Top 6 Camille Saint-Saëns Pieces With Sheet Music

Camille Saint-Saëns was one of the most versatile composers of the Romantic era, and a pioneer of french music. Born in Paris, France in 1835, Saint-Saëns displayed musical talent as early as 3 years old and was a child prodigy, making his public concert debut as a pianist at just 10 years old. At the age of 13, he joined the Conservatoire de Paris, where he studied organ and composition. Saint-Saëns then began his career as an organist, eventually getting the position of church organist at La Madeleine, the renowned official church of the Empire of France. In the 1860s, he started teaching piano at the École Niedermeyer of Paris, where one of his pupils was Gabriel Fauré! During this time, he also composed what is known today to be his most popular work, The Carnival of the Animals. Saint-Saëns stands out for his versatility in his compositions, ranging in various genres (symphonies, concertos, operas, etc.) and for a variety of instruments (piano, organ, cello, violin, bassoon, clarinet, etc.). Saint-Saëns died in Algiers of a heart attack in december 1921, at 86 years old. Later on in his life, he became associated to tradition, advocating for musical rules and a conservative structure which impressionist musicians such as Debussy were going against in their compositions. However he still appreciated some of Wagner's innovations, and his musical repertoire demonstrates its own in his creative choices, with his music often being considered a precursor of modern film music.

Now let's dive in and explore some of Camille Saint-Saëns most popular compositions! Get access to interactive sheet music for these pieces in the Metronaut App, with features such as annotations, loops, and a built-in metronome. Play along to an orchestra as the soloist to bring these pieces to life with our accompaniments, which adapt to your tempo in real time. You can also get feedback on your pitch and record your performances to improve on your instrument! And for more pieces, have a look at our full Camille Saint-Saëns Sheet Music Collection.

1. Danse Macabre

By far one of the most appreciated works of Saint-Saëns, Danse Macabre was composed in 1874. It has the form of a symphonic poem, a piece of orchestral music which tells and illustrates a story, in this case a text by the french poet Henri Cazalis. It's based on the legend of Death, which once a year on Halloween summons the skeletons from their graves with a tune on his fiddle to dance until the morning: "Death at midnight plays a dance-tune, / Zig, zig, zig, on his violin". Because the music has to illustrate a scene, the structure can be much more loose to conform to the poem! Listen to this piece and try to find the parts of this scene that are illustrated by different instruments and musical structures. For example, the piece opens with twelve harp notes, representing the twelve strikes of midnight—the time at which Death arrives. As Death begins his tune on his fiddle, the violin comes in and the skeletons begin their dance! You'll also hear the xylophone used in this piece to resemble the sound of the skeletons' bones as they dance. If you like portraying specific scenes through music, this is the piece for you! In this way, it also shows how some of Saint-Saëns' repertoire was a precursor of film music. With our different arrangements, you can start with a simplified version to get familiar with the notes and work your way up to the original arrangement at your own rhythm

2. The Carnival of the Animals – 13. The Swan

Saint-Saëns composed The Carnival of the Animals in 1866 as a fun work, intended to be taken lightly, for a mardi gras party. This suite has 14 short movements, each representing a different animal in a parade (with "Pianists" humorously being included as one of the animals). Similarly to the Danse Macabre, Saint-Saëns makes use of creative orchestration to accurately portray the different animals and their characteristics, to fully immerse the listener. Because this was only meant to be a light-hearted composition for private entertainment, Saint-Saëns forbade it from being published in his lifetime, worried that it would harm his reputation as a serious composer in the eyes of audiences. The only exception was this movement for piano and cello, The Swan. Ironically, Saint-Saëns is widely recognized for this popular work today! The graceful cello melody represents the beauty and elegance of the swan, complemented by the light piano accompaniments. Get your instrument and play the part of the swan while playing accompanied by the piano in the with our Metronaut accompaniments!

3. The Carnival of the Animals – 12. Fossils

For a more playful movement from The Carnival of the Animals, have a look at the 12th movement, Fossils. As its title indicates, the music represents the sound of animal fossils dancing around. Once again, you can find the use of the xylophone to represent the sound of skeletons, just as in Danse Macabre. Saint-Saëns' brilliant sense of humor is made clear in this piece through the use of musical snippets of Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star and the nursery rhyme Au clair de la lune, which represent the musical fossils of his time! While learning The Swan is good to work on your expression and interpretation, Fossils is a great movement to work on more upbeat tempos and precision in the notes.

4. Cello Concerto No.1 Op.33

Saint-Saëns composed his first cello concerto in 1872, and it has come to be known as a staple in the cello repertoire today, often performed in concerts. In fact, both Shostakovich and Rachmaninoff described this work as the greatest cello concerto! Though the work is divided into three sections, the concerto is meant to be played continuously throughout, breaking from the tradition of separate concerto movements. Each section provides technically and expressively challenging passages for the soloist to study and interpret to demonstrate their skills, with the accompaniment of the orchestra

5. Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso

Composed for violin and orchestra in 1863, the Introduction & Rondo Capriccioso was intended to be the finale to Saint-Saëns' first violin concerto, but was ultimately published separately due to its success. It begins with a lyrical, expressive introduction that showcases the violin's brilliant singing tone, before bursting into a fiery, rhythmically playful rondo. Overall, the piece has a duration of around 9 minutes, only 3 minutes shorter than the first violin concerto!

6. Samson et Dalila – Mon cœur s'ouvre à ta voix

This aria comes from the three-act play Samson and Delilah, which premiered in 1877. It is based on a story from the Old Testament, of Samson who has supernatural strength and Dalila, who tries to seduce him to learn the secret of his strength. In this aria, which translates to "My heart opens to your voice", Dalila tries to convince Samson of her love for him, to trick him into revealing his secrets. The music's beauty, softness and elegance reflects the atmosphere of the story, designed to trap into a false sense of love and trust. Play the part of the singer on your instrument!

For more sheet music by the french composer, check out our entire Saint-Saëns collection! Or have a look at his contemporaries, with composers such as Richard Wagner, Franz Liszt, and Claude Debussy