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Description
Julianna Ellis, MUS 303: Music History 2
Faculty Mentor: Professor Carolyn Guzski, Music
Although French composer Camille Saint-Saëns (1832-1921) is not among the most famous musicians of the Romantic era, he is still one of the great composers of the nineteenth century. My project covers one of his lesser known pieces, the Sonata for Clarinet and Piano in E-flat major, op. 167 (1921). This four-movement piece for solo clarinet respects the traditional multi-movement Classical form associated with the genre. The first movement is an Allegretto; movement two is a minuet inspired by French Baroque dance; movement three is a slow Lento; and the final movement is a characteristically lively Molto allegro. The Sonata's opening theme comes full circle with its repetition at the conclusion of the fourth movement, making the piece cyclic. This concept was pioneered by another French Romantic composer, Hector Berlioz, in his Symphonie fantastique (1830). Through biographical and score studies, I examine Saint-Saëns’ stylistic and cyclic influences in the Clarinet Sonata, such as rhythmic motifs that are heard throughout the piece and unite its musical movements.
Publication Date
2020
Disciplines
Arts and Humanities
Recommended Citation
Ellis, Julianna, "Saint-Saëns: Four Movements, Four Emotions" (2020). Arts. 22nd Annual Student Research and Creativity Conference. SUNY Buffalo State.
https://digitalcommons.buffalostate.edu/srcc-sp20-arts/11
