Saint-Saëns - Bourrée, Op. 135, No. 4 (Transcribed for Cello Solo)

Camille Saint-Saëns’s Bourrée comes from his Six Études pour la main gauche seule, Op. 135, a late set of piano pieces composed in 1912. Written for the pianist Caroline Montigny-Rémaury de Serres after an injury to her right hand, the collection looks back to Baroque forms while filtering them through Saint-Saëns’s elegance, wit, and clarity. Although called “etudes,” the pieces were originally described by Saint-Saëns as Petites pièces, and the Bourrée quickly became one of the most popular numbers from the set.

This transcription brings the lively Baroque dance character of the original to solo cello. Light, rhythmic, and compact, the Bourrée is a welcome addition to the unaccompanied cello repertoire from the Romantic era. The package includes two versions: a larger-print 4-page version and a smaller 3-page version designed to avoid page turns.

Well suited for lessons, recitals, studio classes, and short solo selections, this piece gives cellists opportunities to develop dance character, clean articulation, rhythmic lift, bariolage-like string crossing, and Classical clarity within a charming Romantic miniature. It works especially well when preceded by Bach’s Prelude in G minor, BWV 999, available here: https://yuriyleonovich.com/product/652160-j-s-bach-prelude-in-c-minor-bwv-999-transcribed-for-cello-solo

ASTA level: 3