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An Analysis of Musical Style and Cecilian Idealism
in the Latin-Texted Motets of Camille Saint-Saëns
Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation
Authors Glysson, Scott Douglas
Publisher The University of Arizona.
Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material

is made possible by the University Libraries, University of Arizona.
Further transmission, reproduction or presentation (such as
public display or performance) of protected items is prohibited
except with permission of the author.
Download date 15/06/2023 16:07:53
Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/325233

AN ANALYSIS OF MUSICAL STYLE AND CECILIAN IDEALISM IN THE LATIN-‐
TEXTED MOTETS OF CAMILLE SAINT-‐SAËNS

by

Scott Douglas Glysson

__________________________
Copyright © Scott Douglas Glysson 2014

A Document Submitted to the Faculty of the

SCHOOL OF MUSIC

In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements
For the Degree of

DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS

In the Graduate College

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

2014

2
THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

GRADUATE COLLEGE

As members of the Document Committee, we certify that we have read the
document prepared by Scott Douglas Glysson, titled An Analysis of Musical Style
and Cecilian Idealism in the Latin-‐Texted Motets of Camille Saint-‐Saëns and
recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement for the
Degree of Doctor of Musical Arts.

_______________________________________________________________________ Date: 5/23/2014
Bruce Chamberlain

_______________________________________________________________________ Date: 5/23/2014
Elizabeth Schauer

_______________________________________________________________________ Date: 5/23/2014
John Brobeck

Final approval and acceptance of this document is contingent upon the candidate’s
submission of the final copies of the document to the Graduate College.

I hereby certify that I have read this document prepared under my direction and
recommend that it be accepted as fulfilling the document requirement.

________________________________________________ Date: 5/23/2014
Document Director: Bruce Chamberlain

3
STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

This document has been submitted in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for an advanced degree at the University of Arizona and is deposited
in the University Library to be made available to borrowers under rules of the
Library.

Brief quotations from this document are allowable without special
permission, provided that an accurate acknowledgement of the source is made.
Requests for permission for extended quotation from or reproduction of this
manuscript in whole or in part may be granted by the copyright holder.

SIGNED: Scott Douglas Glysson

4
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Many individuals have played an integral role in the completion of this document.
Though it is not possible to acknowledge everyone, I would like to express my
gratitude to the following:

The members of my advisory committee: Bruce Chamberlain, Elizabeth Schauer,
John Brobeck, Donald Hamann, and Tami Draves.

My parents and family for their unending support throughout my educational
journey.

My lovely wife Christie, who has walked this journey with me every step of the
way. Without her love, patience and support, this would not have been possible.

5
DEDICATION

To Christie and Hailey

6
TABLE OF CONTENTS
LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................ 8
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ............................................................................................................... 9
ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... 12
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 14
Summary of the Cecilian Movement ................................................................................. 14
Cecilian Ideal ............................................................................................................................... 17
Purpose of Study ........................................................................................................................ 20
Thesis Statement ....................................................................................................................... 22
Review of Literature ................................................................................................................ 22
CHAPTER 2: CAMILLE SAINT-‐SAËNS: MUSIC AND PROSE WRITINGS ............................ 24
Biography and Sacred Oeuvre ................................................................................................. 24
Writings on Liturgical Music ................................................................................................ 26
Deductions and Summary ...................................................................................................... 32
CHAPTER 3: AVE MARIA, OP. 145 .................................................................................................... 35
Form ................................................................................................................................................ 36
Text Setting .................................................................................................................................. 37
Voice Leading .............................................................................................................................. 38
Harmony ........................................................................................................................................ 43
Organ .............................................................................................................................................. 44
Expressive Elements ................................................................................................................ 50

7
TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued
CHAPTER 4: STYLISTIC CONTINUITIES ........................................................................................ 54
Musical Choices that either Support or Enhance the Natural Stress and
Meaning of the Latin Text ....................................................................................... 55

Harmony, Texture and Melody ........................................................................................... 60
Use of Unobtrusive Accompaniment ................................................................................ 72
Text Highlighting and Evocation of Mood ........................................................................ 80
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 89
APPENDIX A: AVE VERUM IN E-‐FLAT MAJOR39 ........................................................................ 94
APPENDIX B: TANTUM ERGO IN E-‐FLAT MAJOR40 .................................................................. 97
APPENDIX C: TANTUM ERGO, OP. 541 .......................................................................................... 101
APPENDIX D: AVE VERUM IN D MAJOR42 .................................................................................. 109
APPENDIX E: DEUS ABRAHAM43 .................................................................................................... 117
APPENDIX F: AVE MARIA, OP. 14544 ............................................................................................ 122
REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 129

8
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure 3.1. Formal analysis of Ave Maria, op. 145 .................................................................... 36

9
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES
Musical Example 1.1. Bruckner, Pange lingua (New York: C.F. Peters, 1961),
mm. 24-‐27 ...................................................................................................... 19

Musical Example 3.1. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave Maria (Paris: Durand, 1914), mm. 5-‐9 ............ 38
Musical Example 3.2. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave Maria (Paris: Durand, 1914),

mm. 21-‐31 ...................................................................................................... 40

mm. 32-‐35 ...................................................................................................... 41

mm. 10-‐21 ...................................................................................................... 42

mm. 10-‐14 ...................................................................................................... 44

mm. 1-‐2 ............................................................................................................ 45

mm. 15-‐25 ...................................................................................................... 46

mm. 37-‐45 ...................................................................................................... 47

mm. 21-‐33 ...................................................................................................... 49

mm. 32-‐40 ...................................................................................................... 52

Musical Example 4.1. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave verum (Paris: Durand, 1884),
mm. 33-‐44 ...................................................................................................... 57

Musical Example 4.2. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (Paris: Durand, 1884),
mm. 82-‐85 ...................................................................................................... 58

10
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES – Continued

mm. 80-‐95 ...................................................................................................... 59

mm. 31-‐33 ...................................................................................................... 62

mm. 37-‐47 ...................................................................................................... 63

mm. 65-‐72 ..................................................................................................... 64

Musical Example 4.7. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (London: Faber, 1994),
mm. 43-‐ 47 ..................................................................................................... 65

Musical Example 4.8. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave verum (Paris: Durand, 1884), mm. 1-‐8 ........... 66

mm. 1-‐9 ............................................................................................................ 67

Musical Example 4.10. Saint-‐Saëns, Deus Abraham (Paris: Durand, 1892),
mm. 1-‐6 ............................................................................................................ 68

mm. 10-‐13 ...................................................................................................... 70

mm. 15-‐19 ...................................................................................................... 70

mm. 37-‐40 ...................................................................................................... 71

mm. 14-‐19 ...................................................................................................... 72

mm. 1-‐20 ......................................................................................................... 75

11
LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES – Continued

mm. 27-‐36 ...................................................................................................... 77

mm. 32-‐34 ...................................................................................................... 78

mm. 20-‐28 ...................................................................................................... 80

mm. 22-‐24 ...................................................................................................... 82

mm. 33-‐36 ...................................................................................................... 82

mm. 60-‐72 ...................................................................................................... 84

mm. 73-‐87 ...................................................................................................... 85

mm. 11-‐21 ...................................................................................................... 87

mm. 32-‐34 ...................................................................................................... 88

12
ABSTRACT
The Cecilian movement was a reactionary movement made up of
composers who sought to restore the musical principles of the fifteenth and
sixteenth centuries by placing emphasis back on the liturgy, reviving the idea that
the music should be subservient to the text. In his article “The Cecilian Movement
in the Nineteenth Century: A Summary of the Movement,” Patrick Liebergen
introduces the term “Cecilian Ideal” as a means of describing the way in which
Franz Liszt and Anton Bruckner incorporated elements of Cecilianism into their
compositions. Though the two composers never belonged to the Allgemeiner
Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland, analysis of various style features commonly
found in their music reveals that they accomplished many of the goals of the
Cecilian movement while retaining their own individual compositional styles.
Analysis of the Latin-‐texted choral motets of Camille Saint-‐Saens reveals
that they share stylistic features that were endorsed by the Cecilian movement.
That these features were a result of conscious decisions made by the composer is
suggested by the fact that similar style traits were praised by Saint-‐Saëns in two
articles he wrote about liturgical music that were published near the end of his
life. Moreover, Patrick Liebergen already has shown that many of the Saint-‐Saens’
13
beliefs can be understood through the application of what he terms the “Cecilian
Ideal” concept.1
The Latin-‐texted choral motets of Camille Saint-‐Saëns have largely been
overlooked by the scholarly community. Perhaps it is the uncomplicated nature of
these pieces that has led many to dismiss them as an unremarkable portion of the
composer’s repertoire. Six of the Latin choral motets which are the most similar in
terms of style and function were chosen for this study, as they best represent the
consistent compositional features of the composer in this genre. These works span
a fifty-‐eight year time period covering a broad portion of the composer’s life and
career. By analyzing Saint-‐Saëns’ liturgical music in the light shed by his prose
writings on the subject we can better understand both his compositional style and
his view of the Cecilian movement.
1
Patrick Liebergen, “The Cecilian Movement in the Nineteenth Century: A Summary of the
Movement,” Choral Journal 21, no.9 (May 1981):13.
14
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION
Summary of the Cecilian Movement
The period of time between the late eighteenth and early nineteenth
centuries was one of radical political and ideological shifts. Enlightenment
philosophies glorified the human experience in contrast to the belief that all life
was to be lived solely in the service of God and the church. The church’s waning
influence affected nearly every part of culture, and in particular, music. Composers
began to work independently and seek personal gratification, rather than relying
exclusively on the church for financial support. These changes were not, however,
welcomed by the entire musical community. The Cecilian movement was a
reactionary movement made up of composers who sought to restore the musical
principles of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries by placing emphasis back on the
liturgy, reviving the idea that the music should be subservient to the text.
Though the Cecilian movement is most widely thought of as a nineteenth-‐
century reform movement, its origins are actually far earlier. Although when
considering the music of the early seventeenth century historians have tended to
focus primarily on progressive composers such as Claudio Monteverdi and
Heinrich Schütz, in fact more conservative composers such as Felice Anerio (1560-‐
1614), Giovanni Maria Nanino (1544-‐1607), and Francesco Soriano (1549-‐1621)
continued to work in the style of Palestrina well into the seventeenth century.
15
Moreover, the music of Palestrina and his contemporaries remained alive long
after his death through the work of institutions such as the Sistine Chapel Choir,
which operated under restrictions limiting the use of instruments in liturgical
music. In the early eighteenth century, Caecilien-‐Bündnisse (Cecilian leagues),
began to form all across Europe. Their goals were to uphold their concept of
appropriate church music through minimized instrumental accompaniment and
commitment to intelligibility of text.
At the beginning of the nineteenth century, composers from Germany,
Austria, France and Italy continued to uphold the ideals of the Caecilien-‐Bündnisse.
The goals of the Cecilian movement began to be codified when, in 1814, E.T.A
Hoffman wrote the essay Alte und neue Kirchenmusik (Old and New Church Music),
one of the first written accounts of Cecilian principles. James Garratt describes the
significance of Hoffman’s work, saying “the significance of his essay lies primarily
in its synthesis of existing ideas on reform and the revival of old music.”2
Arguably the most important figure in the Cecilian reform movement was
the German priest and composer Franz Xaver Witt (1834-‐1888). Dissatisfied that
the movement was stagnant, he sought to encourage more widespread reform. In
his 1865 pamphlet Der Zustand der katholischen Kirchenmusik zunächst in
Altbayern (The State of Catholic Church Music in Old Bavaria), Witt described his
2
James Garratt, Palestrina and the German Romantic Imagination: Interpreting Historicism in
Nineteenth-Century Music (New York: Cambridge, 2002), 35.
16
plan for the reformation of all church music.3 Three years later, Witt founded the
Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland, or “General Association of the
Cecilian Movement in Germany,” an institution that still exists today.
Cecilians exerted their influence through a variety of journals and
publications. The journal Cäcilienkalender (Cecilian Calendar), set an important
precedent in 1870 when its editors published the first catalogue of music that was
“acceptable” for use in the church. The catalogue included Gregorian chant,
unaccompanied polyphonic music, organ music and hymns. The catalogue also
included several works by Franz Liszt composed between 1868 and 1873. Liszt
had a long association with Witt and several other founding members, and
frequently sought their approval of his religious compositions. Though Liszt never
became a member of the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland, the
Cecilians published many of his works, including Tantum ergo and O salutaris
hostia, both of which appeared in the journal Fliegende Blätter; and Ave maris
stella and Missa Choralis, which were added to the Cecilian catalogue by Franz
Xaver Witt himself. Despite support from the Cecilians, Liszt remained an
independent composer who never officially joined the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐
Verband für Deutschland. The Cecilians rejected many of his compositions because
they contained modern compositional practices such as dissonant harmonies and
dramatic shifts in dynamics and character.
3
Ibid., 144-145.
17
Cecilian Ideal
The members of the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland found
little mainstream success with their musical compositions. Their music was
viewed by many critics, including Camille Saint-‐Saëns, as a lesser quality version
of an already extensive body of renaissance repertoire. Arguably the Cecilian
movement’s most substantial impact was not in the Cecilian composers
themselves, but the way in which their beliefs affected musicians who were
outside of the movement. Many ninteenth-‐century composers were clearly
influenced by Cecilian thinking in their sacred compositions, but were never
official members of any Cecilian society. These composers combined musical
ideals valued by the Cecilians with their own individual styles.
In his 1981 essay titled “The Cecilian Movement in the Nineteenth Century:
A Summary of the Movement,” Patrick Liebergen describes this concept in the
music of Franz Liszt (1811-‐1886) and Anton Bruckner (1824-‐1896). In this article
he first identifies the four principal goals of the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für
Deutschland, as expressed by its founder Franz Xaver Witt (1834-‐88):
1. The use of chant in the liturgy

2. A renewed interest in the contrapuntal technique of Palestrina in newly
composed choral works
3. The use of wind instruments for accompaniment
4. The singing of hymns in the vernacular
18
Liebergen goes on to suggest that only the first three goals actually influenced
choral music of the day.4 Anton Bruckner and Franz Liszt were both composers
who are said to have composed in a style influenced by the Cecilian movement,
despite the fact that they never were members themselves. Instead, they simply
upheld similar principles and goals, which they realized through their own
individual compositional styles. Liebergen identifies four style traits that are
commonly found in the music of Liszt and Bruckner that can be said to have been
influenced by the Cecilian movement: 5
1. Counterpoint in the style of Palestrina, both florid and note-‐against-‐note
2. Appropriate textual underlay. Stressed syllables given musical weight, as
well as through choice of harmony and dynamic shifts
3. Modal harmony mixed with modern harmony
4. Use of Gregorian chant

Liebergen provides a specific example in Bruckner’s motet Pange lingua. In
Musical Example 1.1 it can be seen that a diminished seventh chord is placed on
the stressed syllable of the word “generosi.” This is an example of what Liebergen
describes as appropriate textual underlay, with the stressed syllable receiving the
emphasis in the phrase. Liebergen also points out that the work contains
“harmonic movement by step, typical of modal harmony, as well as harmonic
movement by third, fourth, and fifth, typical of modern harmony.”6 In this case,
harmonic movement by step does not refer to planing, but to a progression in
4 Patrick Liebergen, “The Cecilian Movement in the Nineteenth Century: A Summary of the
Movement,” Choral Journal 21, no.9 (May 1981):13.
5 Ibid.

6 Ibid., 14.
19
which the root pitch of the chord moves by step.7 Liebergen is suggesting that
harmonic motion by step is influenced by modal voice leading practices, despite
the fact that the piece is clearly composed in a modern tonal framework. In
Musical Example 1.1, an example of this movement by step can be seen in measure
27 when the G-‐sharp diminished seventh chord on beat 1 resolves up by step to an
A major chord on beat 3.
Musical Example 1.1. Bruckner, Pange lingua (New York: C.F. Peters, 1961), mm.
24-‐27
This practice of combining Cecilian concepts with the composer’s own individual
style is termed the “Cecilian ideal.” Liebergen summarizes this concept as follows:
In the Cecilian works of Bruckner and Liszt we find the ideal of the
movement; that is, the use of certain features of the old music of the church
in nineteenth-‐century settings. Rather than rigid conformity to the various
elements of the movement, Bruckner and Liszt used imagination and taste
in making the elements of the Cecilian movement appealing in their own
time. The nineteenth-‐century composers who were not successful in
Cecilian composition relentlessly followed the elements of the Cecilian
movement. Bruckner and Liszt followed the Cecilian ideal.8
7 Planing is the parallel movement of two or more lines. It is also refered to as parallel
voice leading and harmonic parallelism.
8 Ibid., 16.
20
Purpose of Study
Liebergen’s research is focused exclusively on the works of Franz Liszt and
Anton Bruckner. Examination of the Latin-‐texted choral motets of Camille Saint-‐
Saëns, however, reveals that many of these same, or similar, Cecilian
characteristics can be seen in his works as well. The purpose of this study is
twofold. First, to examine the musical manifestation of Camille Saint-‐Saëns’ beliefs
about ideal church music style expressed in his prose writings. Second, to view
these stylistic continuities through the lens of Cecilian idealism.
Although Camille Saint-‐Saëns composed a substantial amount of music for
the church, only works composed in Latin were chosen for this study. In
nineteenth-‐century France, the word “motet” typically described works composed
for use in the Roman Catholic Church, and thus the language always would have
been Latin. In addition, only works in which the composer himself has specified a
choir were chosen. The exception is Ave verum (1878), in which the composer
specifies four female voices. Throughout this piece, however, these voices divide
into two or three parts. Therefore, this piece can be considered a choral piece,
because multiple singers perform a single line of music. Recently, several choral
arrangements of Saint-‐Saëns works originally intended for solo voices have been
recorded. Saint-‐Saëns, however, is very specific in his indications for performance
groups, going so far as to write out ad libitum choral parts that simply double the

21
melody when he deemed them appropriate for the piece. Benefield addresses
Saint-‐Saëns’ performance indications by saying:
Because of the simple style of many of these pieces, they could easily be
performed by larger ensembles or, in the case of solos, by unison choir. In
[Saint-‐Saëns two] collections, however, the designations could not be
clearer. In collections, the specific designations solo, duo, trio, etc., are
found for some works, while for others choeur is specified.9

Analysis of Saint-‐Saëns’ oeuvre reveals only ten works that meet all of these
criteria. From these, six works were chosen for this study. The motets Tu es Petrus
(1914), Quam dilecta (1915), Laudate Dominum (1915) and Veni creator (1858)
were not included. These works differ considerably in style from Saint-‐Saëns other
motets. Tu es Petrus, Quam dilecta and Laudate Dominum were composed toward
the end of Saint-‐Saëns’ life when he was not working as a church musician, and
therefore these compositions likely did not serve a liturgical function. The motet
Veni creator was also not chosen for this study. Although this motet was
composed while Saint-‐Saëns was employed at the Madeline, the work is dedicated
to Liszt and is composed in a style meant to honor him. The six works which are
the most similar in terms of style and function were chosen for this study. These
works span a fifty-‐eight year time period covering a broad portion of the
composer’s life and career.
9 Richard Benefield, ed., Motets for One Voice: The Organ-‐Accompanied Solo Motet in
Nineteenth-‐Century France, by Franck, Gounod, and Saint-‐Saëns, (Middleton: A-‐R Editions, 2003), ix.
22
Thesis Statement
Camille Saint-‐Saëns’ writings on church music can elucidate both the
stylistic continuities in his choral motets and his view of the Cecilian movement.
Review of Literature
Camille Saint-‐Saëns’ Latin-‐texted choral motets have received relatively
little specialized study, although two doctoral dissertations have been written
about his choral music in general. Numerous biographical accounts of the
composer’s life and compositional style have been published over the ninety-‐two
years since his death, but they contain little or no mention of the choral motets.
This genre is frequently dismissed as an unremarkable portion of the composer’s
output, and is often only breifly summerized, if it is mentioned at all. It is even
neglected in current research publications such as Donna di Grazia’s 2012 book
Nineteenth-‐Century Choral Music. Di Grazia dedicates only three short paragraphs
to the composer’s sacred choral music, with no specific mention of his musical
style whatsoever.10 Nick Strimple describes his own experience with the dismissal
of Saint-‐Saëns’ motets as follows:
In the early 1970s the eminent composer and pedagogue Halsey Stevens
told his graduate students at the University of Southern California that
when they heard a composition obviously from the nineteenth century, but
without any other identifying characteristics, he assumed it to be by Saint-‐
Saëns. This assessment, although entertaining, does not take into account
10 Donna Di Grazia, Nineteenth-‐Century Choral Music (New York: Routledge, 2012), 275.
23
Saint-‐Saëns consummate skill and technique, nor the continuing

attractiveness of his straightforward harmonic language.11

Strimple had previously identified the need for the revival of this important
portion of Saint-‐Saëns’ output in his 2002 publication Choral Music in the
Twentieth Century, in which he wrote “In all likelihood the enduring anonymity of
these pieces is a proper assessment of their value; but some, especially the motets
and part-‐songs, are worthy of revival.”12
Saint-‐Saëns wrote two articles specifically devoted to his beliefs about
church music: “Music in the Church,” published in 1916 by The Musical Quarterly,
and “Musique religieuse,” published in 1913 by École Buissonnière. Although these
documents are occasionally cited in the scholarly literature, this is the first study
that relates the composer’s written views on church music with specific stylistic
continuities found in the music. This study is also the first examination of Cecilian
idealism as a means of understanding the musical style of these works.
Camille Saint-‐Saëns’ Latin-‐texted choral motets are works of simple beauty.
It is their simplicity that is, perhaps, why these works have been largely
overlooked. A closer analysis and understanding of the composer’s concept of
ideal church music style bring new life, interest, and understanding to these little-‐
known masterpieces.

11 Nick Strimple, Choral Music in the Nineteenth Century (New York: Amadeus, 2008), 95.

12 Nick Strimple, Choral Music in the Twentieth Century (Portland: Amadeus, 2002), 53.
24
CHAPTER 2: CAMILLE SAINT-‐SAËNS: MUSIC AND PROSE WRITINGS
Biography and Sacred Oeuvre
Camille Saint-‐Saëns was born in Paris on October 9, 1835. His father,
Jacques-‐Joseph-‐Victor Saint-‐Saëns, died almost immediately after his birth. Saint-‐
Saëns was raised primarily by his aunt, who was a pianist, and his mother. Saint-‐
Saëns was a sickly child, suffering from tuberculosis, the same illness that took his
father’s life. Despite a difficult childhood, he found his musical calling in the piano
at the young age of three. He distinguished himself early on as a gifted performer,
and held his first performance at the Salle Pleyel at the age of ten. The program
included works by Beethoven and Mozart and was performed completely from
memory.
Saint-‐Saëns entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1848 where he studied
organ, composition and orchestration. From the beginning it was clear that he was
a talented and versatile composer. He wrote chamber works, opera comique, solo
piano and organ works, and choral works. He gained early notoriety when his Ode
à Sainte-‐Cécile took first place in a competition organized by the Société Sainte-‐
Cécile in Bordeaux. During this same period, Saint-‐Saëns also made noteworthy
contributions to the complete editions of Gluck, Beethoven, Mozart, and his
personal friend, Franz Liszt. Throughout his life, Saint-‐Saëns championed Liszt’s
music and enjoyed Liszt’s good opinion of his own organ virtuosity. Liszt is said
once to have remarked, “he is the greatest organist in the world.” In fact, Saint-‐
25
Saëns personally funded performances of Liszt’s music and was the first to
perform Liszt’s symphonic poems in France.
Though he found success over the course of his life through performance
and compositional activities, Saint-‐Saëns’ primary occupation was as an organist
and composer in a variety of church positions. He served 24 years at some of the
most prestigious churches in Paris, first as the organist for Saint-‐Merri from 1853
until 1857, and then at the famous l'église de la Madeleine from 1857 until 1877. In
1877 when he was finally financially stable enough to retire from the Madeleine,
he left his career as a church musician in order to travel the world and undertake
various compositional projects.
Although Saint-‐Saëns spent the majority of his life working in the church,
history does not generally view him as a sacred music composer. It is likely that
even the composer himself did not see himself in this role. The subject of the
composer’s religious convictions is highly debated. Throughout his life,
particularly in his later years, he expressed several beliefs which have led many to
describe him as an atheist. In his 1894 essay Problèmes et mystères, however, he
refutes these claims in the following words: “atheism is in very poor taste, owing
to the rabble which denies God in order to free itself from all rules, and to have no
other law than the satisfaction of its lowest appetites.”13
13 Jacques-‐Gabriel Prod'homme and Frederick H. Martens,“Camille Saint-‐Saëns,” The
Musical Quarterly 8 (1922): 480.

26
Regardless of his personal faith, Saint-‐Saëns’ relationship with the church
had a profound influence on his compositional output. Throughout his long career
he wrote nearly 50 sacred compositions, including oratorios, masses, works for
solo ensembles, and motets. He composed many motets intended for liturgical
usage. His Latin-‐texted motets are typically scored for choir and/or soloists and
organ. The choral works are simple, and very little information about their genesis
has been provided by either the composer or historians. Given the composer’s
primary occupation and the characteristics of the compositions, such as relatively
simple harmonic language, homophonic textures, Latin text and primarily colla
parte organ parts, it seems likely that these works were meant to be used during
liturgical worship, and not in concert.
Writings on Liturgical Music
Even in his own day Saint-‐Saëns was not well known for his vocal church
compositions, but rather was known as a brilliant organist and an insightful critic.
Throughout his lifetime he wrote numerous articles and critiques that commented
on a variety of contemporary composers and musical genres. As the organist at
one of the major churches in Paris, as well as an instructor at the École
Niedermeyer, Saint-‐Saëns’ opinion wielded considerable influence. In particular,
he was qualified to speak authoritatively on the subject of church music. In his
1916 article “Music in the Church” Saint-‐Saëns stated, “As I was brought up in
France, as a Catholic, the music of our French Catholic churches is naturally that
27
most familiar to me; and it is of that music which I may be permitted to write with
a certain authority.”14 Though he did not write much on the subject of his own
compositions, his numerous critiques of the music of his peers give us insight into
his views on church music in nineteenth-‐century Europe.
Though he was a champion of modern music and music of the great
composers of the baroque and classical eras, he believed that many of these
concert works simply had no place in a liturgical setting. On the subject of using
concert works in a worship setting Saint-‐Saëns writes, “The most beautiful things
are beautiful only in their place. And so, how can a fugue or a toccata by J.S. Bach
make its way into an offertory? They are concert pieces which bear no relation
whatsoever to a mass, and which inspire neither a meditative nor a prayerful
mood.”15 It is striking that Saint-‐Saëns, who was a driving force behind the
integration of seventeenth-‐ and eighteenth-‐century music into the École
Niedermeyer curriculum, repeatedly speaks against the use of much of it in the
church setting. A comment in reference to J.S Bach’s B Minor Mass, BWV 232, and
Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, op. 123 further supports his view on the subject:
These marvels, which disarm criticism by their magnificence, overpass the
frame for which they were fashioned. The Bach mass is too highly
developed for the exigencies of the Catholic cult; besides (and this is a
bizarre phenomenon) the author’s style adapts itself ill to the Latin words;
the finest portions of the work are borrowed from his cantatas, and lose
much through transplantation. These works are better adapted for Sacred
14 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, “Music in the Church,” trans. Theodore Baker, The Musical Quarterly
2 (1916): 2.

15 Saint-‐Saëns, “Music in the Church,” 8.

28
Concerts than for the Church; the latter has need of greater calm and
serenity.16

Saint-‐Saëns was in fact so committed to maintaining the reverence of church
music that it often led to conflict and strained relationships with his employers
and members of the church community. In his writings he recounts a particular
incident with a vicar of the Madeleine:
One of the vicars of the parish sent a request that I should visit him. I called
upon him, as desired, and after a lengthy discourse, which was quite
unintelligible to me; he finally came to the point: “Do not misunderstand
me. The parishioners of the Madeleine are for the most part persons of
wealth, who frequently go to the theatre of the Opéra-‐Comique, where they
have become accustomed to a style of music to which you are expected to
conform.” “Monsieur” I replied, “whenever I shall hear the dialogue of the
Opéra-‐Comique spoken in the pulpit, I will play music appropriate to it;
until then I shall continue as hitherto.”17

Through Saint-‐Saëns’ own writings it is apparent that he thought of church
music as something that should be set apart from other musical styles. Saint-‐Saëns
provides evidence of his ideal church music style through his critiques of his
contemporaries. No subject elicited a more zealous response from Saint-‐Saëns
than the state of church music in mid-‐nineteenth century France. The list of things
that offended him about many of his contemporaries is long and detailed. First,
Saint-‐Saëns was repulsed by the casual and often sloppy treatment of liturgical
Latin texts on the part of many of his contemporaries. In one of the few early
16 Ibid., 6-‐7.
17 Ibid., 7.

29
descriptions devoted specifically to Saint-‐Saëns’ musical style, the famous French
organist and composer Louis Vierne (1870-‐1937) wrote:
With the exception of Gounod, who was a cultivated man, church musicians
knew nothing of their art. To them Latin was a formless gibberish which
they set in any way to any kind of music which, most of the time, was
contrary to common sense and to the most elementary taste. It can be said
that the period between 1830 and 1860 presents the most lamentable
spectacle for sacred music…With so strong a classical background, literary
as well as musical, Saint-‐Saëns immediately understood the problem and,
since he entered the arena, strove to combat it. He reacted strongly against
the bad taste of the times by writing music strictly appropriate to the
character of the liturgical words of the given text. He banished from his
works all useless decoration and theatrical effects. In particular, Saint-‐
Saëns detested works in which pre-‐existent text was substituted for new
Latin text, simply for the use of worship.18

Saint-‐Saëns was particularly offended by the common practice of adapting non-‐
liturgical pieces into sacred ones by means of replacing old text with new Latin
text. He wrote:
But, though taste be in abeyance, one ought at least to be sensitive to the
proprieties. Does it not argue a want of this, to choose pieces written for
the theatre or the drawing-‐room and adapt Latin words to them, when we
possess such a prodigious quantity of pieces written expressly for the
church. What shall one say of these odious canticles which are imposed on
the children and the more or less ripe maidens of the religious societies,
some being models of platitude and insignificance, while others are
parodies on operatic airs, leaving the prosody quite of consideration, thus
forming deplorable habits in those who sing them!19

Saint-‐Saëns was also extremely critical of the pope’s efforts to reform the
music of the Catholic Church. On November 22, 1903 Pope Pius X issued the “Motu
18 Louis Vierne, “La musique religieuse de Saint-‐Saens,” in Saint-‐Saëns and the Organ, ed.
Rollin Smith (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992), 37-‐39.
19 Saint-‐Saëns, “Music in the Church,” 5.

30
proprio, tra le sollecitudini.” The document was likely co-‐written by the Italian
priest and composer Don Lorenzo Perosi (1872-‐1956), who is considered by many
to be the most prominent of the Cecilian-‐influenced Italian composers of his time.
This decree called for the return of Gregorian chant as the most important musical
element of the mass, and also elevated the style of Palestrina and other late
sixteenth-‐century polyphonists as the superior form of church music. Saint-‐Saëns
felt that the pope was short-‐sighted to suggest that only the Renaissance style was
to be glorified. He maintained that the real problem was the practice of re-‐working
non-‐sacred works with new Latin text. In response he wrote the following: “Ah, if
his holiness had confined himself to demanding some indispensable reforms, such
as the exclusion of all secular music ‘adapted’ for the church, he would have been
obeyed, and the benefit would have been great.”20
As mentioned before, his belief that church music should be reflective of
the mood and texts appropriate to the worship service led him to reject many of
the religious works of the very composers he helped champion throughout his
career. In the article Musique religieuse he wrote:
I would ruthlessly forbid all music, even that of the great masters, which
was not composed to sacred words but to which, on the contrary, words
were more or less successfully adapted. Such pieces are artistic crimes;
nothing justifies them given the prodigious amount of music specifically
written for the Church between the sixteenth century and now.21

20 Ibid.

21 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, “Musique religieuse,” in Saint-‐Saëns and the Organ, ed. Rollin Smith
(Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992), 204.

31
It is clear that Saint-‐Saëns believed that the character of the music should fit the
spiritual function of the service. He pointed out the difference between the
intended effects of concert music and that of the church service. He stated quite
simply, “There being no intention, in the church, of exciting applause, one should
not strive after effect.”22
It is also evident from these writings that although the composer held
conservative beliefs about the function of music in the liturgy, he was not willing
to accept the sixteenth-‐century model as the perfect solution for church music. He
was a great lover of the Classical Era, and especially loved a beautifully-‐crafted
melody. This led him to criticize the parody masses of Palestrina:
The inconsistency of the procedure was wholly theoretical; a theme,

whatever be its nature, becomes unrecognizable when treated in this
manner. Take whatever popular air you will, turn every note into a
semibreve to the total neglect of all rhythm, entwine about the theme
concertante parts in crotchets and quavers, and then see what is left of the
melody!23

Saint-‐Saëns believed that both prominent melody and expressive harmony were
central attributes of quality church music. He was deeply critical of
contemporaries who recklessly combined plain-‐chant and modern harmonies by
composing new block-‐chord accompaniments. Instead he supported more creative
solutions to combining the ancient church style with modern tonalities. In Music in
the Church he wrote:
22 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, “Music in the Church,” 6.
23 Ibid., 3.

32
But our predecessors were not satisfied with detaching each one of these
light notes and setting them down ponderously one beside the other; they
made an accompaniment, a solid chord for each note, and, as a climax of
illogicalness, they transported, by means of said useless accompaniment,
this music composed in the ancient modes into modern tonalities. A
remedy for these evils was sought by Niedermeyer, who, despairing of
extirpating the error involved in an accompaniment to plain-‐chant,
attempted to render it at least rational by conserving its ‘modal’
character…The task is accomplished; his system has made its way
throughout France, and has even overpassed its aim by showing the
possibility of introducing the ancient modes into modern harmony, thus
enriching it in an unexpected manner.24

It is clear through his prose writings that Saint-‐Saëns valued the “modal
character” of works and the fusion of modality with modern harmony.
Deductions and Summary
As evinced by the above-‐mentioned writings, it is no surprise that Saint-‐
Saëns had serious reservations about the Cecilian movement that was spreading
throughout Europe in the mid-‐nineteenth century. His primary objection,
however, was not to the objectives of the movement, but rather to the musical
product that the Cecilian composers produced. He regarded their work to be sub-‐
standard, “useless imitations” of previously composed masterpieces.
Let us come down to the sixteenth century, to the school which Palestrina
gave his name. It is flourishing, not alone in Italy, but throughout the whole
of occidental Europe. Vague in tonality, this music pleases more especially
by its mystery; for no one knows precisely what it signifies…In spite of
these serious uncertainties and obscurities, this style has its fanatic
devotees who proclaim that it alone has produced real religious music; and
some forty years ago there was formed in Germany a school of composers
24 Ibid.
33
writing solely in this style, never considering that, as the entire sixteenth
century has produced mountains of such music, one needed only to delve in
this gold mine instead of seeking to create useless imitations. What
illusions alas! were cherished by these admirable blind men!25

As previously mentioned, Saint-‐Saëns believed that church music could and
should contain well-‐crafted melodies and expressive harmonies, both of which he
considered to be lacking among the works of Cecilian composers. He expressed
this by writing, “In my humble opinion this music, with its consonant harmonies
and its disdain for melody, should take but little thought for what we call
expression.”26 Throughout Saint-‐Saëns’ writings there are harsh critiques of the
quality of music that the Cecilian composers produced, but nowhere does he
suggest that their motives and goals are flawed. On the contrary, the phrase
“admirable blind men” seems to indicate that Saint-‐Saëns must have found some
merit in their ideology, though he disliked their music. Despite his criticism of the
Cecilians, one cannot deny the similarities between many of his own beliefs about
church music and the core principles of the movement.
The composer’s written opinions on church music have a positive
correlation with his own musical style exhibited in the liturgical choral motets.
Traditionally, many scholars have concluded that Saint-‐Saëns’ music does not
conform to any one specific style. Sabina Ratner summarizes Saint-‐Saëns’
compositional influence, writing, “throughout his career his art was one of
25 Ibid., 4.

26 Ibid., 4.
34
amalgamation and adaptation rather than that of pursuing new and original paths;
and this led Debussy to epitomize him as ‘the musician of tradition’.”27 Ratner’s
statement is true with regard to the composer’s entire compositional output,
however, in Saint-‐Saëns’ own writings he clearly indicates that he conceived of
church music as something distinct and worthy of a style all its own. The opinions
expressed in the prose writings are supported through analysis of style features
found in the Latin-‐texted choral motets.

27 Sabina Teller Ratner, "Saint-‐Saëns, Camille," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians. ed. Stanley Sadie. 2nd ed., vol. 22 (Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2001), 126.

35
CHAPTER 3: AVE MARIA, OP. 145
The motet Ave Maria was composed in 1914, toward the end of Saint-‐Saëns’
life, when his compositions were losing popularity in France because of his non-‐
malleable style and musical conservatism. He spent the years between 1898 and
1921 traveling and gaining international popularity. In locations such as Africa
and North and South America, he was viewed as the very embodiment of
nineteenth-‐century French music. Despite his advanced age, Saint-‐Saëns remained
a prolific composer and organist. Arthur Hervey’s biography of Camille Saint-‐
Saëns, completed shortly before Saint-‐Saëns’ death in 1921, describes an elderly
composer who remained full of life until his final days:
On October 9, 1920, he celebrated his eighty-‐fifth birthday. The years had
evidently dealt lightly with the famous musician, for his many admirers
might have read the account of a concert which took place at the Trocadero
in Paris during that month when the veteran and ever youthful master
moved an audience to enthusiasm in the dual capacity of composer and
executant.28

Ave Maria, op. 145 is one of three Latin-‐texted choral motets known to have
been composed during the final years of Saint-‐Saëns’ life. At first glance, it is
evident that the piece contains slightly more chromatic and unpredictable
harmonic language than many of his earlier compositions. Closer analysis,
however, reveals striking similarities between this work and works composed
over fifty years prior. In many ways, Ave Maria serves as an example of Saint-‐
28
Arthur Hervey, Saint-Saëns (Westport: Greenwood Press, 1922), 25.
36
Saëns’ continued musical greatness and commitment to conservative
compositional practices in the final years of his life.
Form
Ave Maria is divided into three formal sections ending with a coda. Simple
binary and ternary forms such as this are typical of Saint-‐Saëns’ choral motets. A
formal analysis of the work is shown in Figure 3.1 below.
2
=
1+
=
Figure 3.1. Formal analysis of Ave Maria, op. 145
The A portion of the piece is divided into two sub-‐sections. The first section
is firmly in the tonic key of F major, and closes with a half cadence in the
dominant, C major. The second section remains in the dominant and concludes
with the only perfect authentic cadence in the work at measures 20 through 21.
37
The B portion of the work can also be said to be in the dominant key of C major,
although it is the most chromatically inflected section in the work. Much of the
chromatic pitch content in this portion is derived from the parallel minor key of F
minor. The Ave Maria text is in two formal sections, each containing three lines of
text. This makes Saint-‐Saëns’ choice of three large formal sections, rather than
two, an interesting one. As Saint-‐Saëns was interested in classical forms, he likely
chose to repeat the opening text in the tonic key in order to provide symmetry and
balance to the piece. Though the text is the same, the third formal section differs
musically from the opening section. The pedal point at measure 43 in the bass
voice and organ, however, recalls the sustained F major sonority that opens the
piece. The short coda that begins in measure 66 recalls the opening of the piece
through the alternation of upper and lower voices, suspensions, and harmonic
change every three beats.
Text Setting

Throughout this work, Camille Saint-‐Saëns gives musical consideration to
the natural stress of Latin text. An example is found in the A portion of the motet
(Musical Example 3.1). In this example, the composer uses dissonance to affect
appropriate text stress. In measures 2 through 10 the voices are paired
soprano/alto and tenor/bass. Each group of voices enters on the stressed syllable
of the phrase of the previous group, resulting in a series of suspensions between
the two groups of voices, which correspond with the natural stresses in the text.
38
Musical Example 3.1. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave Maria (Paris: Durand, 1914), mm. 5-‐9

Voice Leading
In Ave Maria, Saint-‐Saëns demonstrates a preference for stepwise voice
leading. Examples of this can be seen in the B portion of the work. Beginning at
measure 24 (Musical Example 3.2), the composer borrows heavily from the
parallel minor key of F minor. This allows the option of the flat-‐six chord (D-‐flat
major) and the flat-‐three chord (A-‐flat major). Saint-‐Saëns approaches phrase
endings by step in measure 27 and measure 31 through use of enharmonically
spelled E major and F major chords respectively. These progressions contain two
half steps that resolve to the root and the fifth of the resolution chord. The tonic of
the first chord becomes the third of the resolution sonority. To the ear, this
39
stepwise motion implies more archaic cadence types typical of modal voice
leading. There is no root movement in any voice at any point in this section.
40

41
At measure 35 the motion to the C dominant seventh chord on the second
half of the second beat suggests that the passage will cadence to the tonic on beat
three. Instead, the result is a deceptive cadence to D-‐flat major. This creates a
diversion from the cadence to F major, and allows each voice to resolve again, by
step (Musical Example 3.3).
In measures 10 through 20 each voice of the four-‐part texture moves
almost exclusively by step (Musical Example 3.4). No voice has any ascending leap
of more than a third (with the exception of the soprano in measure 20), or
contains a descending leap of more than a fifth. No voice has any more than four
leaps in this entire section. In a manner reminiscent of sixteenth-‐century music,
every ascending leap in the soprano line is compensated by immediate stepwise
motion in the opposite direction. The one exception is in measure 21, where the
soprano must leap back down a fifth so that the cadence can resolve with the tonic
in the soprano voice.

42

43
Harmony
Saint-‐Saëns’ choral motets contain a considerable amount of nineteenth-‐
century chromaticism. What is interesting, however, is that while there are many
chromatic inflections, the large-‐scale harmonic motion is relatively simple. Each
section of this work can be said to be in either the tonic or dominant key. Whereas
many composers writing in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
explored mediant relationships and more distantly related keys, in Ave Maria
Saint-‐Saëns remains centered on F major or C major throughout the work. Rather
than modulating to distant keys, he uses modal mixture derived from the parallel
minor key, and various altered chords as sources for chromatic pitch content.
Another noteworthy feature of this work is the consistency of phrase
length. As shown above in Figure 3.1, every choral measure of the piece is part of a
four-‐ or eight-‐bar musical phrase. This, just as the use of the harmonically closed
form and closely related tonal centers, recalls Classical era compositional
practices.
As mentioned above, Saint-‐Saëns employs voice leading that contains a
considerable amount of stepwise motion. This sometimes results in harmonic
motion in which the root of the chord moves by step. In Ave Maria measure 10, an
example of stepwise harmonic motion can be seen on a macro-‐scale. The
progression begins at measure 10 in C major. The addition of the G pitch in the
soprano in measure 11 creates a cadence to D minor through the use of its own
dominant seventh chord. Likewise, the addition of the B natural in measures 12
44
and 13 creates a cadence to C major. Therefore, the four-‐measure passage can be
viewed as stepwise motion from C major to D minor, and back to C major (Musical
Example 3.5).
CM dm CM
Organ
In Ave Maria, the organ primarily functions as support for the voices, and is
frequently set colla parte. At the beginning of the piece, the organ sounds on the
downbeat of measure 1 with the pitches of the first chord in the choir, which
enters in measure 2. This provides pitches for the singers without the need for
given pitch before the work begins (Musical Example 3.6).

45
The organ also provides transitions between formal sections of the work.
After being tacet from measures 10 through 19, the organ re-‐enters in measure 20,
overlapping with the choir and creating a smooth transition into the B section at
measure 24 (Musical Example 3.7). The same process occurs in measures 39
through 43, this time providing a smooth link back to the A material (Musical
Example 3.8).

46

47
Examples of the organ functioning as harmonic support for the choir can be
found in this work as well. When the harmonic language is easier for the choir, for
48
example in measures 10 through 19 and measures 43 through 54, the organ is
either absent or simply sustaining pitch. When the passage becomes more
chromatic, however, the organ re-‐enters colla parte. An example is found in the B
section, beginning in measure 24. Once the pitch content derived from the parallel
minor has been present for several measures, the organ is again tacet (Musical
Example 3.9).

49

50
Expressive Elements
Throughout the motet, Saint-‐Saëns uses various, subtle methods of
highlighting text. In some instances, this is done through use of dynamic contrasts
and range of the voices. An example is found at measure 20. Here the sopranos
state the highest pitch in the piece, a G above the treble clef staff. This measure is
also an example of one of only two perfect authentic cadences in the work,
occurring at the only time in the text that the word “Jesus” appears. This technique
powerfully highlights the name Jesus (See Musical Example 3.4 and 3.7).
51
Saint-‐Saëns also highlights moments of textual importance through
harmonic and melodic techniques. An example is seen at measure 38. For the first
time in this work, all four voice parts come to a unison on the word “mortis,”
meaning “death.” The sudden shift from four-‐part dissonant harmony to unison
makes this word abruptly emerge from the texture (Musical Example 3.10).
52

53
A third method of text and mood highlighting involves shifting to the
parallel minor. This shift allows the composer to create a greater contrast in mood
through use of a more distantly related key. In measures 24 through 40, pitch
content derived from F minor, the parallel minor of F major, is used to depict a
change in mood. This shift in key occurs when the text shifts from the opening
section to the second portion of the text. The first section of text is the angelic
greeting, while the second portion of text is an intercessory prayer. Prevailing
rising and falling half-‐step motion in all parts also helps to depict the pleading
character of the text (see Musical Example 3.9).
At first glance Ave Maria is a simple piece, but Saint-‐Saëns uses various
subtle techniques including dissonance, range, dynamic contrasts, and choice of
key to express the meaning and mood of the text. In this work, he shows a deep
commitment to maintaining the integrity of the Latin text. Through stepwise
melodic and harmonic motion, subtle text painting, unobtrusive organ
accompaniment and carefully placed harmonic and melodic text stresses, Saint-‐
Saëns creates a work in which the music never distracts from the prominence of
the text.

54
CHAPTER 4: SYLISTIC CONTINUITIES
Ave Maria was the first work analyzed in this study. After this analysis, it is
apparent that there is a positive correlation between the style features found in
this motet and the beliefs expressed in Saint-‐Saëns’ prose writings. From Saint-‐
Saëns’ prose writings, as well as additional non-‐primary sources, I have
established four key principles which I believe reflect the composer’s concept of
ideal church music. These principles are as follows:
1. Musical choices that either support or enhance the natural stress and
meaning of the Latin text
2. Music that does not distract from the solemn character of the mass
3. Use of prominent and expressive melody
4. Use of modern and expressive harmony

In order to provide sufficient evidence of a consistent musical style in this
genre, similar style features to that of Ave Maria must be present in the remaining
five motets. Analysis indicates that four style features commonly found in all six
works are supportive of the composer’s written ideology. These style features
represent the manifestation of the composer’s views of church music and Cecilian
idealism. These four style features are as follows:
1. Musical choices that either support or enhance the natural stress and
meaning of the Latin text. This feature supports principle one.
2. Use of fully developed functional harmonic language typical of the
nineteenth century with application of stepwise horizontal
progressions that exploit the modal tendencies of the sixteenth century.
This feature supports principles three and four.
3. Use of unobtrusive accompaniment. This feature supports principles
one and two.
4. Subtle text and mood painting. This feature supports principle two.
55
In the next section of this chapter I will explain and identify each style
feature in the Latin-‐texted motets of Camille Saint-‐Saëns. Each of these features
was identified in the motet Ave Maria in the thorough analysis found in Chapter
Three. A similar procedure will be used to identify examples of these features in
the remaining five motets. This procedure will illumine how these style features
relate to the composer’s concept of Cecilian idealism and will establish them as an
integral part of the composer’s compositional style in this genre.
Musical Choices That Either Support or Enhance the Natural Stress and
Meaning of the Latin Text

Camille Saint-‐Saëns described the common eighteenth-‐ and nineteenth-‐
century practice of adapting sacred texts to fit previously composed works with
secular text in his article “Musique religieuse.” In this article, he refers to these
works as “artistic crimes,” making clear his belief that the music should match the
sacred Latin text. Patrick Liebergen suggests that the practice of making musical
choices in order to support the stress and meaning of the text is a form of Cecilian
idealism. He describes this concept in the music of Anton Bruckner as follows:
If one carefully examines the choral works of Palestrina, it will be evident
that normally stressed syllables are given musical accentuations…Bruckner
also showed concern for a distinct performance of the text. For example in
the Mass in e minor, the normally stressed syllables are given agogic and
tonic accents. However, in some of Bruckner’s works, the nineteenth-‐
century harmonies and instruments further enhance the correlation of
musical stresses to syllabic stresses. In these works counterpoint never
56
obscures the text, and the rhythms in each work are subservient to the
text.29

Camille Saint-‐Saëns’ preservation of the natural stressing of the Latin text is
seen consistently throughout his choral motets. In Ave verum (1860) (Musical
Example 4.1) Saint-‐Saëns sets the work homophonically, with the only melisma in
the piece falling on the word “mortis,” meaning “death.” This melisma serves as a
way to highlight the most dramatic moment of the hymn text. As suggested by
Liebergen, the use of homophony makes the text more clearly understood by
allowing no polyphonic activity to blur the text or negatively affect the text stress
in each musical phrase.
In this passage, there is a clear effort by the composer to not accent
unaccented syllables. In measure 39 for example, dissonance between the soprano
and alto is avoided on the downbeat. The naturally stressed downbeat is set to the
syllable “tis” in the soprano and tenor voice, the unaccented syllable of “mortis.”
The composer avoids stressing this syllable, however, by assigning consonant
chords to the first two beats of the measure. The dissonance is saved for beat three
of the same measure when the accented syllable “mor” is in the soprano voice. A
similar procedure is used in measure 41 when the stress of the downbeat, which
occurs on the unaccented syllable, is minimized through the use of a consonant E-‐
flat major chord in second inversion.

29 Patrick Libergen, “The Cecilian Movement in the Nineteenth Century: A Summary of the
Movement,” 14.

57
Musical Example 4.1. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave verum (Paris: Durand, 1884), mm. 33-‐44
Tantum Ergo (1856) (Musical Example 4.2) provides another example of
this style feature. In measure 82, melismas are passed from voice to voice during
the text phrase “compar sit laudatio.” Rather than layering the melismas in various
voices simultaneously, the composer assigns the melisma to one voice at a time or,
at most, a pairing of voices. When combined, the melismas in each voice part fall
58
on every syllable of the text and in the correct order of the text phrase. The correct
text stress of the final word is further enhanced by the composer’s decision to set
the stressed syllables of “laudatio” in thirds, while the unstressed syllables “lau”
and “ti” are set in octaves.
Musical Example 4.2. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (Paris: Durand, 1884), mm. 82-‐85
In Ave verum (1878) (Musical Example 4.3) meter and rhythm help to affect
the appropriate text stress. Beginning at measure 84, the text stresses occur on
every other syllable. For example, the words “cujus” and “latus” are both two-‐
syllable words in which the first syllable receives the stress. The word
“perforatum” is a four-‐syllable word in which the first and third syllables are
59
stressed. Saint-‐Saëns emphasizes this by setting the text so that the stressed
syllable is always placed on the first note in each measure, thereby aligning the
text stress with the stressed beat in the triple meter.

60
Harmony, Texture and Melody
Saint-‐Saëns addresses the issues of combining modality and modern
harmony in his article “Music and the Church.” His praise of Niedermeyer’s ability
to create a fusion of ancient modality with modern harmony suggests that he
valued combining elements of both practices. In Saint-‐Saëns’ article “Musique
religieuse” he expresses his distaste for composers of the time who combined
plainchant and modern harmony:
It will not be amusing if our churches must be limited to plainchant and
Palestrina. But, on the whole, one does not go to mass to be amused, and
this diet would be a hundred times preferable to that drivel inflicted on us
daily to the detriment of art and to the benefit of no one. Reverend Father
Lambillotte, who was probably a holy man, but whose dreadful music is
completely out of place beneath sacred vaults! Because in art, holiness is
not sufficient. Talent is necessary. Style is necessary. And where will great
style find refuge if not in the church where the applause, success and
miseries of art do not exist?30

Analysis of his choral motets reveals that Saint-‐Saëns’ harmonic language is
fully functional and rarely uses modality as a source of pitch content. Instead, the
influence of modality can be seen through various voice-‐leading practices and
harmonic progressions that exploit the modal tendencies of ancient music. The
modal character of Saint-‐Saëns’ works is primarily seen through his use of
stepwise motion in three specific ways; stepwise motion at phrase endings and
cadences, stepwise harmonic motion, and melodic motion by step. Patrick
Liebergen supports the idea that stepwise harmonic and melodic motion can be
30 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, “Musique religieuse,” in Saint-‐Saëns and the Organ, ed. Rollin Smith
(Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992), 204. Reverend Father Lambillotte was a noted
nineteenth-‐century church music reformer.

61
considered to be modally inspired and reflective of the Cecilian ideal. Regarding
the choral motets of Anton Bruckner he states, “In keeping with many of his
Cecilian compositions, ‘Os Justi’ and ‘Pange Lingua’ are an assimilation of modal
harmony and traditional modern harmony. In these works there is harmonic
movement by step, typical of modal harmony, as well as harmonic movement by
third, fourth, and fifth, typical of modern harmony.”31
An example of stepwise motion at phrase endings can be seen in the motet
Ave verum (1878) (Musical Example 4.4). In measure 32, the root of the dominant
(A) is not present in the texture at all. The result is a diad moving in stepwise
contrary motion to a unison cadence. The same procedure occurs later in the work
at measures 39 and 46, where the root of the chord is only present in the organ
(Musical Example 4.5). At no point in the entire work does the root of the
penultimate chord occur in any of the voices at a cadence. The result is that every
cadence in the work is approached by stepwise motion in all voices.
Movement,” 14.

62

63

64
The chromatic content in the B section of this motet (measures 52 through
95), results primarily from different tonicizations of chords found in the relative
minor, B minor. For example in measures 60 through 63 C-‐sharp major is
tonicized by its dominant. In measures 64 through 67 B minor is tonicized, and in
measures 68 through 71 E minor is toncizied. In measure 67 and measure 71
Saint-‐Saëns uses the A-‐sharp and D-‐sharp along with late resolution of the root
pitch to create temporary 6/4 chords, which must resolve by step (Musical
Example 4.6).

65
In Tantum ergo (1860) (Musical Example 4.7) Saint-‐Saëns’ harmonic
progressions result in cadential motion by step. In measures 43 through 44, rather
than moving the bass downward to C on beat one of measure 44, which would
result in a dominant cadence to F Major, he chooses to approach the cadence by
step in all voices. The result is a vii-‐I cadence instead of the more commonly used
V-‐I progression. The same procedure occurs in measures 45 through 46. Instead of
moving the bass down to a D pitch or the keeping the soprano on a D pitch on the
last eighth note of the bar, he chooses to approach the cadence by step in all
voices. The result is, again, a vii-‐I cadence.
Musical Example 4.7. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (London: Faber, 1994), mm. 43-‐47
In his motets Camille Saint-‐Saëns shows an overwhelming preference for
stepwise motion in all voice parts. Saint-‐Saëns’ writings indicate that the crafting
of melody was of utmost importance to him. This is reflected in his compositional
66
style in that his principal melodies are usually simple, contained within an octave
range with one central peak, and are usually found in the soprano voice at the top
of the texture. Saint-‐Saëns makes little to no use of the imitative style of Palestrina
and his contemporaries because, as he expressed in the earlier mentioned
writings, it blurs and often buries the melody. It is clear, however, that the
composer does limit the intervallic leaps of each voice and contains each melody
within an octave. This combining of homophonic textures with stepwise motion
and controlled range of the melody is a way in which Saint-‐Saëns successfully
combines “ancient austerity” with “modern harmonies.”32
In Ave verum (1860) (Musical Example 4.8) the melody, which is found in
the soprano voice, is almost completely stepwise throughout. There are no leaps
larger than a sixth in the entire work and the soprano voice contains only two
leaps of pitch within the same musical phrase. Both of these instances occur at
melismas set to the word “mortis.”

32 Stephen Studd, Saint-‐Saëns: A Critical Biography (London: Cygnus Arts, 1999), 33.

67
In Tantum ergo (1860) (Musical Example 4.9) the melody found in
measures 1 through 9 is exactly one octave in range. Its singular central peak is
found in measures 4 through 5, and its arch-‐like form also recalls the Palestrina
style of melodic composition. This melody contains predominantly stepwise
motion, and every pitch in the E-‐flat major scale is used.
Musical Example 4.9. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (London: Faber, 1994), mm. 1-‐9
Another example is shown in the motet Deus Abraham (Musical Example
4.10). The principle melody begins with a four-‐measure phrase which is almost
completely syllabic. In measure three the voice leaps up a fourth, and immediately
fills in the skipped pitches with descending melodic motion. In measure four the
leap is of a seventh, and again is filled in with three descending pitches, ending the
phrase on the tonic. In measure five a descending seventh occurs from C down to
D. The voice then leaps back up to a B pitch before beginning the downward
stepwise motion, in order to fill in the pitches that were skipped between C and D.
One extra note is added to the word “sit” in order to fill in the final note that was
skipped, E.

68
Musical Example 4.10. Saint-‐Saëns, Deus Abraham (Paris: Durand, 1892), mm. 1-‐6
The predominance of stepwise motion in each individual voice part
naturally leads to an abundance of passages containing harmonic movement by
step. Unlike many of Saint-‐Saëns’ fellow French composers at the turn of the
twentieth century, his motets do not feature planing as a compositional element.
Instead, the voices typically move in a combination of contrary and parallel
motion. Harmonic movement by step usually occurs in short passages, typically
with fewer than four continuous sonorities at a time. These passages are a
common occurrence, however, and are found frequently in his choral motets. As
69
mentioned previously, Liebergen suggests that harmonic motion by step is a
method that both Bruckner and Liszt used to capitalize on the character of
modality, while not necessarily using modal harmony. Whether or not Saint-‐Saëns
intended this harmonic motion by step to be suggestive of sixteenth-‐century
modality, or if it is simply a byproduct of his preference for linear stepwise
motion, is uncertain. What is certain is that it is a key style feature of this genre
and also is reflective of the composer’s desire to combine archaic ideas with
modern tonal practices.
In measure 11 of Tantum ergo (1860) (Musical Example 4.11) the
composer begins with a tightly-‐spaced E-‐flat major chord. The contrary stepwise
motion of the voices results in a harmonic progression of E-‐flat major, D major, C
dominant seven, and finally D major. A similar example is found beginning in
measure 17 beat 3 with the chord progression C major, tones F-‐sharp and A
implying D major, E-‐flat major, C major, and ending with D major. (Musical
Example 4.12).

70
Musical Example 4.11. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (London: Faber, 1994), mm. 10-‐
13
19
Another instance of harmonic movement by step can be seen in Ave verum
(1878), measures 37 through 39 (Musical Example 4.13). From measure 37 until
beat three of measure 39, each voice in the four-‐part texture moves completely by
step. This yields the chord progression B minor, C-‐sharp diminished seven, D
71
major, E minor, D major, E minor, and finally results in the dominant resolving to
the tonic.
In Deus Abraham, 1885, stepwise harmonic motion can be seen through
direct motion to keys a step apart. An example of this occurs at measure 16 with
direct motion from a B major sonority to C major sonority in the following
measure (Musical Example 4.14).

72
Musical Example 4.14. Saint-‐Saëns, Deus Abraham (Paris: Durand, 1892), mm. 14-‐
19
Use of Unobtrusive Accompaniment
Saint-‐Saëns was one of the most accomplished organists in nineteenth-‐
century Europe.33 His works for solo organ, such as his collections of preludes and
fugues, are virtuosic, and demonstrate his consummate skill as a composer of
organ music. Examination of the Latin choral motets, however, reveals no virtuosic
writing for the organ. In nearly all cases the instrumental music acts as transition
33 Smith, Rollin, Saint-‐Saëns and the Organ (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992)
73
or support for the voices. Saint-‐Saëns spoke about the function of the organ in the
following terms:
If the sound of the organ, a harmonious noise rather than exact music,
produces little that is worth writing down on paper, then it belongs to the
same category as those old stained glass windows where you can scarcely
discern the shapes but which, nevertheless, have more charm than their
modern counterparts.”34

The comparison between the organ and a stained glass window along with the
claim that the organ does not provide “exact music” indicate that the composer
values the instrument’s ability to provide background support and color rather
than to assume a dominant role in church music. The use of wind instruments as a
means to subtly support the voices was one of the key principles of the Cecilian
reform movement as described by Witt. Liebergen describes how this principle
manifests itself in the masses of Liszt and Bruckner:
In all movements of the Mass in e minor, the instruments sound a firm
harmonic reinforcement without obscuring the vocal lines. Instruments are
also used in the mass for textual emphasis…Liszt’s use of organ as an
unobtrusive accompaniment in the Missa Choralis is another element of the
Cecilian movement. Unlike Bruckner, who used mostly woodwinds and
brass in his Cecilian works, Liszt showed a preference for the organ.35

It is important to note that in all of Saint-‐Saëns’ motets the organ is
indicated in the score. This provides evidence that, even though it primarily
functions as support for the voices, it is still an integral part of the musical texture.
Only two of the motets specify instruments other than organ: Ave verum (1878),
34 James Harding, Saint-‐Saëns and His Circle (London: Chapman & Hall, 1965): 63.
Movement,” 14-‐15.

74
which includes horn, and Deus Abraham, which includes harp. As mentioned
above, the horn was frequently used by Cecilians as a means of support due to its
voice-‐like quality in certain ranges. The harp possesses the ability to provide
timbrel contrast to the organ line, and was used frequently by Saint-‐Saëns for this
purpose (see for example the fifth movement of the Oratorio de Noël, op. 12, where
the harp doubles the organ).
In the opening portion of Tantum ergo (1856) (Musical Example 4.15), the
organ accompaniment has been crafted to guide the choir through the various
chord changes. Only in measure 1 does the organ sound before the choir has
reached the arrival sonority. It functions in this case to provide the tonality for the
piece. In each subsequent case, the organ simply re-‐states the current pitches of
the choir. The composer indicates for both the choir and organ to hold over an
extra quarter note at the end of their respective phrases so that the transitions are
fluid and seamless.

75

76
The composer often uses the organ to support the choir as the pitch content
becomes increasingly difficult. For example, in measure 23 through 31 (Musical
Example 4.16), the organ does not play colla parte with the choir but simply
outlines the chords in broken fashion. In measure 32 as G major begins to emerge
as the tonal center, the organ is set colla parte through measure 44. Saint-‐Saëns’
compositional skill is shown in measure 34 where he deviates for a brief moment
from the colla parte texture, providing a smooth transition between text sections.
The organ simply continues the quarter-‐note rising motive from the choir in the
previous measure, helping to further solidify G major in the listener’s ear, while
connecting the two statements of text.

77
Another example is seen in the use of the harp in Deus Abraham (Musical
Example 4.17). The rhythm of the harp remains constant while the choir is singing,
so that it does not distract from the prominence of the text. The only moment of
78
syncopation occurs in measure 33. This syncopation brings the harp to the
foreground of the texture. This occurs, however, in a moment in which the choir is
tacet, and the organ is transitioning back into the A material.
34
A final example of this feature is seen in the motet Tantum ergo (1860).
Throughout the entire piece whenever the three voice-‐parts are all present, the
organ is set colla parte. The only time the organ plays separate material is when all
the voices are tacet, or at moments in which only one voice is present. An example
79
can be seen at measures 21 through 25 (Musical Example 4.18). During the
soprano 1 and alto soloists’ short solo passages, the organ provides a counter-‐
melody. This is to provide contrapuntal interest to the singular voice part. As soon
as all three voice parts are joined at beat three of measure 25, the organ returns to
a colla parte texture.

80
28
S1
S2
Text Highlighting and Evocation of Mood
The simplicity of all elements of music is reflected in Saint-‐Saëns’ method of
text highlighting. As mentioned earlier, Saint-‐Saëns believed that church music
should suit the spiritual purpose of the service. In his mind, this was to induce a
feeling of calm and serenity in the listener. In “Music in the Church” (1916), Saint-‐
Saëns suggested that he would remove many of the works of the great composers,
81
such as Bach and Beethoven, from the church because they “inspire neither a
meditative nor a prayerful mood.”36 Saint-‐Saëns’ feelings on the subject were
remarkably consistent in his other writings, as well. Three years prior to “Music in
the Church” he professed the same opinion in his article “Musique religieuse.” In it
he wrote:
It will surprise many people that I would ban almost all the works of
Sebastian Bach from the Catholic Church. His marvelous chorale preludes
are the very essence of Protestantism and, with few exceptions, his
preludes and fugues, fantaisies and toccatas are primarily virtuoso pieces.
They are music for the concert hall, not the church.37

As the composer of over a dozen operas, numerous stage works, oratorios
and other dramatic pieces, Saint-‐Saëns was clearly capable of writing in the
dramatic style. In fact, one of the composer’s most famous works, the 1886 suite
Le carnaval des animaux, is rich with programmatic and scenic elements. It is clear
through these statements, however, that the composer believed that music for the
church should not be overly dramatic, but should instead depict the general mood
or feeling inspired by the text and appropriate to the solemn character of the
mass.
Analysis of the motets of Saint-‐Saëns shows consistent use of subtle text
painting, as well as a general mood reflective of the text. This mood is most often
created through key contrasts, harmonic shifts and carefully positioned
dissonance. In Ave verum (1860), only two fully-‐diminished chords are present in
36 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, “Music in the Church,” 8.

37 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, “Musique religieuse,” 204.
82
the entire work. These sonorities are carefully placed to highlight the text. The
first occurs in measure 23 at the word “sanguine,” meaning “blood” (Musical
Example 4.19). The second occurs in measure 36 at the moment of greatest
intensity “esto nobis praegustatum,” meaning “be for us a foretaste.” (Musical
Example 4.20).

83
In Ave verum (1878), each instance of the word “passum,” or “suffering,” is
colored with dissonance. At measure 63 the B pitch in the soprano voice creates a
dissonant 9th against the C-‐sharp Major chord in the organ. In measure 65, the
soprano 2 voice enters on the second of the chord (G against F-‐sharp Major),
creating dissonance against the contralto which is set to the word “passum.” The
delayed tonic resolution in measures 67 and 71 also occurs on the words
“passum” and “immolatum,” meaning “sacrificed.” (Musical Example 4.21)

84

85
In the same work the composer’s use of text highlighting through range
and dynamic is shown. The highest pitch for each individual voice part in the piece
occurs at measure 79 on the word “cruce,” meaning “cross.” It is the only
indication of forte in the entire work (Musical Example 4.22).
Analysis reveals a use of the parallel minor key to highlight a change in text
mood in three of the six Latin-‐texted motets covered in this study. The shift to the
86
parallel minor, as opposed to the relative minor, allows the composer to create
greater contrast in mood through use of a more distantly related key. The first
example is found in the B section of the motet Ave Maria and was identified in
Chapter Three. In Ave verum (1860) (Musical Example 4.23), a shift from E-‐flat
major to the parallel minor in measure 9 creates contrast between sections. The
opening section of text is in praise of Jesus Christ, and the second section is about
Christ’s suffering on the cross. The parallel minor key is derived from G-‐flat major,
which creates a third relationship with the opening key. This is perhaps a subtle
way of reflecting the tripartite nature of the text, or possibly a reference to the
Holy Trinity.

87
In measure 32 through 33 of Deus Abraham (Musical Example 4.24),
material borrowed from F minor, the parallel minor of F major, is used to provide
a final moment of contrast to the opening text before the eight-‐measure closing.

88
34

89
CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION
Most scholars have concluded that the choral motets of Camille Saint-‐Saëns
are simple works composed for specific liturgical functions. At first glance, they
seem to lack any unique style characteristics and also to suggest nothing of the
composer’s personal ideas of church music. The scholar who examines this music
through the lens of the composer’s own writing, however, will notice intricate
details in its craftsmanship. Camille Saint-‐Saëns, being a prolific writer and
musicologist as well as a composer, has left us a wealth of information in his prose
writings. Comparison between his written opinions on church music and the
music itself has revealed stylistic continuities and musical details that help us to
better understand this body of repertoire, as well as Camille Saint-‐Saëns’
connection with the Cecilian movement.
In his prose writings, Saint-‐Saëns suggests that many French sacred music
composers of his day were ignorant about how to properly set Latin text. His
beliefs are shared by other contemporary composers and students of Saint-‐Saëns
such as Louis Vierne. Examination of the works covered in this study shows that
the composer takes care to align stressed syllables with musical accents. This is
accomplished through harmonic choices and placement of dissonance, dynamic
and range contrasts, and meter and rhythmic choices that fit the natural stress
pattern of the text. One of the key objectives of the Cecilian movement was to
maintain the text as the central focus of the piece. The Cecilians believed that the
90
music should always be subservient to the text, and they accomplished this by
producing music that had little harmonic complexity. Saint-‐Saëns has
accomplished this goal through the above-‐mentioned practices, while managing to
keep his own personal compositional style that is rich with colorful and chromatic
harmonies.
It is unclear from his writings if Saint-‐Saëns was a personally religious man.
What is clear is that he held great respect and reverence for the ritual of the mass.
Being a historian as well as a virtuoso organist, Saint-‐Saëns loved and respected
the great dramatic works of the past. He was conservative, however, when it came
to what was appropriate for use in the service. In his writings he makes clear his
belief that overtly dramatic works, such as Beethoven’s Missa Solemnis, had no
place in the worship setting because they were works for performance, not
worship.
Saint-‐Saëns was sensitive to the solemn character of the mass in his choral
works in several distinct ways. He did not use large instrumental complements,
and only occasionally incorporated a solo instrument for purposes of color and
contrast. In every work covered in this study, the organ’s primary functions are to
support the voices and to create smooth transitions between sections. The use of
wind instruments for accompaniment was a key feature of the Cecilian movement.
The Cecilians believed that these instruments were similar in timbre to the voice,
and therefore did not distract from the prominence of the text. Like his close
friend Franz Liszt, Saint-‐Saëns used the organ to accomplish the same goal. Saint-‐
91
Saëns also carefully used text and mood highlighting as a way to emphasise
important moments in the text. By reserving the most dissonant chords, highest
notes, and extreme dynamics for the most dramatic words he fulfilled the Cecilian
ideal of maintaining the prominence of text, while still creating works of highest
art and drama.
Camille Saint-‐Saëns was a historian as well as a musician. He spent his life
championing the works of Mozart and other great classical composers. He favored
the use of prominent melody, and his works contain the use of modern harmonies.
In his writings, he reflects his beliefs through his criticism of the Cecilian
composers who favored block chord accompaniments and melodies based solely
on chant. One of the most striking features of Saint-‐Saëns compositional style in
this genre is his overwhelming preference for stepwise motion. Stepwise motion is
found abundantly in these works in the form of harmonic stepwise motion,
stepwise motion at cadences and phrase endings, and melodies that move
predominantly by step.
In the list of goals of the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland, Witt
included the use of chant in the liturgy and renewal of interest in the musical style
of Palestrina. Though Saint-‐Saëns did not employ the use of chant in this choral
motets, one cannot deny the similarities between the stepwise nature of chant
melodies and the melodies crafted by Saint-‐Saëns. The music of Palestrina and
other Renaissance-‐era composers is usually analyzed horizontally, with cadences
being the result of several voices coming together in moments of tension and
92
release. Saint-‐Saëns’ music clearly exists in a Romantic-‐era harmonic construct,
and can be analyzed vertically as functional. His preference for stepwise motion at
cadential moments, however, suggests that he may have given preference to
horizontal textures over vertical ones in his sacred works. In nearly every one of
these instances, Saint-‐Saëns could easily have created authentic cadences by
having one voice skip to the root of the dominant triad. Instead, approaching the
cadence by step results in a sound that implies more archaic cadence types, typical
of music that is based on horizontal textures, such as that of Palestrina and his
contemporaries. Saint-‐Saëns’ music follows the Cecilian ideal by fulfilling the
essence of the goals of the Cecilian movement, while remaining in his own modern
compositional style.
Saint-‐Saëns composed in nearly every genre of music. His musical style
differed from genre to genre, making it difficult to assign any style features that
characterize his entire output. Scholars such as Sabina Ratner have suggested that
Saint-‐Saëns chiefly drew from the past for inspiration, never venturing down any
“new and original paths.”38 Though Saint-‐Saëns certainly drew from the past for
inspiration, his combination of the various elements of ancient and modern music
into one cohesive style results in a type of music that is unique. In this paper, I
have identified stylistic continuities present in a majority of his Latin-‐texted choral
motets, and therefore can serve as a means for understanding the composer’s
38 Sabina Teller Ratner, "Saint-‐Saëns, Camille," The New Grove Dictionary of Music and
Musicians. ed. Stanley Sadie. 2nd ed., vol. 22 (Macmillan Publishers Limited, 2001), 126.
93
musical style in this genre. It has been proven that the Latin-‐texted choral motets
of Camille Saint-‐Saëns have a musical language that can be identified and
discussed. The style features present in these works are in direct alignment with
the composer’s prose writings. Given the substantial amount of prose writing by
Camille Saint-‐Saëns over the course of his long life and career, application of a
similar analytical process could be applied to other portions of Saint-‐Saëns’
oeuvre. This will have a profound impact on our understanding of Camille Saint-‐
Saëns as a composer, a critic and a man.

94
APPENDIX A: AVE VERUM IN E-‐FLAT MAJOR39
39 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, Ave verum (Paris: Durand, 1884).

95

96

97
APPENDIX B: TANTUM ERGO IN E-‐FLAT MAJOR40
40 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (London: Faber, 1994).

98

99

100

101
APPENDIX C: TANTUM ERGO, OP. 541

41
Camille Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (Paris: Durand, 1884).
102

103

104

105

106

107

108

109
APPENDIX D: AVE VERUM IN D MAJOR42
42
Camille Saint-‐Saëns, Ave verum (Paris: Durand, 1878).
110

111

112

113

114

115

116

117
APPENDIX E: DEUS ABRAHAM43
43
Camille Saint-‐Saëns, Deus Abraham (Paris: Durand, 1892).
118

119

120

121

122
APPENDIX F: AVE MARIA, OP. 14544
44
Camille Saint-‐Saëns, Ave Maria (Paris: Durand, 1914).
123

124

125

126

127

128

129
REFERENCES
Books, Articles, Dissertations and Online Sources
Benefield, Richard, ed. Motets for One Voice: The Organ-‐Accompanied Solo Motet in
Nineteenth-‐Century France, by Franck, Gounod, and Saint-‐Saëns. Middleton,
WI: A-‐R Editions, 2003.

Brown, Timothy, ed. Camille Saint-‐Saëns and Gabriel Fauré. Six Motets for Upper
Voices. London: Faber Music, 1994.

Di Grazia, Donna. Nineteenth-‐Century Choral Music. New York: Routledge, 2012.

Flynn, Timothy. Camille Saint-‐Saëns: A Guide to Research. New York: Routledge,
2003.

Garratt, James. Palestrina and the German Romantic Imagination Interpreting
Historicism in Nineteenth-‐Century Music. Cambridge: New York, 2002.

Gmeinwieser, Siegfried. "Cecilian movement." The New Grove Dictionary of Music
and Musicians. Edited by Stanley Sadie. 2nd ed. Vol. 5. Macmillan Publishers
Limited, 2001.

Harding, James. Saint-‐Saëns and his Circle. London: Chapman & Hall, 1965.

Hervey, Arthur. Saint-‐Saëns. Westport: Greenwood Press, 1922.

Jacques-‐Gabriel Prod'homme and Frederick H. Martens. “Camille Saint-‐Saëns.” The
Musical Quarterly 8 (1922): 480.

Johnson, Lynne. “Franz Liszt and Camille Saint-‐Saens: Friendship, Mutual Support,
and Influence.” Ph.D. diss., University of Hawai'i at Manoa, 2009.

Liebergen, Patrick. “The Cecilian Movement in the Nineteenth Century: A
Summary of the Movement.” Choral Journal 21, no.9 (May 1981): 13-‐16.

Mikliss, Ursula. “Die Liturgische Musik von Camille Saint-‐Saëns.” Diss., Universität
Hamburg, 1993.

130
Murray, Michael. French Masters of the Organ: Saint-‐Saëns, Franck, Widor, Vierne,
Dupré, Langlais, Messiaen. New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998.

Ratner, Sabina Teller. Camille Saint-‐Saëns, 1835-‐1921: A Thematic Catalogue of His
Complete Works. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2002.

Ratner, Sabina Teller. "Saint-‐Saëns, Camille." The New Grove Dictionary of Music
and Musicians. Edited by Stanley Sadie. 2nd edition. Vol. 22. Macmillan
Publishers Limited, 2001.

Rees, Brian. Camille Saint-‐Saëns: A Life. London: Chatto & Windus, 1999.

Ruff, Anthony. Sacred Music and Liturgical Reform: Treasures and Transformations.
Chicago: Hillenbrand Books, 2007.

Saffle, Michael. “The Evidence of Documents and Scores.” In Caecilianismus:
Anfänge, Grundlagen, Wirkungen : Internationales Symposium zur
Kirchenmusik des 19. Jahrhunderts. Tutzing: H. Schneider, 1988.

Saint-‐Saëns, Camille, Gabriel Fauré, Jean-‐Michel Nectoux, and J. Barrie Jones. The
Correspondence of Camille Saint-‐Saëns and Gabriel Fauré: Sixty Years of
Friendship. Aldershot Hants, England: Ashgate, 2004.

Saint-‐Saëns, Camille. “Music in the Church.” The Musical Quarterly 2 (1916): 1-‐8.

_____. Musical Memories. Boston: Small, Maynard & Co, 1919.

_____. “Musique religieuse.” In Saint-‐Saëns and the Organ, ed. Rollin Smith, 204.
Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992.

Smith, Rollin. Saint-‐Saëns and the Organ. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992.

Strimple, Nick. Choral Music in the Nineteenth Century. New York: Amadeus, 2008.

_____. Choral Music in the Twentieth Century. Portland, OR: Amadeus Press, 2002.

Studd, Stephen. Saint-‐Saëns: A Critical Biography. London: Cygnus Arts, 1999.
131

Vierne, Louis. “La musique religieuse de Saint-‐Saens.” In Saint-‐Saëns and the
Organ, ed. Rollin Smith, 37-‐39. Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992.

Musical Scores

Saint-‐Saëns, Camille. Ave Maria. Paris: Durand, 1914.

_____. Ave verum. Paris: Durand, 1878.

_____. Ave verum. Paris: Durand, 1884.

_____. Deus Abraham. Paris: Durand, 1892.

_____. Quam dilecta. Paris: Durand, 1916.

_____. Tantum ergo. London: Faber, 1994.

_____. Tantum ergo. Paris: Durand, 1884.

_____. Tu es Petrus. Paris: Durand, 1916.

_____. Veni creator spiritus. Paris: Durand, 1884.

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An Analysis of Musical Style and Cecilian Idealism

in the Latin-Texted Motets of Camille Saint-Saëns

Item Type text; Electronic Dissertation

Authors Glysson, Scott Douglas

Publisher The University of Arizona.

Rights Copyright © is held by the author. Digital access to this material

Download date 15/06/2023 16:07:53

Link to Item http://hdl.handle.net/10150/325233

THE UNIVERSITY OF ARIZONA

STATEMENT BY AUTHOR

TABLE OF CONTENTS

LIST OF FIGURES ........................................................................................................................................ 8

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES ............................................................................................................... 9

ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................................... 12

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION ............................................................................................................. 14

Summary of the Cecilian Movement ................................................................................. 14

Cecilian Ideal ............................................................................................................................... 17

Purpose of Study ........................................................................................................................ 20

Thesis Statement ....................................................................................................................... 22

Review of Literature ................................................................................................................ 22

Biography and Sacred Oeuvre ................................................................................................. 24

Writings on Liturgical Music ................................................................................................ 26

Deductions and Summary ...................................................................................................... 32

CHAPTER 3: AVE MARIA, OP. 145 .................................................................................................... 35

Form ................................................................................................................................................ 36

Text Setting .................................................................................................................................. 37

Voice Leading .............................................................................................................................. 38

Harmony ........................................................................................................................................ 43

Organ .............................................................................................................................................. 44

Expressive Elements ................................................................................................................ 50

TABLE OF CONTENTS – Continued

CHAPTER 4: STYLISTIC CONTINUITIES ........................................................................................ 54

Use of Unobtrusive Accompaniment ................................................................................ 72

Text Highlighting and Evocation of Mood ........................................................................ 80

CHAPTER 5: CONCLUSION .................................................................................................................. 89

APPENDIX A: AVE VERUM IN E-­‐FLAT MAJOR39 ........................................................................ 94

APPENDIX B: TANTUM ERGO IN E-­‐FLAT MAJOR40 .................................................................. 97

APPENDIX C: TANTUM ERGO, OP. 541 .......................................................................................... 101

APPENDIX D: AVE VERUM IN D MAJOR42 .................................................................................. 109

APPENDIX E: DEUS ABRAHAM43 .................................................................................................... 117

APPENDIX F: AVE MARIA, OP. 14544 ............................................................................................ 122

REFERENCES .......................................................................................................................................... 129

LIST OF FIGURES

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES

Musical Example 3.2. Saint-­‐Saëns, Ave Maria (Paris: Durand, 1914),

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES – Continued

Musical Example 4.3. Saint-­‐Saëns, Ave verum (Paris: Durand, 1878),

Musical Example 4.9. Saint-­‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (London: Faber, 1994),

LIST OF MUSICAL EXAMPLES – Continued

Musical Example 4.16. Saint-­‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (Paris: Durand, 1884),

The Cecilian movement was a reactionary movement made up of

in the Nineteenth Century: A Summary of the Movement,” Patrick Liebergen

Cäcilien-­‐Verband für Deutschland, analysis of various style features commonly

Cecilian movement while retaining their own individual compositional styles.

his view of the Cecilian movement.

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION

Summary of the Cecilian Movement

1614), Giovanni Maria Nanino (1544-­‐1607), and Francesco Soriano (1549-­‐1621)

music. In the early eighteenth century, Caecilien-­‐Bündnisse (Cecilian leagues),

appropriate church music through minimized instrumental accompaniment and

commitment to intelligibility of text.

At the beginning of the nineteenth century, composers from Germany,

Allgemeiner Cäcilien-­‐Verband für Deutschland, or “General Association of the

APPENDIX A: AVE VERUM IN E-‐FLAT MAJOR39 ........................................................................ 94

APPENDIX B: TANTUM ERGO IN E-‐FLAT MAJOR40 .................................................................. 97

Musical Example 3.2. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave Maria (Paris: Durand, 1914),

Musical Example 4.3. Saint-‐Saëns, Ave verum (Paris: Durand, 1878),

Musical Example 4.9. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (London: Faber, 1994),

Musical Example 4.16. Saint-‐Saëns, Tantum ergo (Paris: Durand, 1884),

Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland, analysis of various style features commonly

1614), Giovanni Maria Nanino (1544-‐1607), and Francesco Soriano (1549-‐1621)

music. In the early eighteenth century, Caecilien-‐Bündnisse (Cecilian leagues),

Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland, or “General Association of the

became a member of the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland, the

independent composer who never officially joined the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐

The members of the Allgemeiner Cäcilien-‐Verband für Deutschland found

outside of the movement. Many ninteenth-‐century composers were clearly

Although Camille Saint-‐Saëns composed a substantial amount of music for

nineteenth-‐century France, the word “motet” typically described works composed

Saint-‐Saëns’ performance indications by saying:

Camille Saint-‐Saëns’ Latin-‐texted choral motets have received relatively

of Saint-‐Saëns’ motets as follows:

Saint-‐Saëns consummate skill and technique, nor the continuing

and part-‐songs, are worthy of revival.”12

CHAPTER 2: CAMILLE SAINT-‐SAËNS: MUSIC AND PROSE WRITINGS

Jacques-‐Joseph-‐Victor Saint-‐Saëns, died almost immediately after his birth. Saint-‐

13 Jacques-‐Gabriel Prod'homme and Frederick H. Martens,“Camille Saint-‐Saëns,” The

Niedermeyer, Saint-‐Saëns’ opinion wielded considerable influence. In particular,

his views on church music in nineteenth-‐century Europe.

integration of seventeenth-‐ and eighteenth-‐century music into the École

contemporaries. No subject elicited a more zealous response from Saint-‐Saëns

organist and composer Louis Vierne (1870-‐1937) wrote:

Rollin Smith (Stuyvesant, NY: Pendragon Press, 1992), 37-‐39.

19 Saint-‐Saëns, “Music in the Church,” 5.

contemporaries who recklessly combined plain-‐chant and modern harmonies by

composing new block-‐chord accompaniments. Instead he supported more creative

22 Camille Saint-‐Saëns, “Music in the Church,” 6.

throughout Europe in the mid-‐nineteenth century. His primary objection,

found in the Latin-‐texted choral motets.

nineteenth-‐century French music. Despite his advanced age, Saint-‐Saëns remained

In Ave Maria, Saint-‐Saëns demonstrates a preference for stepwise voice

Saint-‐Saëns’ choral motets contain a considerable amount of nineteenth-‐

As mentioned above, Saint-‐Saëns employs voice leading that contains a