three-part song form had gained significance from the 1860s onwards as the transcription of the extremely popular vocal romance. The work is scored for flute and piano, with a version for flute and an orchestra consisting of 2 oboes, 2 clarinets in A, 2 bassoons, 4 horns (2 natural, 2 chromatic), 2 trumpets in D, timpani, and strings. The orchestral version was presumably planned from the outset. The work was also arranged for clarinet and piano by Alfred Piguet in 1907. The ''Romance'' is a short piece at around six minutes. Edward Blakeman writes: "The ''Romance'' is a slight piece, but bewitchingly atmospheric. It spins an expressive line with the direct, unsentimental appeal of a lyrical ''mélodie''." Today it is one of the more popular minor works by the composer and has established itself as part of the flute's core repertoire.

References

External links

* {{authority control Chamber music by Camille Saint-Saëns Concertante works by Camille Saint-Saëns 1871 compositions Compositions in D-flat major Music with dedications Saint-Saens, Op. 37 Compositions for flute and piano Compositions for flute and orchestra