Fabulous Composers and compositions: Camille Saint-Saëns – Carnaval des Animaux

Prague Symphony Orchestra – Martin Turnovsky, Pavel Stepan & Ilja Hurnik – piano

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Carnival of the Animals (Le carnaval des animaux) is a humorous musical suite of fourteen movements by the French Romantic composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Written for private performance by an ad hoc ensemble of two pianos and other instruments, the work lasts around 25 minutes.

Contents

• 1 History
• 2 Movements3 Musical allusions
  • 2.1 I Introduction et marche royale du lion (Introduction and Lion’s Royal March)
  • 2.2 II Poules et coqs (Hens and Cocks)
  • 2.3 III Hémiones (animaux véloces) (Wild Asses: Swift Animals)
  • 2.4 IV Tortues (Tortoises)
  • 2.5 V L’éléphant (The Elephant)
  • 2.6 VI Kangourous (Kangaroos)
  • 2.7 VII Aquarium
  • 2.8 VIII Personnages à longues oreilles (Personages with Long Ears)
  • 2.9 IX Le coucou au fond des bois (The cuckoo in the Deep Woods)
  • 2.10 X Volière (Aviary)
  • 2.11 XI Pianistes (Pianists)
  • 2.12 XII Fossiles (Fossils)
  • 2.13 XIII Le cygne (The Swan)
  • 2.14 XIV Finale
• 4 Ogden Nash verses
• 5 In popular culture
• 6 Satire
• 7 References
• 8 External links

 

Leonard Cohen – Book of Longing (KCRW Demo Version)

I can’t make the hills
The system is shot
I’m living on pills
For which I thank G-d

I followed the course
From chaos to art
Desire the horse
Depression the cart

I sailed like a swan
I sank like a rock
But time is long gone
Past my laughing stock

My page was too white
My ink was too thin
The day wouldn’t write
What the night pencilled in

My animal howls
My angel’s upset
But I’m not allowed
A trace of regret

For someone will use
What I couldn’t be
My heart will be hers
Impersonally

She’ll step on the path
She’ll see what I mean
My will cut in half
And freedom between

For less than a second
Our lives will collide
The endless suspended
The door open wide

Then she will be born
To someone like you
What no one has done

She’ll continue to do
I know she is coming
I know she will look
And that is the longing
And this is the book