Camille Saint-Saëns was something of an anomaly among
French composers of the nineteenth century in that he
wrote in virtually all genres, including opera,
symphonies, concertos, songs, sacred and secular choral
music, solo piano, and chamber music. He was generally
not a pioneer, though he did help to revive some
earlier and largely forgotten dance forms, like the
bourée and gavotte. He was a conservative who wrote
many popular scores scattered throughout the various
genres: the Piano Concert...(+)
Camille Saint-Saëns was something of an anomaly among
French composers of the nineteenth century in that he
wrote in virtually all genres, including opera,
symphonies, concertos, songs, sacred and secular choral
music, solo piano, and chamber music. He was generally
not a pioneer, though he did help to revive some
earlier and largely forgotten dance forms, like the
bourée and gavotte. He was a conservative who wrote
many popular scores scattered throughout the various
genres: the Piano Concerto No. 2, Symphony No. 3
("Organ"), the symphonic poem Danse macabre, the opera
Samson et Dalila, and probably his most widely
performed work, The Carnival of The Animals. While he
remained a composer closely tied to tradition and
traditional forms in his later years, he did develop a
more arid style, less colorful and, in the end, less
appealing. He was also a poet and playwright of some
distinction.
Composed on La Palma in April 1890, the Valse canariote
by Camille Saint-Saëns was dedicated to Mademoiselle
Candelaria Navarro Sigala (1870-1945), a young pianist
from one of the wealthiest families in the Canary
Islands. Before introducing the actual waltz rhythm,
the work begins with a solemn, slow introduction in
common time above which the composer has noted “O
Canaria! Gran Canaria!”. This leads into the first
waltz section marked vivace. With six melodic sections
alternating in irregular sequences and a varied
harmonic trajectory (Aminor, C major, A major, F major,
E major, E flat major, B major, G major), this waltz is
undoubtedly the composer’s most sophisticated work in
this genre. According to Sabina Teller Ratner,
Saint-Saëns’ melodic writing in this piece shows, as
often in his work, a liking for symmetry and balance.
Four years after the composition of the Valse
canariote, Camille Saint-Saëns wrote to his publisher,
Durand: “I met up again with Señorita Candelaria
Navarro who is married, extremely well married at that,
and mother to a pretty little girl of two months; she
played my waltz in an entirely satisfactory fashion,
although it didn’t equal the marvellous performance
by Madame de Guitaut; she has neglected her piano a
great deal since she married, but she has started
singing instead, and her voice is mellow and
agreeable.” (10 January 1894).
Source: Bru Zane Mediabase
(http://www.bruzanemediabase.com/eng/Works/Valse-canari
ote-op.-88-Camille-Saint-Saens/(offset)/1403).
Although originally composed for piano, I created this
interpretation of the "Valse Canariote" (Canary Island
Waltz) in A Minor (Op. 88) for String Quartet (2
Violins, Viola & Cello).
