Saint-Saëns’s ‘Organ’ Symphony

Camille Saint‐Saëns, Symphony No. 3 in C minor

Royal Albert Hall

I decided to take today off work, using up the lieu day I have accrued from working the bank holiday on Monday. My parents take care of my niece on a Thursday, so I decide to spend the day with them. It's such a tonic being in the company of my nearly two-year-old niece, who is developing quickly now and repeating lots of words. As has become customary when I can get there mid-week, we go to Carr Farm in Meols, and I enjoy a coffee and sample one of their fantastic sweet treats! [today it was an Americano, and a chocolate-topped waffle with a Mars Bar on it. 3 scoops of vanilla ice cream.]. 

I am back home late-afternoon, and in time for the live broadcast of tonight's Prom on BBC Radio 3. I listen in the back kitchen while cooking. It's an all-French Prom tonight, but it's a mixed bag [or is it just me starting to struggle after listening to so many Proms?!]. For my own benefit, here is a snip of the running order taken from the BBC website:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/events/ej3wxj

First up it's the Bizet piece, and his is a name I have been taking note of over the last few days. I'm sure I heard a piece of his that I liked on Classic FM earlier today in the car, and was there something of his played at the CBeebies Prom the other day? Not too sure. Anyway, this L' Arlésienne is really interesting. The presenter tells us that this means 'the girl from Arles,' and I have to say that Arles is a place I've long had on my list to visit, reason being that I know Van Gogh had an association with the town. Sounds like a romantically cultural sort of place. Wonderful music.

Next on the running order is Carmen Fantasy, which ChatGPT now informs me was "Sarasate’s virtuosic adaptation of Bizet’s opera Carmen." Something annoys me though, because I instantly recognise the Habanera section - I think it's from a recent TV advert that has been played to death. And so, sadly, all I get from this section of the programme is a mild annoyance. It's a shame when TV destroys music. This is something I was chatting with my friend about, in Hoylake, this Saturday afternoon just gone. The same tragic fate fell upon Buddy Holly's Heartbeat, and Grieg's In the Hall of the Mountain King movement which, once you shake off the naff Alton Towers association, you come to realise the raw, terrifying magic of the instrumentation:

After the interval it's Andromède, which is nice enough but I only note that the opening brass falls short of a state-coronation vibe [not even sure if that was Augusta Holmès's intention]. 

Finally, we have Saint-Saëns’s ‘Organ’ Symphony:

The organist at the Royal Albert Hall this evening is, I gather, a resident of Coventry Cathedral. I went there on a school trip once, must have been circa 2002. The cathedral stood out to me because it had a huge tapestry of Jesus Christ, overlooking the central nave. Seem to remember hearing that Jesus here was drawn (or stitched) with no pupils in his eyes, to give the illusion that he is looking straight back at you, no matter where in the room you are looking from. [Side note: I bought a luminous-blue bottle of Powerade during the coach rest stop on the way back - funny the things you remember!].

As I have previously mentioned, Saint-Saëns is a favourite composer of mine. His Danse Macabre is, to my ear, one of the finest pieces of music in existence. This third symphony of his shares some of the traits of the aforementioned. It's a restless sea that forces you off balance. It's music that not only evokes emotions, but threatens to snatch away your control over them. It's dangerous, it's thrilling. And just like all adrenaline-inducing phenomena, it's strangely addictive.