Composer: Camille Saint-Saëns
Performer: Ensemble Le Déluge, Laurent Wagschal
Number of Discs: 3
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Ad Vitam
Release: 2021
Size: 3.2 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
CD 01
Cello Sonata No. 1 in C minor Op. 32
01. I. Allegro
02. II. Andante tranquillo e sostenuto
03. III. Allegro moderato
Violin Sonata No. 1 in D minor, Op. 75
04. Ia. Allegro agitato
05. Ib. Adagio
06. IIa. Allegretto moderato
07. IIb. Allegro molto
08. Romance in F major, Op. 36
09. Allegro Appassionato in B minor Op. 43
Sarabande et Rigaudon, Op. 93
10. I. Sarabande
11. II. Rigaudon
12. Le Cygne (from Le carnaval des animaux)
13. Suite for Cello & Piano, Op. 16
Prélude to Le Deluge Op. 45
14. I. Adagio – Andante sostenuto (Arr. pour violoncelle et piano)
15. II. Andantino (Arr. pour violoncelle et piano)
CD 02
Violin Sonata No. 2 in E flat major, Op. 102
01. I. Poco allegro più tosto moderato
02. II. Scherzo vivace
03. III. Andante
04. IV. Allegro grazioso non presto
05. Berceuse in B flat major Op. 38
06. Romance, Op. 51
07. Chant saphique, Op. 91
08. Elégie, Op. 160
Cello Sonata No. 2 in F major Op. 123
09. I. Maestoso, largamente
10. II. Scherzo con Variazioni
11. III. Romanza
12. IV. Allegro non troppo, grazioso
CD 03
Cello Sonata No. 3 op. posth. (unfinished in D major)
01. I. Allegro animato
02. II. Andante sostenuto
Triptyque Op. 136
03. I. Prémice
04. II. Vision congolaise
05. III. Joyeuseté
06. Méditation
Suite for Cello & Piano, Op. 16
07. I. Prélude
08. II. Sérénade
09. III. Scherzo
10. IV. Romance
11. V. Final
12. Elégie, Op. 143
13. L’air de la pendule
14. Prière for cello & piano, Op. 158
Though chamber music is incontestably the least well-known component of his corpus, Camille Saint-Saëns was a master of the genre, leaving us with a large collection of works. We may think of Saint-Saëns as a conservative and very academic composer. And yet, we would be well advised to remember that he was, in fact, a pioneer. Even as a young man, Saint-Saëns delved into chamber music instead of opera, the conventional form for an up-and-coming musician. He composed chamber music throughout his life – through to the final woodwind sonatas in 1921 – restoring lustre to the form which, in France, had been all but forgotten. A driving force in the 19th century movement to reinvigorate the French school, Saint-Saëns paved the way for an entire generation of French musicians. This included his student Gabriel Fauré, who would go on to make an important contribution to the chamber music repertoire himself. These works embody the essence of Saint-Saëns’ composition: his lifelong and unyielding quest for perfection in form, and quality of the melodic line. It is fair to call Saint-Saëns a natural-born melodist, a true aesthete devoted to endowing a phrase with purity and beauty.
In 2021, what better way to celebrate the centennial of the composer’s death than to discover (or rediscover) this unfairly forgotten repertoire? For this recording of Saint-Saëns’ complete works for strings and piano – the first of its kind – I was joined by chamber musicians with a passion for rare music. In addition to the violin and cello duets that we are pleased to present in this first volume, two trios, two quartets and a quintet for piano were also composed.
Le Déluge Ensemble was founded in 2019 for this venture. Our name was inspired by Saint-Saëns’ homonymous oratorio and the radiant violin solo in the prelude that depicts the golden age of humanity. A version for piano written by the composer can be heard on this recording.