Suite Op.16 was originally composed in 1862 for cello and piano by the young Saint-Saëns, full of life and passion. In 1919, he orchestrated 3 of the movements from the 1862 Suite and replaced the third (Scherzo) and fifth (Finale) movements with a Gavotte and Tarantella (Tarentelle), respectively. The 1919 version is still full of youthful passion but is now brilliantly orchestrated by the mature Saint-Saëns, sometimes called Saint-Saëns's third cello concerto. The present edition is the first of its kind to be available for sale, including the original Gavotte (in G minor, where the English horn replaces the oboe) and the Romance Op. 67 for horn/cello. The primary source for our critical edition is the manuscript of the orchestral score in Saint-Saens's hand, graciously provided by the Martha Blakeney Hodges Collection at University of North Carolina at Greensboro, National Library of France (BnF), and Stiftelsen Musikkulturens Främjande (The Nydahl Collection). The secondary sources were the Hamelle orchestra score (published in 1919) and the cello solo/piano reduction (also published by Hamelle).
YL Edition orchestra score, orchestra parts for the Suite and the Romance, and piano reduction with a solo part. Below are the critical notes for our edition.
I. Prelude
m. 9: the published solo part erroneously follows the 1862 version: note 6 is a B-natural, notes 10 and 12 are a C#. The MS and the Hamelle score have a B-flat and C#, respectively. Our edition follows the MS.
m.10: the published solo part erroneously follows the 1862 version: note 6 is a D#. The MS and the Hamelle score have a D-natural. Our edition follows the MS.
m. 13, beat 3: the published version of the solo part has a pp. The MS does not have a dynamic indication. Our edition follows the MS.
m. 19, beat 3: the published version of the solo part has a poco cresc. The MS has a cresc. Our edition follows the MS.
m. 20: the published solo part erroneously follows the 1862 version: notes 2, 4 and 6 are F-natural. The MS and the Hamelle score have a F#. Our edition follows the MS.
mm. 25-26: the published version of the solo part has hairpins, beats 1-2 cresc. and beats 3-4 dim. he MS does not have a dynamic indication. Our edition follows the MS.
m. 43: the published solo part erroneously follows the 1862 version: note 15 is a B-flat. The MS and the Hamelle score have an A. Our edition follows the MS.
m. 44: LH of the published piano reduction has a whole-note G in the lower voice. This was adjusted to have the bass part of the orchestral version: half-note D and half-note G, respectively.
II. Serenade
m. 54, LH, voice 1: the Hamelle piano reduction erroneously placed the # on D instead of F, following the 1862 publication. Our edition has fixed this error.
m. 133: the published version of the solo part has a pp sotto voce. The MS does not have a sotto voce indication. Our edition follows the MS.
mm. 144-148: RH of the published piano reduction has 1862 edition sixteenth-note arpeggios. Our edition was adjusted to have the violin part of the orchestral version.
m. 153: the published version of the solo part has a G harmonic dotted-quarter note, after the 1862 version. The MS does not have a harmonic, but an eighth-note G tied over from the previous measures. Our edition follows the MS.
III. Gavotte
m. 24, beat 2: Hamelle orchestra score has a mf. The MS does not have a dynamic indication. Our edition follows the MS.
m. 101: the violin II erroneously has a D on beat 2 in all orchestral sources. this should be a C#, as per the piano reduction MS and the G minor version of the Gavotte.
m. 102: the published version of the solo part has a dim. The MS does not have a dynamic indication. Our edition follows the MS.
IV. Romance
m. 19, RH, note 3, lower voice: the MS and Hamelle edition of the piano reduction have a C#. This note is a B in all other sources. This error was fixed in our edition.
m. 30, violin I and RH of piano reduction, note 8: the # (sharp) is missing on the D in all sources of the Suite. However, it is present in the French horn version of the Romance (Op. 67). A D# makes the most sense. Our edition adds a #.
mm. 34-35, LH, note 1, upper voice: the MS and Hamelle edition of the piano reduction are missing a natural sign on the D.
m. 52: the woodwinds do not have a note to play in m. 52 in the MS. The notes were added in the proof of the Hamelle orchestra score.
m. 57: the MS of the piano reduction introduced an ambiguity into the solo cello part. The MS and Hamelle edition of the orchestra score have notes 1-2 as eighth-notes. The MS of the piano reduction has note 2 as a sixteenth note, likely an accidental extension of the beam. The Hamelle edition of the solo part added a dot on note 1. Our edition follows the MS of the orchestra score.
m. 60, LH, beat 4, upper voice: # missing from the A in piano reduction sources. This error was fixed.
m. 62, LH, note 5, upper voice: natural missing from the A in piano reduction sources. This error was fixed.
m. 63, LH, note 5, voice 2: # missing from the F in piano reduction sources. This error was fixed.
mm. 72-73: hairpin and pp in the solo part is only found in the Hamelle solo part. The MS does not have a dynamic indication. Our edition follows the printed solo part.
V. Tarentelle
m. 45: all sources erroneously have a written D for both horns. We fixed this error to match the unison concert E of the orchestra.
m. 58: LH, note 1, lower voice: # missing from the D in piano reduction sources. This error was fixed.
m. 61: Hamelle score and MS have a f in the solo part. The printed solo part has a ff. Our edition follows the printed solo part.
m. 131, LH, beat 2, upper voice: flat missing from the E in piano reduction sources. This error was fixed.
m. 153: the horn voicing is flipped in the Hamelle score. The MS has the correct voicing. Our edition follows the MS.
mm. 180-195: the MS of the cello solo and piano reduction have cue notes for the tutti cello part to facilitate in the imitative texture when playing with a piano.
m. 195, tutti cello: MS solo cello part has this (cue) note as a D. The MS and Hamelle orchestra score have a B. D makes more sense. Our edition follows the MS solo part.
m. 261, violin I: orchestra score MS has an A. The Hamelle score and violin I part MS part have a B. Our edition follows the orchestra score MS.
m. 313: all orchestra sources repeat this pattern for one more bar. The phrase makes more sense according to the piano and solo MS. Our edition follows the piano reduction and solo part MS.
Gavotte (first version)
mm. 40-55, LH: we added the accents and phrase marks from the MS orchestra score
mm. 48-50, clarinets I and II: the MS orchestra score has these notes written in concert pitch instead of transposed. This error was fixed.
Romance, Op. 67
mm. 38-42, violin I: the MS orchestra has a sixteenth-rest and triplet thirty-second-note pattern. The MS piano reduction RH has all as thirty-second-rests and notes. Our edition follows the MS piano reduction.
mm. 44, 46, and 48: LH of the piano reduction was adjusted to have the bass part of the orchestral version.
mm. 57-58: the voicing of the piano reduction was adjusted to reflect the orchestral version and not the MS piano reduction.
mm. 67-70: the RH of the piano reduction makes more sense with the violin part than doubling the solo cello part, as in the MS piano reduction. Since this is a brief tutti section in the horn version, it can still be played as such from our edition without missing anything.
m. 76, LH, beat 1: Added a clarification of how to execute the tremolos in the piano reduction.