SAINTSAËNS, (CHARLES) CAMILLE

(9 October 1835, Paris – 16 December 1921, Algiers)

While known mostly for secular concert repertory, Saint-Saëns was a superborganistand held positions at various Paris churches from 1853–1876 and from 1861– 1865 taught at the École Niedermeyer, founded to improve music in French churches. He contributed 13 publications oforganmusic, twomasses, threeoratoriosin theHandeliantradition (Oratorio de{}Noël, 1858;Le Déluge("The Flood"), 1875;The Promised Land, 1913), two dozenmotets, another 10 small works for chorus, and one sacredopera,Samson et Dalila(1877), which remains in the repertory.