A Favorite Piece : Le Cygne (The Swan) - Camille Saint-Saëns
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[media=https://youtu.be/LDUKcv2wEy0]
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bijouxbroussard · F
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@bijouxbroussard
Isn't it ? One of his best works I would say. I also love another of his which I shall make another post about. Indeed, Le Cygne is amazing!☺
Isn't it ? One of his best works I would say. I also love another of his which I shall make another post about. Indeed, Le Cygne is amazing!☺
bijouxbroussard · F
@BlueGreenGrey Yes ! That’s my favorite of the suite…it’s even been arranged as a choral piece, "Lacrymosa":
[media=https://youtu.be/BveCwQSu-_w]
[media=https://youtu.be/BveCwQSu-_w]
BlueGreenGrey · M
@bijouxbroussard ohh that is nice too, I love choral pieces!
BlueGreenGrey · M
It is interesting that this is the only movement from The Carnival of the Animals that Saint-Saëns allowed to be played in public during his lifetime, ponderously thinking the rest were too frivolous for his reputation
Thinking of how short the Carnival is over all and how many movements it is divided into within that short span, it was initially tempting for me to think of each movement as sort of an aural equivalent to haiku, but perhaps that isn't an apt comparison, as even here with "The Swan" there is a fair amount of complexity (by the same token, that is not to imply that haikus themselves do not encapsulate complexity with a veneer of simplicity ... but I am digressing ....)
The last few piano notes after 2:50 do make me think of trickling or streaming water, but I have seen it also proposed that the represent the feet of the swan paddling beneath the water
It is compelling how Saint-Saëns can set his sights on depicting the ancient "swan song" myth and then just take a few simple cello notes and instantly evoke sadness and nostalgia ... it is amazing to me how these notes seems to automatically register in our minds with certain immediate connotations, it makes me wonder if this happens immediately from birth, in any culture around the world, before we ever pick up the biasess of any other humans in our orbit as we mature, if we are genetically hard-wired for these notes to consistently evoke the specific emotions they ellicit
Thinking of how short the Carnival is over all and how many movements it is divided into within that short span, it was initially tempting for me to think of each movement as sort of an aural equivalent to haiku, but perhaps that isn't an apt comparison, as even here with "The Swan" there is a fair amount of complexity (by the same token, that is not to imply that haikus themselves do not encapsulate complexity with a veneer of simplicity ... but I am digressing ....)
The last few piano notes after 2:50 do make me think of trickling or streaming water, but I have seen it also proposed that the represent the feet of the swan paddling beneath the water
It is compelling how Saint-Saëns can set his sights on depicting the ancient "swan song" myth and then just take a few simple cello notes and instantly evoke sadness and nostalgia ... it is amazing to me how these notes seems to automatically register in our minds with certain immediate connotations, it makes me wonder if this happens immediately from birth, in any culture around the world, before we ever pick up the biasess of any other humans in our orbit as we mature, if we are genetically hard-wired for these notes to consistently evoke the specific emotions they ellicit
@BlueGreenGrey
As a perfectionist, Saint-Saëns was very careful about his reputation, abhorring any possibility of his work not being taken seriously.
Haiku's may seem simple but they are not simple and rather complex in the context of creating poetry that must adhere to strict and specific rules, they must be brief/concise and comprehensible.
I do believe that was intentional to give an auricular sensation of water.
Ahhh yes, the proverbial swan song, ''a song of great sweetness said to be sung by a dying swan; a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement''. Something one comes to expect in great works as if to want closure, to bring the whole thing to a full circle...not giving way to any part twos or part threes. One's mind sometimes register that which is directly related to one's circumstances and past experiences...those that orbit around us are but a minor factor, in the greater scheme of things😊
As a perfectionist, Saint-Saëns was very careful about his reputation, abhorring any possibility of his work not being taken seriously.
Haiku's may seem simple but they are not simple and rather complex in the context of creating poetry that must adhere to strict and specific rules, they must be brief/concise and comprehensible.
I do believe that was intentional to give an auricular sensation of water.
Ahhh yes, the proverbial swan song, ''a song of great sweetness said to be sung by a dying swan; a farewell appearance or final act or pronouncement''. Something one comes to expect in great works as if to want closure, to bring the whole thing to a full circle...not giving way to any part twos or part threes. One's mind sometimes register that which is directly related to one's circumstances and past experiences...those that orbit around us are but a minor factor, in the greater scheme of things😊