C major
C major is a major scale based on C, consisting of the pitches C, D, E, F, G, A, and B. C major is one of the most common keys used in music. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative minor is A minor and its parallel min ...
, Op. 60 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 ...
in four movements.
The composer had a lifetime love for
Algeria
Algeria, officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It is bordered to Algeria–Tunisia border, the northeast by Tunisia; to Algeria–Libya border, the east by Libya; to Alger ...
. In 1873, he visited it for the first time. The theme of the third movement of the suite came to him during that visit. He composed a single-movement ''Rêverie orientale'', which was performed in
Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
on 7 June 1879 at a charity concert under composer's direction. His publisher
asked him to write more pieces like this one. So in the summer 1880, which he spent in
Boulogne-sur-Mer
Boulogne-sur-Mer (; ; ; or ''Bononia''), often called just Boulogne (, ), is a coastal city in Hauts-de-France, Northern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, sub-prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Pas-de-Calais. Boul ...
, Saint-Saëns composed three other movements: on 12 July in a letter to Durand he wrote that he began working on them. By the end of August composition was finished (he reported it in a letter to Durand written on 30 August). The whole suite had its first performance in Paris on 19 December 1880 with
Édouard Colonne
Édouard Juda Colonne (23 July 1838 – 28 March 1910) was a French conductor and violinist, and a champion of the music of Berlioz and other eminent 19th-century composers.
Life and career
Colonne was born in Bordeaux, the son and grandson ...
as conductor. The audience loved it and the composition was published by Durand, Schoenewerk et Cie. the next year with a dedication to Albert Kopff, an ophthalmologist of Alsatian origin, who became a friend of Saint-Saëns during his stay in Algeria. He was also an excellent pianist and published arrangements of works by Saint-Saëns under pseudonym A. Benfeld.
Instrumentation
The work is scored for
piccolo
The piccolo ( ; ) is a smaller version of the western concert flute and a member of the woodwind family of musical instruments. Sometimes referred to as a "baby flute" or piccolo flute, the modern piccolo has the same type of fingerings as the ...
, 2
flutes
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 ...
, 2
oboe
The oboe ( ) is a type of double-reed woodwind instrument. Oboes are usually made of wood, but may also be made of synthetic materials, such as plastic, resin, or hybrid composites.
The most common type of oboe, the soprano oboe pitched in C, ...
s, 2
clarinet
The clarinet is a Single-reed instrument, single-reed musical instrument in the woodwind family, with a nearly cylindrical bore (wind instruments), bore and a flared bell.
Clarinets comprise a Family (musical instruments), family of instrume ...
s, 2
bassoon
The bassoon is a musical instrument in the woodwind family, which plays in the tenor and bass ranges. It is composed of six pieces, and is usually made of wood. It is known for its distinctive tone color, wide range, versatility, and virtuosity ...
s, 4
horns
Horns or The Horns may refer to:
* Plural of Horn (anatomy)
* Plural of Horn (instrument), a group of musical instruments all with a horn-shaped bells
* The Horns (Colorado), a summit on Cheyenne Mountain
* Horns (novel), ''Horns'' (novel), a dar ...
(2
natural
Nature is an inherent character or constitution, particularly of the ecosphere or the universe as a whole. In this general sense nature refers to the laws, elements and phenomena of the physical world, including life. Although humans are part ...
, 2 valved), 2
trumpet
The trumpet is a brass instrument commonly used in classical and jazz musical ensemble, ensembles. The trumpet group ranges from the piccolo trumpet—with the highest Register (music), register in the brass family—to the bass trumpet, pitche ...
s (valved), 2
cornet
The cornet (, ) is a brass instrument similar to the trumpet but distinguished from it by its conical bore, more compact shape, and mellower tone quality. The most common cornet is a transposing instrument in B. There is also a soprano cor ...
s, 3
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,
tuba
The tuba (; ) is the largest and lowest-pitched musical instrument in the brass instrument, brass family. As with all brass instruments, the sound is produced by lip vibrationa buzzinto a mouthpiece (brass), mouthpiece. It first appeared in th ...
,
timpani
Timpani (; ) or kettledrums (also informally called timps) are musical instruments in the percussion instrument, percussion family. A type of drum categorised as a hemispherical drum, they consist of a Membranophone, membrane called a drumhead, ...
,
snare drum
The snare drum (or side drum) is a percussion instrument that produces a sharp staccato sound when the head is struck with a drum stick, due to the use of a series of stiff wires held under tension against the lower skin. Snare drums are often u ...
,
triangle
A triangle is a polygon with three corners and three sides, one of the basic shapes in geometry. The corners, also called ''vertices'', are zero-dimensional points while the sides connecting them, also called ''edges'', are one-dimension ...
,
tambourine
The tambourine is a musical instrument in the percussion family consisting of a frame, often of wood or plastic, with pairs of small metal jingles, called "zills". Classically the term tambourine denotes an instrument with a drumhead, thoug ...
,
cymbal
A cymbal is a common percussion instrument. Often used in pairs, cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys. The majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sou ...
s,
bass drum
The bass drum is a large drum that produces a note of low definite or indefinite pitch. The instrument is typically cylindrical, with the drum's diameter usually greater than its depth, with a struck head at both ends of the cylinder. The head ...
and
strings
String or strings may refer to:
*String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...
.
Structure
The work is written in four movements. Each of the movements has a program.
Recordings
* Saint-Saëns recorded movements 3 & 4 in a piano arrangement.
** Released on
Naxos
Naxos (; , ) is a Greek island belonging to the Cyclades island group. It is the largest island in the group. It was an important centre during the Bronze Age Cycladic Culture and in the Ancient Greek Archaic Period. The island is famous as ...
Jean Fournet
Jean Fournet (14 April 1913 – 3 November 2008) was a French flautist and conducting, conductor.
Biography
Fournet was born in Rouen in 1913. His father was a flutist who gave him some instruction on the flute and music theory. Fournet was t ...
. —
Philips
Koninklijke Philips N.V. (), simply branded Philips, is a Dutch multinational health technology company that was founded in Eindhoven in 1891. Since 1997, its world headquarters have been situated in Amsterdam, though the Benelux headquarter ...
N 00703 R (Minigroove).
** (rel. 2004) CD reissue:
EMI Classics
EMI Classics was a record label founded by Thorn EMI in 1990 to reduce the need to create country-specific packaging and catalogues for internationally distributed classical music releases. After Thorn EMI demerged in 1996, its recorded mus ...
Lyrichord
Lyrichord Discs is an American record label specializing in world music and classical music. In 2015, Multicultural Media acquired the catalog of Lyrichord.
History
The label was founded in 1950 by Peter Fritsch, an Austrian immigrant who moved t ...
LLST 7103.
CDs
* (rel. 1988)
London Symphony Orchestra
The London Symphony Orchestra (LSO) is a British symphony orchestra based in London. Founded in 1904, the LSO is the oldest of London's orchestras, symphony orchestras. The LSO was created by a group of players who left Henry Wood's Queen's ...
ASV Records
ASV Records was a London-based record label set up by Harley Usill, founder of Argo Records (UK), Argo Records, Decca producer and former Argo general manager, Kevin Daly, and producer Jack Boyce, after Argo's parent company Decca Records, Decc ...
VladimÃr Válek
VladimÃr Válek (2 September 1935 – 16 February 2025) was a Czech conductor and educator, best known for leading the Prague Radio Symphony Orchestra from 1985 to 2011. He transformed the radio orchestra with few public performances to one of ...
. —
Supraphon
Supraphon Music Publishing is a Czech record label, oriented mainly towards publishing classical music and popular music, with an emphasis on Czech and Slovak composers.
History
The Supraphon name was first registered as a trademark in 1932. Th ...
Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte Carlo
The Monte-Carlo Philharmonic Orchestra (, OPMC) is an orchestra based in the Principality of Monaco. The orchestra gives concerts primarily in the Auditorium Rainier III, but also performs at the Salle des Princes in the Grimaldi Forum.
History
Th ...
Francis Travis
Francis Travis (9 July 1921 – 28 April 2017) was an American-born Swiss orchestral conductor.
Born in Detroit, Michigan, his advanced musical studies were at the University of Zurich, with a Ph.D. in musicology after writing a dissertation on ...
. —
Chandos Records
Chandos Records is a British independent classical music recording company based in Colchester. It was founded in 1979 by Brian Couzens.CHAN 9837
* (rel. 2007) Orchestre Philharmonique de Nice, Marco Guidarini. — Talent Records 106.
Arrangements
''For piano 4-hands by
Gabriel Faure
In the Abrahamic religions (Judaism, Christianity, Islam), Gabriel ( ) is an archangel with the power to announce God's will to mankind, as the messenger of God. He is mentioned in the Hebrew Bible, the New Testament and the Quran. Many Chris ...