Cyprès et lauriers

Cyprès et Lauriers, Op. 156, for Organ and Orchestra was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1919 to celebrate the Allied victory in World War I^[1]^[2] and dedicated to then President of France, Raymond Poincaré.^[2]

Structure

The composition is structured in two movements:

Cyprès (Poco adagio)
Lauriers (Allegro non troppo)

Lasting not quite twenty minutes, the piece is program music divided into two parts. The first, "cyprès" ("cypress"), is a mournful dirge adagio for organ solo, recalling a mournful cypress. Once the orchestra makes its entrance, there is an uplifting and sprightly interplay between the organ and orchestra, reminiscent of a militaristic march (hence the "lauriers", or "laurels") that makes liberal use of brass and a large percussion band (unusually including a snare drum).

Video Example

Saint-Saëns Cyprès et Lauriers Op. 156, performed by an unidentified ensemble on YouTube.

"I. Cyprès". Youtube. October 18, 2012. Retrieved May 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)
"II. Lauriers". Youtube. October 18, 2012. Retrieved May 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

Reception

One of Saint-Saëns' more unusual compositions, this piece has not secured the same status as his Third Symphony, written for similar ensemble 31 years earlier. This might be because Cyprès et Lauriers is shorter and markedly less profound and sweeping nature than its predecessor. The instrumentation bears note: whereas the Third Symphony was written with the organ incorporated as a member of the orchestral ensemble, something that would bear repetition (most famously in Richard Strauss's Also sprach Zarathustra), Cyprès et Lauriers is structured in traditional concerto form with the organ as soloist.

References

Notes

^ (Delcamp 2005)
^ ^a ^b (Fulcher 2005, pp. 90–91)

Sources

Delcamp, Robert (2005). "Liner Notes to Naxos 8.557285". Naxos Records. Retrieved May 2013. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)
Fulcher, Jane F. (2005). The Composer As Intellectual : Music and Ideology in France, 1914–1940. Oxford University Press.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: ref duplicates default (link)

External links

Cyprès et lauriers, Op.156 (Saint-Saëns, Camille): Scores at the International Music Score Library Project

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[Delcamp-1] (Delcamp 2005)

[Fulcher90-2] (Fulcher 2005, pp. 90–91)

[1]

[2]