Nineteenth-century French composer Camille Saint-Saëns wrote The Carnival of the Animals in 1886 for a small, mixed ensemble with two pianos. Saint-Saëns’ grand zoological fantasy, light- heartedness and humor, as well as his impeccable compositional skills and colorful orchestration can all be found in this work. The fourteen movements were originally intended for private performances. It was not until his friends begged him to publish at least a portion of the work that Saint-Saëns allowed one movement to be used as a solo piece: The Swan. He also agreed the entire work could be published after his death.

This cello quartet arrangement of The Swan is transcribed from the composer’s cello-piano version (1887) of the movement (originally for cello solo and two pianos). The original cello part is kept intact in Cello 1. Dashed slurs are suggested markings added by the arranger, as different from the original, solid slurs by the composer. The piano left-hand part is entirely covered by Cello 4, whereas the piano right-hand part is jointly covered by Cello 2 and Cello 3. Except for the high passages towards the end where the accompaniment parts have been brought an octave lower, the music has been basically kept in the original register. Slurs have been added to Cello 2, 3 and 4 parts to reflect the sustained sound from piano pedaling. Fingering and bowing suggestions from the arranger are included in all four parts as well. 

-Ka-Wai Yu

Click below to watch a performance of Ka-Wai Yu's arrangement of The Swan by Saint-Saëns for cello quartet, performed at the 2020 Dixie State University Cello Festival.