CARNIVAL OF THE ANIMALS (score & parts)

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835-1921) originally wrote the Carnival of Animals for private use. He did not want the work to be published during his lifetime and indeed it was only performed once before he died. Nevertheless it was published in 1922 and it became very popular in various arrangements.
Texts have often been added to this work. In 1949 the American writer Ogden Nash wrote some humorous poems which have been used many times in performances and recordings. In the Netherlands Kees Stip composed quatrains (stanzas) on the various animals in 1962 and in 2005 Ivo de Wijs let his imagination run riot when making suitable texts for this musical zoo.
In 2008 Alard de Boer arranged five movements from The Carnival of Animals for the Groningen clarinet orchestra ‘Clarinets Unlimited’. Here follows an explanation:
The solo in ‘Éléphant’ - with an appropriately weighty theme - is intended for one player, hence contra-alto or contra-bass. The experienced listener will recognize here melodies by Berlioz and Mendelssohn.
‘Le coucou au fond du bois’ (The cuckoo in the depths of the wood): this nest-pirate certainly repeats her call - 21 times - but you cannot see her because the player is hidden outside the room. This solo is meant for 1 player (from part 1A or 1B).
The duet for 2 E flat clarinets in ‘Personages with long ears’ can also be played by only one player.
‘The Swan’ has become very popular, especially in the version for cello and piano. In 1907 the Russian choreographer Michel Fokine prepared a solo for the famous ballerina Anna Pavlova and this remains a firm favourite in the solo ballet repertoire.
‘Fossils’ contains a citation from Saint-Saëns own famous Danse Macabre. Other citations include music by Mozart (Ah, vous dirai-je maman) and Rossini (from the Barber of Seville). Mischief makers claim that Saint-Saëns wanted to ridicule some colleagues and this is perhaps the reason he resisted publication in his lifetime.
The parts 1A and 1B are identical throughout except in ‘The Swan’.

• Le Coucou au fond des bois
• Personnages a longues oreilles
• Le Cygne
• Fossiles

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