Musical Memories

Saint-Saëns, Camille, 1835-1921Project Gutenberg · United StatesDec 2019

3.5

Word count: 289K words
Chapters: 29

Summary

Project Gutenberg was the first provider of free electronic books, or eBooks. Michael Hart, founder of Project Gutenberg, invented eBooks in 1971 and his memory continues to inspire the creation of eBooks and related technologies today.Musical Memories by Camille Saint-SaënsAuthor: Saint-Saëns, Camille, 1835-1921,Language: English, Class: ML: Music: Literature of music, Release Date: Aug 7, 2005

Editor's review

This is the public-domain English translation of Musical Memories by the French composer Camille Saint-Saëns, a collection of essays in the literature of music. Its readability comes from the composer's firsthand musical life: observations of peers, works, performances, and the spirit of the age, marked by personal taste and judgment rather than systematic textbook exposition. For Chinese readers, its value lies in offering an insider's view of nineteenth-century French musical circles that can be cross-checked against music-historical accounts. The Project Gutenberg edition makes names of people and works easy to search, and is well suited to reading by topic. Note that the book involves many figures and works of its time, so readers lacking background knowledge may find it fragmentary; personal reminiscence is also subjective and should not be taken as settled historical fact. It is best read as a sidelight on musical culture, ideally alongside listening to the works mentioned.

Who it's for

A good fit for

Classical music enthusiasts curious about musical life in nineteenth-century France
Music students seeking historical reading from a composer's perspective
Readers interested in Saint-Saëns's life and creative environment
Casual readers who enjoy music essays and topic-based browsing

Not a good fit for

Beginners hoping for systematic, textbook-style music history
Readers entirely unfamiliar with classical works and names
Readers seeking a full biography of Saint-Saëns and expecting a complete life narrative

Reading tips

Skim the table of contents, start with chapters on composers or works you know, then expand gradually.
When a work is mentioned, search for it or listen to a passage, linking text to listening experience.
Keep a reserved attitude toward the book's judgments of people, and check music-historical sources to distinguish personal memory from fact.
Take topic-based notes—performance manners, anecdotes about peers, creative views—for later review.

About the publisher

Project Gutenberg United States · Founded in 1971

Project Gutenberg is a digital publishing project focused on public-domain ebooks. Its publishing direction centers on classic literary works whose copyright has expired, covering genres such as poetry, drama, fiction, and epic. Representative books include Lyrical Ballads by Wordsworth and Coleridge, Proust's Du côté de chez Swann, Shakespeare's Macbeth and The Complete Works of William Shakespeare, Homer's The Iliad, Dante's La Divina Comèdia: Purgatòri, Cervantes's The History of Don Quixote, Volume 2, and Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Its author resources consist mainly of classic Western writers such as Wordsworth, Proust, Shakespeare, Homer, Dante, Cervantes, Grahame, and Tolstoy. Its publishing feature is the provision of freely accessible ebooks in EPUB and Kindle formats; it is not a traditional publisher, and publicly available information is limited.

FAQ

Is this book a complete autobiography of Saint-Saëns?

No. It is a collection of musical reminiscences, focusing on the composer's impressions of musical life, peers, and works rather than a chronological full autobiography. For a complete picture of Saint-Saëns's life, consult dedicated biographies; this book is better read as supplementary material.

Can readers who don't know French read this edition?

Yes, it is an English translation, and general English reading ability is enough to make progress. But the book contains many names of people, works, and French musical institutions, so non-native readers may need to look things up as they go. Chinese-language music-history references or work commentaries can lower the threshold.

Do I need prior music theory to read this book?

No systematic theory is required. The book is mainly reminiscence and commentary, not technical analysis. Still, basic familiarity with classical works and the nineteenth-century musical milieu will clearly enhance the reading; if you are entirely new, start with listening and then come to essays like this.

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About the author

Saint-Saëns, Camille, 1835-1921 Author

Camille Saint-Saëns (1835–1921) was a French composer and pianist, and one of the rare polymaths in music history. This library holds four of his works: Portraits et souvenirs, Musical Memories, On the Execution of Music, and Principally of Ancient Music, and Rimes familières. These texts are largely recollections, essays, and reflections on musical performance, the understanding of early music, and the people and times he witnessed. Saint-Saëns writes with clarity and restraint, combining a musician's professional judgment with a cultivated literary taste; when discussing performance practice he attends to historical evidence, while his portraits and reminiscences carry gentle observation and humor. Though not his best-known musical works, they offer a first-hand view of French musical life from the late nineteenth to the early twentieth century, and reveal another side of a composer who thought about art through words. Public information is limited, so this note introduces only the works held here.