Jaren Hinckley

(1835-1921)

Well, lets start with his name…Camille. (It can be tricky to phonetically spell things out, especially in other languages, so bear with me here…) It’s pronounced “Ca” (as in “cat”), “mee,” “yuh” but the “yuh” is sort of an afterthought: Ca-mee-yuh. In addition, in France, the name Camille could be used for either male or female.

We were fortunate enough to be able to spend some time in Paris recently, so while we were there I was able to snap some selfies with some of the places he lived during his life. This first picture is the building in which he was born, 3 Rue du Jardinet. I was somewhat surprised that there wasn’t a plaque noting that fact.

Next pic is his 1st apartment (4th floor) once he began his career as a musician. Somehow I doubt this is the same building as when he lived at this address…

And the next TWO photos shows where he lived from 1877 to 1889, 14 Rue Monsieur le Prince–note the plaque.

I perhaps shouldn’t be smiling so happily at this address because this is the site of the saddest tragedies that Saint-Saens experienced. He and his wife had two sons, Andre and Jean. Tragically, when Andre was only two years old, he fell from the open window of their fourth floor flat to his death. And two months later, one-year-old Jean died of an illness. Due to this tragedy, their marriage never recovered and they separated for the remainder of Saint-Saens’ life.

Next photo is where Saint-Saens lived from 1904 to 1910, 17 Rue de Longchamp.

And here is his LAST dwelling place in Paris, from 1910 to 1921, 83 Bis Rue de Courcelles. (I love that cute smartcar in front of the building!)

In addition to being a composer, Saint-Saens was a great organist and eventually got one of the most coveted and honored organist positions in Paris—at La Madeleine. Here’s a photo of the amazing sculpture at the altar inside the church:

As I often do, when I travel, I visited Saint-Saens’ grave in the Montparnasse Cemetery (in Paris). It took my wife and I a while to find it, but it is a lovely little family crypt.

Inside the crypt, you can see the tombstone for Saint-Saens as well as the tombstone for his two sons.

On to his music!

TITLE: Symphony #3

One of my FAVORITE compositions by Saint-Saëns is his Symphony #3, nicknamed The Organ Symphony.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PIECE: This is a relatively traditional symphony in that it is a multi-movement work for orchestra. Its uniqueness (and nickname) come from the use of the organ in two major sections of the piece. Lets see if you recognize it…

Skip ahead in the video to start at 28:15 and listen until 30:09.

HIGHLIGHT: Many years ago (the mid-80’s), I was in a youth orchestra performing this piece and I still recall the moment I heard the piano arpeggios shortly after the loud organ entrance. I found it magical and have loved that moment ever since.

I was also delighted to discover its use in a film that I love. Note that the melody Farmer Hoggett sings is the same melody from the Organ Symphony.

And some of you may recall the closing credits, where the mice sing that song again.

Now…I’d always thought they made that recording specifically for the movie. But as I was researching for this lecture I discovered this…

So…all they did was take this 70’s hit and speed it up!

Hilarious. BUT, despite the fun use of the melody in “Babe” I almost always prefer the original, mainly because that’s where the true genius of the piece lies. Now, I suggest that you go back to the first video link above and listen to the entire work. It really is a masterpiece. I encourage you to search out other videos/recordings of this symphony as well.

WHAT’S LEFT TO LISTEN TO BY SAINT-SAËNS?:

So much! 100’s of compositions! Operas, orchestral works, chamber music, keyboard music. I’ll keep picking away at it. You should too!