Date Published: 8th March 2024
with Alexander McCall Smith
Alexander McCall Smith has written words to the well known Carnival of the Animals by Camille Saint-Saëns. Come and hear him narrate this, live in Edinburgh on 23 March 2024.
Book your tickets now. Available at Musichub.
Our World, Their World
They are our companions, the animals, The ones with whom we share this space, This spinning treasury of air and water, We used to think our kingdoms were quite separate, Split by language and hte reasoning mind; No more; they have their reason, the animals, They have their language - the call of whales Across a thousand miles of water, The territtorial challenges of birds, The bellow of pain, of loss - a language We have never really listened to, But which we hear today; listen: the language Of our brothers and our sisters. We have only one home, And that is a common one; We have only one life, And that is a precious one; There is only one way, And that is the healing one.
Many of Alexander’s words for Carnival of the Animals are available in his book, In a Time of Distance.
What is the Carnival of the Animals?
Carnival of the Animals was written by Camille Saint-Saëns in 1886 for a concert on Shrove Tuesday. He wrote it quickly, over two days, as ‘a piece of fun’. It is now a firm favourite for this time of the year around the world and is particularly enjoyed by families.
Traditionally, there are fourteen movements in this piece, as listed below. You might spot a few differences in Alexander’s version.
- Introduction and the Royal March of the lion
- Hens and Roosters
- Wild Donkeys and Swift Animals
- Tortoises
- The Elephant
- Kangaroos
- Aquarium
- Characters with Long Ears
- The Cuckoo in the Depths of Wood
- Aviary
- Pianists
- Fossils
- The Swan
- Finale