“The Swan” Prelude

This coming Sunday for the Prelude Julie Belanger Roy and I are doing one of my favorite musician compositions for the 11:00 AM worship service “The Swan.” Le cygne is one of 14 movements by Camille Saint-Saens from a set of pieces entitled “The Carnival of the Animals.”

These compositions were not originally intended for church use, but rather for a secular performance. However, I feel that this piece can be played in church, if we consider that God made the swans and knew how beautiful they are.

Genesis 1:21 : So God created the great creatures of the sea and every living and moving thing with which the water teems, according to their kinds, and every winged bird according to its kind. And God saw that it was good.

Psalms 105:6: Let everything that has breath praise the LORD. Praise the LORD.

“The Swan” was originally written for two pianos and a cello solo. On Sunday you will hear the piece played by a viola soloist and accompanied on the harp. I hope that this piece will express the beauty in all of God’s wonderful creation.

Here is a recording that Julie and I made previously:

Mark Pace, Organist/Choirmaster