"La cloche" is a melodrama for voice and piano composed by Saint-Saëns in 1857, setting Victor Hugo's poem about isolation and mortality. The work showcases early Romantic characteristics with atmospheric piano textures mimicking bell sounds.
"La Cloche" is one of Saint-Saëns' early Romantic-era songs, composed at age 17. Its melancholic bell motifs foreshadow his later fascination with percussive symbolism, evident in works like the "Organ" Symphony. The text explores metaphysical dialogue between a bell and a human soul.
