Both works included in this volume – “Septuor” op. 65 and “Le Carnaval des animaux” – lead a double life between chamber music and ensemble/orchestral music. Saint-Saëns wrote them originally as chamber music with only one musician to each string part, but already at the premiere of the “Septuor” the string quartet was doubled – much to the composer’s delight. The new critical edition brings this rarely used instrumentation back into memory.

Saint-Saëns seems to have had reservations towards ...