Orchestra, Organ (Fl1,
Fl2 , Fl3(Fl-picc), 2 Ob,
EnglHn, 2 clarinet,
clarinet-B, 2 bassoon,
bassoon-Co, Hn1, Hn2 ,
Hn3(chrom.), Hn4(chrom.),
3Trp, 3trombone, timpani,
Tr-Gr, Tri, Be, Org,
piano-4ms, 2 Violin,
Viola, Cello, Double
Bass) - Level 5
SKU:
BA.BA10303-01
Composed by Camille
Saint-Saens. Edited by
Michael Stegemann. This
edition: Edition of
selected works, Urtext
edition. Linen.
Saint-Saens, Camille.
Oevres instrumentales
completes I/3. Edition of
selected works, Score.
Opus 78. Duration 39
minutes. Baerenreiter
Verlag #BA10303_01.
Published by Baerenreiter
Verlag (BA.BA10303-01).
ISBN 9790006559503. 33
x 26 cm inches. Key: C
minor. Preface: Michael
Stegemann.
The
third symphony by Camille
Saint-Saens, known as the
Organ Symphony, is the
first publication in a
complete
historical-critical
edition of the French
composer's instrumental
works.
I gave
everything I was able to
give in this work. [...]
What I have done here I
will never be able to do
again.Camille Saint-Saens
was rightly proud of his
third Symphony in C minor
Op.78, dedicated to the
memory of Franz Liszt.
Called theOrgan
Symphonybecause of its
novel scoring, the work
was a commission from the
Philharmonic Society in
London, as was
Beethoven's Ninth, and
was premiered there on 19
May 1886. The first
performance in Paris
followed on 9 January
1887 and confirmed the
composer's reputation
asprobably the most
significant, and
certainly the most
independent French
symphonistof his time, as
Ludwig Finscher wrote in
MGG. In fact the work
remains the only one in
the history of that genre
in France to the present
day, composed a good half
century after the
Symphonie fantastique by
Hector Berlioz and a good
half century before
Olivier Messiaen's
Turangalila
Symphonie.
You
would think that such a
famous, much-performed
and much recorded opus
could not hold any more
secrets, but far from it:
in the first
historical-critical
edition of the Symphony,
numerous inconsistencies
and mistakes in the
Durand edition in general
use until now, have been
uncovered and corrected.
An examination and
evaluation of the sources
ranged from two early
sketches, now preserved
in Paris and Washington
(in which the Symphony
was still in B minor!)
via the autograph
manuscript and a set of
proofs corrected by
Saint-Saens himself, to
the first and subsequent
editions of the full
score and parts. The
versions for piano duet
(by Leon Roques) and for
two pianos (by the
composer himself) were
also consulted. Further
crucial information was
finally found in his
extensive correspondence,
encompassing thousands of
previously unpublished
letters. The discoveries
made in producing this
edition include the fact
that at its London
premiere, the Symphony
probably looked quite
different from its
present appearance
...
No less
exciting than the work
itself is the history of
its composition and
reception, which are
described in an extensive
foreword. With his
Symphony, Saint-Saens
entered right into the
dispute which divided
French musical life into
pro and contra Wagner in
the 1880s and 1890s. At
the same time, the work
succeeded in preserving
the balance between
tradition and modernism
in masterly fashion, as a
contemporary critic
stated:The C minor
Symphony by Saint-Saens
creates a bridge from the
past into the future,
from immortal richness to
progress, from ideas to
their
implementation.
On
19 March 1886 Saint-Saens
wrote to the London
Philharmonic Society,
which commissioned the
work:
Work on the
symphony is in full
swing. But I warn you, it
will be terrible. Here is
the precise
instrumentation: 3 flutes
/ 2 oboes / 1 cor anglais
/ 2 clarinets / 1 bass
clarinet / 2 bassoons / 1
contrabassoon / 2 natural
horns / [3 trumpets /
Saint-Saens had forgotten
these in his listing.] 2
chromatic horns / 3
trombones / 1 tuba / 3
timpani / organ / 1 piano
duet and the strings, of
course. Fortunately,
there are no harps.
Unfortunately it will be
difficult. I am doing
what I can to mitigate
the
difficulties.
As
in my 4th Concerto [for
piano] and my [1st]
Violin Sonata [in D minor
Op.75] at first glance
there appear to be just
two parts: the first
Allegro and the Adagio,
the Scherzo and the
Finale, each attacca.
This fiendish symphony
has crept up by a
semitone; it did not want
to stay in B minor, and
is now in C
minor.
It would be
a pleasure for me to
conduct this symphony.
Whether it would be a
pleasure for others to
hear it? That is the
question. It is you who
wanted it, I wash my
hands of it. I will bring
the orchestral parts
carefully corrected with
me, and if anyone wants
to give me a nice
rehearsal for the
symphony after the full
rehearsal, everything
will be fine.
When
Saint-Saens hit upon the
idea of adding an organ
and a piano to the usual
orchestral scoring is not
known. The idea of adding
an organ part to a
secular orchestral work
intended for the concert
hall was thoroughly novel
- and not without
controversy. On the other
hand, Franz Liszt, whose
music Saint-Saens'
Symphony is so close to,
had already demonstrated
that the organ could
easily be an orchestral
instrument in his
symphonic poem
Hunnenschlacht (1856/57).
There was also a model
for the piano duet part
which Saint-Saens knew
and may possibly have
used quite consciously as
an exemplar: theFantaisie
sur la Tempetefrom the
lyrical monodrama Lelio,
ou le retour a la Vie op.
14bis (1831) by Berlioz.
The name of the organist
at the premiere ist
unknown, as,
incidentally, was also
the case with many of the
later performances; the
organ part is indeed not
soloistic, but should be
understood as part of the
orchestral
texture.
In fact
the subsequent success of
the symphony seems to
have represented a kind
of breakthrough for the
composer, who was then
over 50 years of age.My
dear composer of a famous
symphony, wrote
Saint-Saens' friend and
pupil Gabriel Faure:You
will never be able to
imagine what a pleasure I
had last Sunday [at the
second performance on 16
January 1887]! And I had
the score and did not
miss a single note of
this Symphony, which will
endure much longer than
we two, even if we were
to join together our two
lifespans!
About
Barenreiter
Urtext
What can I
expect from a Barenreiter
Urtext
edition?<
/p>
MUSICOLOGICA
LLY SOUND
- A
reliable musical text
based on all available
sources
- A
description of the
sources
-
Information on the
genesis and history of
the work
- Valuable
notes on performance
practice
- Includes
an introduction with
critical commentary
explaining source
discrepancies and
editorial decisions
... AND
PRACTICAL
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Page-turns, fold-out
pages, and cues where you
need them
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well-presented layout and
a user-friendly
format
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print quality
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Superior paper and
binding
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