Camille Saint-Saëns: An under appreciated master.
Throughout musical history, French composers have made revolutionary developments in music that has affected how we listen and understand music today. French classical musicians have given birth to impressionism in music with notable works of Claude Debussy and Maurice Ravel. Along with impressionistic works, French classical musicians have made excellent pedagogical writing, such as Hector Berlioz’s essays on conducting that helped create the modern-day orchestra1 . While there are many great French musicians, the influence and work of Saint-Saëns have made him the most prominent French composer of the 19th century. His more notable works, such as Dance Macabre, Rondo et Capriccio, and The Carnival of the Animals, all show a master of craft but his Symphony No. 3 (“Organ”) is his greatest masterpiece.
This symphony is written officially in two movements. However, it does follow the traditional four-movement structure. The first movement, in particular, follows a loose sonata form. Saint-Saëns uses cyclic form and thematic transformation as the primary compositional techniques that unify and develop the symphony. The symphony is scored for an orchestra consisting of:
3 flutes (3rd flute doubling piccolo) 2 Oboes
English Horn
2 Clarinets in Bb
Bass Clarinet in Bb 2 Bassoons Contrabassoon
2 Horns in C, Eb, E 2 Horns in F
2 Trumpets in F Trumpet in C
3 Trombones Tuba
Timpani
Triangle
Cymbals & Bass Drum
Organ
Piano (2 and 4 hands)
Violins 1, 2 Violas Cellos Basses
The first movement outlines a traditional exposition section in a Sonata-Allegro form. The opening introduces an unusual chord progression. The first chord progression we hear in the opening adagio is a D-flat major triad in the first inversion, F minor triad, B diminished chord (♭II6 - iv - vii0 ). The strings outline the progression while the oboe introduces the first bit of thematic material. The D-flat chord has a half step related to the tonic note C. This relationship will later become important in the symphony.
Several instruments share this Thematic material in the orchestra, where the upright bassist pizzicato leads directly to the tonic. Another bit of thematic material is introduced and thus begins the first theme at the Allegro Moderato.
This rhythmic characteristic at the start of the Allegro continues throughout the movement. The introductory material is still passed around in the orchestra against this subject until we get to the woodwinds theme’s first modulation.
This transmutation of theme I leads us right into theme II. This theme is much more laid back and lyrical than the first theme.
After a brief development, both themes are sounding against each other, modulate to the key of F major where we have a strong unison of theme II. The second transformation of the theme I is now introduced but in the major mode, which changes the character to be restless and playful. This marks the end of the exposition section and starts the development with no repeat and no double bar. The development begins in F major with another transformation of the theme I.
The strings continue this rhythmic pattern as the woodwinds loosely recall the opening bars of the introduction. After a modulation to D-flat minor, SSaint-Saëns reintroduces some material from the exposition as a motive for the development. This motive is first heard in D flat minor but is repeated in D-flat major and alternates between the two freely throughout the development. The third appearance of this motive is in E-flat major.
This pattern will be interrupted by an assertion of theme I. This helps set up the modulation back to C minor.
Despite this exclamation, the motive continues to be developed until a key change back to C minor. Once in C minor, the music reaches the dominant of C minor, where it marks the beginning of the retransition by the use of scales and a dominant pedal point.
Here at the recapitulation theme I returns in full force by being marked sempre fortissimo. As the string repeats the opening measures, a counter melody is heard in the woodwinds.
Here SSaint-Saëns shorts the recapitulation by not including the theme I’s repetitions and using less of the development motive. With the lack of a theme II in the recapitulation, Saint-Saëns chose to expand on theme I by modulations. As in the exposition, we move to A-flat major. Instead of moving to D-flat major, we pass through B minor. The harmonic motion progresses diatonically through A minor and G major before settling on F major, where Theme II is now reintroduced. Theme II is then repeated in E major.
After this brief theme II section, Saint-Saëns doesn’t include a transition or a transmutation but moves right to a coda. The coda stays in E major but uses the same transformation of theme I that was found earlier in F major.
Saint-Saëns again quotes from the opening Adagio with the upright basses playing a modified version of their transition that concludes the first movement and sets us up for the start of movement two.
In the second movement, Adagio opens with the organ a half step higher than the last note we heard previously from the upright bassist. This symphony should not be mistaken for a symphony with an organ solo. In this symphony, the organ is part of the orchestral texture and brings a color not often heard in the orchestra. Saint-Saëns did not write any registration for this piece, nor is there any record of the organ at St. James Hall where this symphony was first premiered. As an organist for the Madeleine for twenty years, that organ was the instrument he played the most. Using that organ1 1 as a guide for the type of organ sounds known to France and known specifically to Saint-Saëns, we can speculate on the color that he might have chosen for the premier. The Adagio is in an ABA form and begins with the organ accompanying a simple violin melody. This melodic theme is twelve measures long and divided into three phrases that are four bars long. In bar nine, Saint-Saëns writes a crescendo to a subito pianissimo at the climax of the melody. This is a very expressive moment early into the movement that shows Saint-Saëns discipline in his composing that he felt other composers at the time had lost.
This choice in register and dynamics in the orchestra suggests that the organ’s registration will be supportive and have a warm color. This is achieved by a principle diapason stop, which is the characteristic organ sound with a non transposing flute stop. The last two measures of the melody serve as a place for the melody to repeat. This second appearance of the theme is scored for clarinet, horn in F, trombone, and divisi strings. This is mimicking the polyphony heard in the organ accompaniment with a slightly different color. This time the last two measures serve as a transition to a second melodic idea. This second theme begins on the dominant (A-flat) and is a ten measure phrase divided into four and six phrases.
This theme is then repeated in the woodwinds and brass while the strings imitate the music a fifth higher a measure behind them: the organ and upright bassist supply harmonic support.
The B section starts with a variation of the first theme that is written like a two-part invention. This variation continues most of the original pitches but is hidden by rhythmic displacement.
The last five measures abandon the theme and after a crescendo cadence in D-flat major. This variation is followed by transforming the main theme found in the first movement played pizzicato by the upright basses.
This theme is followed by a chord progression that leads from D-flat to E minor. This theme continues and is stated two more times, each time a minor third higher than the last. Saint-Saëns contrast this motion by descending minor thirds suspensions in the organ. A triplet feel and dissonant harmonies characterize the next passage. The harmonies begin with C-flat major (or B major depending on edition) and ascend in a pattern of minor thirds, B major, D major, F major, A-flat major, D-flat major.
Theme one is heard again with the organ providing harmonic structure while the strings are divided equally into parts, with half of them doubling the melody in octaves. In contrast, the other half continues with the triplet accompaniment pizzicato.
The theme continues as before, but there is no longer a subito piano. Instead, the melody builds by ascending sequences until it climaxes and sustains the intensity until a diminuendo returns peacefully to D-flat major. There is a codetta that alternatives a D-flat chord and E minor chords. This concludes the first part of the symphony.
Part two consists of a scherzo in C minor and a Finale in C major. The Scherzo begins with a phrase in compound meter scored for violins and violas in unison. The rhythm is very reminiscent of Danse Macabre.
The timpani (tuned in G, C, and F) accents the phrase’s end, which is repeated before the second phrase. The second phrase repeats the last eight bars but is scored for cellos, oboe, and clarinet, and transformers the first theme from the first movement.
Now the scherzo’s main theme appears in C major, but the second half of the theme is raised a half step so that it cadences on an A-flat major chord rather than the G major chord, which previously functioned as the dominant chord. The theme is then repeated in D-flat minor written enharmonically as C-sharp minor. The woodwinds repeat the transformed theme as the harmonic progression ascends chromatically from A major to B. B is the root of a diminished seventh chord, which acts as the return to C as the tonic. The strings play until the end of the first section while the woodwinds continue with a syncopated figure based on the transformed theme. The string still in unison ascend while the woodwinds move in contrary motion. The woodwind’s rhythmic pace increases as the strings descend in scale fashion, starting on E-flat. Four bars later, they descend again, spanning two octaves from G to G. This leads directly into the Presto, where a C major triad simultaneously concludes the scherzo and begins the presto.
The melodic line fits into a group of four notes repeated three times or three notes repeated four times. Saint-Saëns accompanies the theme with scales and arpeggios on the piano. This typically seems like a roll that is often given to the harp or perhaps a celeste. This is another way this symphony was a masterpiece; it incorporated two keyboard instruments in a non-solo function. The second half of the theme introduces a syncopated figure for the woodwinds and a descending scale in the lower strings in contrary motion to the piano.
This is followed by two transition measures, which alternate between A-natural and A-flats in the first violins. This changes the tonality of the chord going back and forth between F major and F minor. The theme repeats but with an alternation that shifts towards E minor/major in the second half. The violins alternate between the minor and major third of the triad again but lead the progression a fourth higher. After a transition and modulation of the same material, we have a fugal section in the strings. This section modulates to E-flat major and where the trumpets resume the presto theme. The strings and piano again move in contrary motion until a cadence on E-flat. The next four measures transition us to A-flat major, where different elements of the movement are presented. This time, the bassoons and clarinet show the presto theme, but the theme is presented a step lower in the cellos and basses in the following measure.
Here in A-flat major, a new theme is presented by the strings against a dominant pedal point.
The theme is repeated in triplets where the harmonic progress descendants from E-flat to A-flat major. A new progression ascends in thirds; D-flat, F, A-flat, B, D. This is a set up for a key change to G major where the theme is repeated where the strings have the dominant pedal point while the woodwinds have the melody in thirds.
The use of a triangle notably enhances this episode. The piano enters again as the strings descend a three-octave G chromatic scale. This serves as a retransition back to the Scherzo.
The Scherzo is a literal repetition until the end of the presto. Instead of ending on c minor, the harmonic progression shifts and cadences on an A-flat major where the presto returns abridged and altered.
This serves as a coda that will lead us to the finale. This section’s main alteration is a canon at the unison, which is scored heavily for the bass clarinet, contrabassoon, third trombone, tuba, cellos, and upright basses.
The canon is interjected by the Scherzo theme, evolves into a fugue, and resolves on an E-flat major chord where the theme from the first movement is introduced again by upright basses.
From this pedal G, the harmonic progression shifts to a G major chord, which acts as the dominant of the new key at the start of the Finale.
The finale starts with an eight-bar introduction with the organ, strings, and woodwinds. As implied by the dynamics, tempo, and by being the Finale of the symphony, the organ here will have a much brighter forward sound in its registration. This would include brass stops such a Bombarde and Trompette and reed stops to create a triumphant sound. This introduction will use the canon motive but at a much quicker speed.
Following the introduction, the first movement’s theme is introduced in the major mode in a chorale style in the strings. The hymn is divided into four phrases that are two measures in length. The first measure is in 9/4, while the second measure is in 6/4. The hymn is accompanied by an arpeggiated four-hand figure in the piano, which is very reminiscent of the Aquarium movement or perhaps the Swan from Saint-Saëns’s Le Carnaval des Animaux. The timpani and organ provide power to the end of every phrase.
The hymn is then repeated and transformed fortissimo instead of piano, and the orchestration changes. The organ sustains the chorale melody while the strings double it with double stops. Fanfare in the brass section now supports the end of each phrase. This concludes the introduction and leads directly into the Allegro. The final movement is in a loose sonata-allegro form. The Allegro begins with a fugue with a subject taken from the main theme of the first movement.
There are four voices in total and an alternative between the fifth and the unison. The fugue ends on an F major chord followed by a transition to the second theme in B major. The second theme is introduced by the Oboe and is lyrical.
A dominant pedal is held throughout this first iteration of the theme. The first violins echo the theme a measure later, while the second violins and violas fill in the harmony in triplets. The theme is then repeated a minor third higher in D major. After this repetition, the entire passage is presented in D major, which is the dominant of our new tonic G. The timpani and horn mimic the rhythm of the fugue where we cadence in G minor. The development begins in G minor where the cellos play the main theme over a tonic pedal while the violas enter in two measures later a minor sixth higher. The violins add a third and fourth voice to these fugal phrases until the strings descend in a pattern that outlines a diminished seventh chord on G. At the same time, the woodwinds ascend chromatically in contrary motion.
In A-flat minor, the passage is repeated and then modules up a half step to A-minor. This begins a contrapuntal passage where the strings continue with the fugue subject while the tuba and first trombone introduce the canon from the Scherzo.
The texture thickens with the horn and trumpets’ addition, followed by the woodwinds until the development cadences on an E-flat chord. Here another transformation of the main theme is introduced in the strings while the woodwinds create a dominant pedal on B-flat.
This transformation repeats in unison in the violins, violas, and cellos, followed by a whole step modulation to F major, where the theme is repeated. Still, this time the strings create a dominant pedal on C while the woodwinds double the organ with the theme. Saint-Saëns then transitions in a short passage to A major and E major. This serves as a recapitulation by bringing us back to B major, but instead of functioning as the tonic, it is now functioning as the dominant in E major. The passage alternates between E major and G major with an extension to the theme before being presented again in C major, alternating with E-flat major. The development and canon are briefly revisited before a coda beginning in A-flat major. The coda introduces a final transformation of the first theme in the violins. The first theme appears three bars later in the trombones, cellos, and basses. The woodwinds repeat the theme in the minor mode in response.
This is then repeated a whole step higher before the rhythm of the harmonic progression is doubled. A stringendo occurs and leads to a Piu Allegro followed by another stringendo over a dominant pedal. The first violins descend in a diatonic progression that goes through the first five modes.
This leads to a coda like section that moves between the dominant in the tonic while the organ holds out the tonic C major chord until the full orchestra cadences with the organ.
Saint-Saëns was a man who lived in breathed music in a way that any aspiring composer would love to experience. The skillset and knowledge acquired during his lifetime give him the ability to express himself musically in ways some composers never achieved. Saint-Saëns never allowed himself to be content with his knowledge throughout his life and always strived to push his limitations. Despite his lack of interest in musical trends that were developing at the start of the 20th century, Saint-Saëns remained relevant and valuable to the music community up until the time of his death. I genuinely believe he is an underappreciated composer who’s catalog of works rivals any other romantic composer. Saint-Saëns might be a neoclassical composer, but his love of form and structure is precisely what makes him a great composer. Saint-Saëns teaches us that despite the exhaustion of tonality and forms of the past, there is still an endless world of possibilities within these forms and structures.
