Suite for Cello and Piano op. 16

There seems to be a widespread tendency to glorify composers such as Ernest Chausson, Claude Debussy or Maurice Ravel for being the first to revive the great masters of the past and to study the Baroque musicians in order to find an alternative to a moribund Romanticism and inspiration for a new modernity. This is, however, to ignore a small minority of French musicians from the Romantic era: Pierre Baillot and Jean-Louis Adam were already exploring this repertory in the first decades of the 19th century and Alexandre Choron was programming works by Janequin, among others, in his Paris concerts at the end of the Restoration. Camille Saint-Saëns’ Suite for Cello and Piano, published in 1866, was firmly in that tradition and appears to be a warm tribute to the Enlightenment by the young composer. Its opening D minor “Prélude” is clearly inspired by the works of Bach; the “Sérénade”, in G minor, makes greater reference to the French school; and the “Scherzo”, in E flat major, could have been written for the viola da gamba. Although the intensity of the “Romance” temporarily gives the Suite a more Romantic feel, the “Finale” allows the composer to showcase his skill with counterpoint. In 1919, at the request of the cellist Hollmann, Saint-Saëns returned to this suite and orchestrated it. Only the “Prélude”, “Sérénade” and “Romance” of the original suite were preserved. The “Scherzo” and the “Finale” were replaced respectively by a newly composed “Gavotte” and “Tarentelle”. This orchestrated version was premiered on 19 February 1921 at the Concerts Pasdeloup.