You know whose music I appreciate more and more with each passing day?
Camille Saint-Saëns.
You know the piece that triggered this little bit of self-reflection?
The final movement of his "Suite algerienne," the Marche militaire française.
Back to Algiers. In the picturesque bazaars and Moorish cafes, there is the redoubled step of a French regiment, whose warlike accents contrast with the bizarre rhythms and languid melodies of the Orient.
As a fun (if aurally unspectacular) bonus, here's a version of the composer performing his own piano arrangement of the piece. Scratchy? Surely. But I love these kinds of things!
Provided to YouTube by NAXOS of America Suite algerienne, Op. 60 (version for piano) : IV. Marche militaire francaise · Camille Saint-Saens Three French Pianists (1901-1919) ℗ 2011 Symposium Released on: 2011-01-04 Artist: Camille Saint-Saens Composer: Camille Saint-Saens Auto-generated by YouTube.
And here's the whole Suite, performed in all its orchestral glory.
Enjoy!
A four-movement symphonic poem, Suite Algérienne was inspired by Saint-Saëns' trips to Algeria, then a French colony on the continent of Africa. Although, no authentic Algerian music exists in this piece, Saint-Saëns used melodic tendencies of the native Algerian culture.
Attribution(s): "General View of Algiers" comes from The British Library via Visual Hunt. (No known copyright restrictions.)