Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921). 19 L.A.S., 1920-1921, to Charles de Galland; 38 pages in-4 and in-8, 6 on hotel letterhead (minor adhesive repairs on 2 letters). Very interesting correspondence, illustrated with a few initials, to his friend in Algiers. The letters are dated, among other places, from Algeria, where Saint-Saëns stayed between several concerts in France and Greece, from January 1920 to November 1921. He died in Algiers on December 16, 1921. Charles de Galland (1851-1923), professor and historian, was mayor of Algiers from 1910 to 1919; he was an amateur violinist, and Saint-Saëns dedicated his Élégie pour violon et piano op.160 to him. Algiers January 24, 1920. Saint-Saëns works on "a piece for piano from the Elegy you know, which will have the honor of bearing our name. It is a complete and rather laborious transformation", while "young people accuse me of improvising my music" [this is the Élégie pour violon et piano sur un thème d'Alexis de Castillon op.160]. - Hammam R'ihra February 25. "Here I am at last in this earthly paradise, which has never better deserved its name, for the weather is delicious! Yesterday we spent the day in Blida, and thanks to the fine weather we were able to go and see the monkeys: the sight of Jean [Laurendeau, his valet] in the midst of these interesting characters, who were so indiscreet as to climb on his back, was delightful. He has a large room: "With the silence we enjoy here, which is so conducive to work, I'll miss nothing more than my friends from Algiers, but they never leave my thoughts, and I do hope that one day or other one of them will come to see me; then it will be the big wedding, we'll drink wines from behind the sticks"... - March 6. He complains about the departure of the cook, replaced by "a gâte-sauce who made us inedible food"; but he stays, for the peace and quiet. He recalls the fate of General Laperrine, "probably lost, dead of hunger and thirst in the desert; this saddens me greatly, as I had recently made his acquaintance and found him very likeable. This crossing of an immense desert is really too perilous with the meager means at our disposal"... - March 12. He recalls the death of Laperrine, with whom he had traveled on the boat to Algiers: "It's madness to cross these immense spaces with such uncertain means. All new progress has its martyrs, who leave a glorious name". He composed a piece for flute and orchestra and six fugues for piano: "I worked like a nigger as long as the weather was warm and fine, and when I could have gone for a walk, the bad weather came". It snowed on the palm trees! In a postscript, he expresses his indignation at the fact that "such a mediocre Cavalleria rusticana [by Mascagni], whose main merit is that it is foreign", is never given as a short piece, whereas there are so many good, successful works in the French repertoire, such as Phryné and "La Princesse Jaune, which my enemy M. [Pierre] Lalo had declared 'a little masterpiece'"... Marseille March 29. He is back in Marseille, where Castelbon de Beauxhostes will pick him up to go to Béziers "in his magnificent car"... - March 30. On the boat, he met the director of the Théâtre d'Alger: "He amazed me! He plans to spend 80,000 F. on his season! He'll be bringing in musicians, and intends to give major symphonic concerts! His conductor will probably be a man named Montagné, who is excellent and whom I warmly recommended to him. He does not seem hostile to my works. Needless to say, I know too much about conductors to have complete confidence in them. But in the end, this could be the dawn, if not the dawn, of better times".... - Bordeaux April 11th. He talks about his concerts in Béziers and Bordeaux; but "all that is of very little importance compared to what is happening at the moment", and Saint-Saëns gives his opinion on national and international affairs, criticizing Lloyd George. And he fulminates against the trade-unionist Léon Jouhaux, "who becomes King of France, who stops trains, boats and factories in his tracks and paralyzes the whole country! He prevented Phryné from being played in Cannes, which is less serious, but just as revolting. We're probably afraid that stopping it will spark off a revolution... For the end of the card, see the PDF catalog.