36 GET TO KNOW GRAN CANARIA I CONOCE GRAN CANARIA EDICIÓN <strong>27</strong> By Cayetano Sánchez Every winter between 1889 and 1909, the by now prestigious French musician Camille Saint-Saëns came to stay in <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong>, mainly to escape the freezing temperatures of Paris, which were bad for his lung disease. He not only found the island to be a source of health, it also gave him a sense of peace and quiet that inspired him to create new works. Until recently, knowledge of these new pieces was basically limited to compositions that he dedicated to the memory of his stay in <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong>: Valse Canariote and Campanas de Las Palmas. These two short pieces were evocative of the place where he spent such happy times, before his fame betrayed him and he became a popular figure in island society. Recent research has now brought to light new creations of greater importance and transcendence that were forged in this part of the Atlantic. A dodgy-looking businessman It all started back in December 1889, when a mysterious French merchant and commission agent, under the name of Charles Sannois, arrived in Las Palmas de <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong>. He soon established relations with the city's petty bourgeoisie, mainly in the Gabinete Literario, where he amazed them with his extensive musical knowledge, something not very common in his trade. Thanks to these virtues, he appeared regularly at rehearsals and opera performances at the now defunct Tirso de Molina Theatre (now the Pérez Galdós Theatre), where he even offered to fill in for the musicians and singers of the opera season, a circumstance that aroused even more astonishment among the locals. But it did not take long to discover the real personality of the alleged impresario. The European press poured into town, at a time there was concern about the mysterious disappearance of the musician Camille Saint-Saëns, of whom a photograph was published. The anonymous businessman was indeed none other than the already famous French musician, who by then had already premiered his most universal opera, Samson and Delilah, among other important creations in his repertoire. A unique figure At the turn of this year, months after the centenary of his death, Las Palmas de <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> hosted an exhibition entitled Camille Saint-Saëns in <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong>, which commemorated the French composer's time on the island. The exhibition, curated by Dionisio Rodríguez Suárez, musician, researcher and member of the Societé Camille Saint-Saëns in Paris, was in recognition of the composer's invaluable contribution to local musical culture during his various stays on the island, a total of seven trips between 1889 and 1909. According to Rodríguez, "Saint-Saëns was a character with a very long career, cross-cutting in many ways, free-thinking, liberal and Darwinist, and sexually open-minded; he supported a multitude of female artists and dedicated many of his works to them; he was a precocious animal and nature lover, a science buff in his time and was curious about everything that caught his intellectual attention". A universal legacy The French composer Camille Saint-Saëns had bequeathed more than 400 works to the history of music by the time he passed away at the age of 86. The most popular of these included, undoubtedly, the above mentioned opera Samson and Delilah, the symphonic poem Danse macabre, and The Carnival of the Animals. A virtuoso pianist and excellent improviser on the organ, his creative activity encompassed all fields of music, with all possible instruments and voices. Apart from the symbolic value and recognition of the ephemeral Camille Saint-Saëns in <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> exhibition, the composer leaves behind a catalogue containing illustrative texts by leading specialists in his figure that speak of the documentary legacy of his time on the island, highlighting his musical production: "During the long winter seasons spent in <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> he wrote around 30 scores of all kinds: opera, songs, a string quartet, chamber and symphonic music, choral works and others for organ, these being only his musical achievements", emphasises Dionisio Rodríguez Suárez. Straddling the city and the country Before taking the drastic decision to leave the island, and overwhelmed by the endless tributes and accolades, Saint-Saëns took on board the advice of a compatriot and friend and began to spend long periods in a large house in Guía, in the north of <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong>, called Villa Melpóneme, which is still preserved. It was there that he was able to find the peace and quiet to devote more time to composition. Despite the peace he felt there, surrounded by banana trees and close to the sea, he found himself forced to give his advice on the purchase of the organ for the Church of Santa María de Guía. But his commitment actually went beyond this and it was he himself who premiered it in a concert given on 14th January 1900. <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> as his inspiration Music written in <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> by Saint-Saëns While fully immersed the musical life of the island, as previously mentioned, Saint-Saëns not only performed concerts, as his involvement went much further. Among other things, he consolidated the Las Palmas Philharmonic Society, founded in 1845, today the oldest in Spain, for which he was named Honorary President. He also helped the <strong>Canaria</strong>n maestro Santiago Tejera to conduct research into the musical archives of the Cathedral of Santa Ana, transcribing some of his works for posterity; Antiphons and Hymn to Santa Teresa, among other jewels of early music. He even performed some of his works in the church, to the delight of adoring audiences who had never heard the old organ sound so well. Today his memory remains alive and well on the island and the streets and squares of its towns and cities bear witness to this. A bust of his figure stands outside the Pérez Galdós Theatre. Inside, the most beautiful space in the building bears his name: Salón Saint-Saëns. <strong>No</strong>thing would seem to be enough to remember one of the most illustrious visitors to <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong>, at a time when the island was a place as remotely exotic as it was close by. But perhaps the best recognition of his time on the island is to continue with the definitive cataloguing of his work. According to experts, it is very likely that more of the essential works of his repertoire composed and rewritten in <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> will be uncovered. Estatua de Saint-Saëns enfrente del Teatro Pérez Galdós
Urgencias Pediátricas 24 h Pediatric Emergency Service 24 h Pädiatrischer <strong>No</strong>tfall Service 24 Std Maspalomas En Hospitales Universitarios San Roque cuidamos de ti y de tu familia. En nuestro hospital comarcal del Sur de <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> tenemos el único servicio de Urgencias Pediátricas para toda la población, presentando tu tarjeta sanitaria. We take care of you and your family wherever you are, that’s why we have at your disposal the only Pediatric Emergencies for the entire population, in the South of <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong>, with your European Health Insurance Card. Wir kümmern uns um Sie und Ihre Familie, wo immer Sie sind, deshalb haben wir mit Ihrer Europäischen Krankenversicherungskarte den einzigen pädiatrischen <strong>No</strong>tfall für die gesamte Bevölkerung im Süden von <strong>Gran</strong> <strong>Canaria</strong> zur Verfügung. 928 063 650
Change language