Musicians usually have a good sense of humor. Those who don’t are either at the very top or the very bottom of the music world.

A lot of educators use Camille Saint-Saëns‘ Carnival of the Animals as an introduction to Art Music for very young listeners. The lesson usually goes like this:

TEACHER: Ok class, we’re going to listen to some music now. (plays music) Now what did that make you think of?
STUDENT #1: I have a dog named muffin.
TEACHER: That’s nice. Does it remind you of anything?
STUDENT #2: It sounds like SpongeBob.
TEACHER: Well, this music is about an animal! What animal does it make you think of?
STUDENT #3: A Velociraptor.
TEACHER: Don’t you think it sounds like chickens?
STUDENT #4: I think I’m going to throw up.
TEACHER: Let’s do some coloring instead.

Saint-Saëns piece is delightful enough to be enjoyed by little ones, but has some wicked humor in it aimed at adults. Among the “animals” that he paints with music are: Elephants, Donkeys, Birds, Pianists, People with Long Ears (i.e. music critics), and Fossils. He satirically quotes dozens of musical compositions throughout the work: his own Danse Macabre as well as Berlioz’ Faust, Mendelssohn’s Midsummer Night’s Dream, Offenbach’s Can-Can, Rossini’s Barber of Seville, and more.

This election year was horrible on so many accounts. Without humor I would have crawled away into a cave until it was all over. So, go vote today, and in the meantime, enjoy “Elephants” and “Donkeys”.