Saint-Saëns, Camille: March Militaire Francaise

Marche Militaire Française is the fourth and final movement of the Algerian Suite. The first three movements depict the native Algerian scene, which the composer knew well; he made several sojourns in North Africa. This stirring finale, however, turns to the French army for inspiration. The suite was composed about 1879, during the period after the Franco-Prussian War, the stage dominated French music. In 1871 Saint-Saëns, with Bussine, founded the Societe Nationale de Musique to encourage instrumental composers. This, along with his compositions, had much to do with the progress of symphonic music in France.