Saint-Saens - Super Flumina Babylonis - Vocal Score

• First edition
• Urtext edition of the first composition in music history with saxophone quartet
• With valuable notes on performance practice, in particular on the Gallican pronunciation of the Latin text

Psalm 137, "Super flumina Babylonis", was an inspiration for many composers, including Camille Saint-Saëns. He repeatedly returned to his psalm motet for solo soprano, mixed choir, saxophone quartet, string orchestra and organ, originally composed in 1854. This first version in Latin – he composed a total of four versions – is available for the first time in a performing Urtext edition after careful consideration of all sources.

Saint-Saëns lived up to his reputation as an innovative composer by exploring the use of this family of instruments in sacred music just a few years after the invention of the saxophone. The successful combination of vocal parts and saxophone creates a special sound experience.