BY STEPHANIE ESLAKE
From tortoises to kangaroos, roosters to wild asses, Camille Saint-Saens depicts it all in his much-loved Carnival of the Animals. The work was written in 1886 and features 14 movements in all, each reminding us of feathers and fur. We bring it to you here in five fun facts, ahead of the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra’s performance this month.
- It was actually just a joke
Saint-Saens wrote his famous Carnival of the Animals as a joke. It was all a bit of “fun” for the composer, who preferred to be known for his more serious symphonic works. For this reason, he made sure the work was published only after his death – and indeed, it received its first public performance by Concerts Colonne in 1922, the year following his passing.
- But The Swan was an exception
Perhaps the most famous of all Saint-Saens’ animals, The Swan was the only movement he allowed to be published while he was alive and in 1887 it was arranged for cello and solo piano. Almost 20 years later, the beautifully sentimental melody was choreographed for Anna Pavlova, the renowned ballerina who is said to have taken the work to the stage 4000 times.
- Plenty of musical references
In his 11th movement Pianistes, Saint-Saens reminds us of a pianist practicing scales, while the following Fossiles references his own work Danse macabre. It also draws from a few more nursery rhymes and songs, from Twinkle Twinkle Little Star to Au Clair de la Lune and The Barber of Seville. Flip the coin and you’ll find Saint-Saens’ work referenced across other music, from Ennio Morricone’s Academy Award-nominated score for Days of Heaven, to a surf-rock version used as the theme song for a Disneyland rollercoaster in the ‘90s.
- Weird Al totally dug it
In the late ‘80s, Weird Al Yankovic teamed up with Wendy Carlos in a Grammy nominated album Peter and the Wolf: Carnival of the Animals – part II. Honouring the creatures Saint-Saens abandoned, the track listing features the iguana, vulture, aardvark, amoeba, cockroach and unicorn – among others.
- There’s a rhyme to go with
You’ll occasionally hear about a set of rhymes that accompanies the Carnival of the Animals, written by Ogden Nash (yes, real name) in 1949. In his poetic introduction to the musical work, Nash perceptively remarks: “Camille Saint-Saens was wracked with pains, when people addressed him as Saint-Saens. He held the human race to blame, because it could not pronounce his name. So, he turned with metronome and fife, to glorify other kinds of life.” This month’s Hobart performance features new poems by Tassie writer Bradley Trevor Greive.
See the Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra perform Camille Saint-Saens’ Carnival of the Animals in the Federation Concert Hall. Starts 6pm, March 23. Concert narrated by ABC’s Richard Morecroft. Tickets tso.com.au.
This story also features in Warp Magazine.
Image supplied.
