Le Cygne

Le carnaval des animaux (The Carnival of the Animals) is a humorous musical suite of fourteen movements by French composer Camille Saint-Saëns. Le Cygne is the 13th movement of the suite, originally scored for two pianos and cello: the lushly romantic cello solo (which evokes the swan elegantly gliding over the water) is played over rippling sixteenths in one piano and rolled chords in the other (said to represent the swan's feet, hidden from view beneath the water, propelling it along).

It has become a staple of the cello repertoire and one of the most well-known movements of the suite. Many other arrangements of this movement have also been published, with solo instruments ranging from flute to alto saxophone. Dutch arranger Andreas van Zoelen arranged this movement for solo cello with accompaniment of a small Wind Ensemble.