Cyprès et Lauriers, Op. 156, for Organ and Orchestra
was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1919, two years
before the composer's death. An unusual work, it is a
memorial for the casualties of World War I.
Lasting not quite twenty minutes, the entire piece is
program music divided into two parts, each
corresponding to a section of the title. The first
(this) part, which corresponds to 'cyprès' (literally
'cypress') is a long, mournful adagio for organ solo in
the manner of a dirge, re...(+)
Cyprès et Lauriers, Op. 156, for Organ and Orchestra
was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1919, two years
before the composer's death. An unusual work, it is a
memorial for the casualties of World War I.
Lasting not quite twenty minutes, the entire piece is
program music divided into two parts, each
corresponding to a section of the title. The first
(this) part, which corresponds to 'cyprès' (literally
'cypress') is a long, mournful adagio for organ solo in
the manner of a dirge, reminiscent of the weeping that
a cypress is often seen to embody.
One of Saint-Saëns' more (though by no means only)
unusual compositions, this piece has not secured the
same status in the classical canon as his more famous
Third Symphony, written for similar ensemble thirty-one
years earlier. This might be attributed to the fact
that Cyprès et Lauriers is of a much shorter duration
and markedly less profound and sweeping nature than its
predecessor.
At barely fifteen minutes, the work opens with (this) a
meandering organ solo which takes up the entire first
of the two movements. Although Saint-Saëns was not
taken with Impressionism, the organ seems to meander
among shapeless musings as a French zephyr might
meander among the cypress trees of the title. The
scoring becomes so sparse at several points only one or
two pedal tones are heard and it is thus the first
movement ends.
The instrumentation itself 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.
Although originally written for Organ, I created this
interpretation of "Cyprès" from "Cyprès et Lauriers"
(Op. 156 Mvt. 1) for String Quintet (2 Violins, Viola,
Cello and Bass).
SHEET MUSIC