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STEREO SRI 75003
(goldenJmports
SAINT-SAENS
SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR, OP. 78
“ORGAN”
Side 1:
SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR, OP. 78 “ORGAN”
Allegro non troppo.19:26
Side 2:
SYMPHONY NO. 3 IN C MINOR, OP. 78 “ORGAN”
Allegro moderato.14:38
MARCEL DUPRE, Organ
PAUL PARAY, Conductor
DETROIT SYMPHONY ORCHESTRA
Little could Berlioz have known, when he adjudged the
thirtyish Saint-Saens “one of the greatest musicians of our
epoch,” that this 1867 appraisal would be current to the
present day.
Charles Camille Saint-Saens was born in Paris on October
9th, 1835. He died at Algiers on December 16th, 1921.
Since he began composing in earnest at the age of six and
was still composing at the end, it is probably safe to say
that he enjoyed the longest creative life in all music
history. Also, as implied, it was among the most prolific.
The wonder of it is that this remarkable man at no time
confined his energies to the tonal art. Like Dr. Johnson's
“hungry Monsieur,” to borrow a simile from Philip Hale,
Saint-Saens was accomplished in astronomy, archaeology,
anthropology, mathematics. He was a gifted caricaturist.
His prose was a model of style'.
Saint-Saens clearly was a musician of at least two
dimensions. More than most of his contemporaries he
hewed out the path to the future in that he was never
reluctant to champion the causes of youth (Debussy
excepted), no matter how abhorrent to him their music
might have been. And yet in his works, as Rolland
observed with a touch of irony, there shines through
nothing if not a clear vision of the past.
The foregoing generalities are applicable to the
Symphony no. 3 in C minor , Opus 78, which was
commissioned by the London Philharmonic Society and
presented in premiere by that organization, the composer
himself conducting, on May 19th, 1886. It is not
irrelevant to note that Marcel Dupre, who is the featured
soloist in this recording, was born in the same month of
the same year. A few seasons later, in the apprentice stage
of his fantastic career as a child prodigy, M. Dupre on one
occasion pulled the stops for Saint-Saens during a
performance in which the maitre himself played the
important organ solo.
The composer was to leave us these third-person insights
into the genesis of the work: “Like the Fourth Piano
Concerto and the First Sonata for violin and piano, this
symphony is divided into two parts. Nevertheless, the
symphony embraces in principle the four traditional
movements, but the first, halted in its development,
serves as the introduction to the Adagio, and the scherzo
is left by the same process for the finale. The composer
has looked for a means of avoiding, to a certain extent,
the interminable reprises and repetitions which are
leading to the disappearance of instrumental music.” (This
sentence may be interpreted as a caustic allusion to the
Impressionists.)
Again in the third person, Saint-Saens explained that the
“composer, thinking that the moment has come for the
symphony to benefit from the progress of modern
instrumentation, has made up his orchestra in the
following fashion: 3 flutes, 2 oboes, 1 English horn, 2
clarinets, 1 bass clarinet, 2 bassoons, 1 contrabassoon, 4
horns, 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 1 tuba, 3 kettledrums, an
organ, a piano (played at times with two hands, at other
times with four), 1 triangle, 1 pair of cymbals, a bass
drum, and the customary quartet of strings.”
One cannot say what it was in this complement that
seemed so novel to Saint-Saens. It must have been the
mingling of the keyboard instruments, both of which had
been enlisted before, but of course singly. Berlioz and
Liszt were the only two who had used them as elements
of the orchestra. It is to Liszt, incidentally, that this score
is dedicated. Presumably this was an unpremeditated
memorial tribute, the renowned innovator having died
shortly before the symphony went to press. The critic
Jean Chantavoine, however, concluded that this
inscription represented a disciple’s profession of faith in
his master — Saint-Saens having applied in the
symphony “the generalized principle of the variation that
Liszt adopted in his symphonic poems and his sonatas,”
as Chantavoine put it. It is difficult to accept this likening
of cyclic mutation to sonata form.
So very rarely are we able to say that an analysis bears the
full approval of the composer that it would be
inappropriate to attempt any improvement on the
following paragraphs prepared by Saint-Saens himself for
the London premiere:
“After an introduction Adagio of a few plaintive measures
the string quartet exposes the initial theme, which is
sombre and agitated (Allegro moderato). The first
transformation of this theme leads to a second motive,
which is distinguished by greater tranquility; after a short
development, in which the two themes are presented
simultaneously, the motive appears in a characteristic
form, for full orchestra, but only for a short time. A
second transformation of the initial theme includes now
and then the plaintive notes of the Introduction. Varied
episodes bring gradual calm, and thus prepare the Adagio
in D flat. The extremely peaceful and contemplative
theme is given to the violins, violas, and violoncellos,
which are supported by organ chords. After a variation (in
arabesques) performed by the violins, the second
transformation of the initial theme of the Allegro appears
again, and brings with it a vague feeling of unrest, which
is enlarged by dissonant harmonies. These soon give way
to the theme of the Adagio. This first movement ends in
a Coda of mystical character, in which are heard
alternately the chords of D flat and E minor.
“The second movement begins with an energetic phrase
(Allegro moderato ), which is followed immediately by a
third transformation of the initial theme in the first
movement, more agitated than it was before, and into
which enters a fantastic spirit that is frankly disclosed in
the Presto. Here arpeggios and scales, swift as lightning,
on the pianoforte are accompanied by the syncopated
rhythm of the orchestra, and each time they are in a
different tonality (F,E,E flat,G). The repetition of the
Allegro moderato is followed by a second Presto; but
scarcely has it begun before a new theme is heard, grave,
austere (trombone, tuba, double basses), strongly
contrasted with the fantastic music. There is a struggle for
the mastery, and this struggle ends in the defeat of the
restless, diabolical element. The new phrase rises to
orchestral heights, and rests there as in the s blue of a clear
sky. After a vague reminiscence of the initial theme of the
first movement, a Maestoso in C major announces the
approaching triumph of the calm and lofty thought. The
initial theme of the first movement, wholly transformed,
is now exposed by divided strings and the pianoforte (four
hands), and repeated by the organ with the full strength
of the orchestra. A brilliant Coda, in which the initial
theme by a last transformation takes the form of a violin
figure, ends the work.”
Notes by James Lyons
OTHER MERCURY GOLDEN IMPORTS:
TCHAIKOVSKY:
1812 FESTIVAL OVERTURE;
CAPRICCIO ITALIEN, OP. 45
Minneapolis Symphony Orchestra/Antal Dorati
SRI 75001
BARTOK:
VIOLIN CONCERTO NO. 2 (1938)
Yehudi Menuhin, violin; Minneapolis Symphony
Orchestra/Antal Dorati SRI 75002
HANDEL-HARTY:
WATER MUSIC SUITE;
MUSIC FOR THE ROYAL FIREWORKS
London Symphony Orchestra/Antal Dorati SRI 75005
FRANCK:
PIECE HfiROIQUE; CHORALES NOS. 1-3
Marcel Dupre, organ at St. Thomas’ Church, New York
City SRI 75006
RESPIGHI:
ANCIENT AIRS AND DANCES
Philharmonia Hungarica/Antal Dorati SRI 75009
LISZT:
ENESCO:
HUNGARIAN RHAPSODIES NOS. 2 & 3
TWO ROUMANIAN RHAPSODIES, OP. 11
London Symphony Orchestra/Antal Dorati SRI 75018
AN EVENING WITH THE ROMEROS
Celedonio, Pepe, Celin & Angel Romero SRI 75022
This modern record can be played with every modern light-weight pick-up. The stereo sound, however, is reproduced only when stereo equipment is used.
Printed in The Netherlands
Previously released by Mercury Records as SR 90012 and SR 90331
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