March Militaire Francaise op. 60

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.