2 Fantasies

Saint-Saëns wrote for the harp the Fantaisie op. 95 (1893), the Fantaisie op. 124 with violin (1907) and the Morceau de Concert op. 154 with orchestral accompaniment (1918); the transcriptions of the two fantasies of Luis de Milán, were instead published originally for piano, although some sources tell us that this work was most likely conceived for harp, or at least that Saint-Saëns approved that they were performed with the harp.

In particular, within the Revue Musicale of 1913 one can find the program of a concert that was held on November 6 at the Salle Gaveau, announced as the last concert that Saint-Saëns would give in Paris: in this event the harpist Nicole Anckier performed these two fantasies for solo harp and also the Fantaisie for violin and harp, with Rafael Díaz Albertini.

Anckier’s performance of these lute pieces with the harp is also mentioned by Augé de Lassus in his biography of Saint-Saëns (1914). Lastly, we must point out the testimony of René Brancour, his friend and biographer, who expressly mentions them as works for harp.

This edition is based on the original print published in Paris by Durand in 1899.