About This Composition

“The Swan” comes from a 14 movement collection entitled “Carnival of the Animals.” It was originally scored for a variety of mixed instruments. In 1949 the American poet Ogden Nash wrote a series of verses to precede the performance of each movement. Try to build a suite by combining this piece with the any of the other movements from “Carnival of the Animals” in the edUKEcation music library.

The Swan

The swan can swim while sitting down,

For pure conceit he takes the crown,

He looks in the mirror over and over,

And claims to have never heard of Pavlova.