As the lion is the king of beasts, it is a "Royal March," and a majestic and dignified melody is played in unison by the strings, followed by both hands of the first piano. In the accompaniment, sustained harmonies of open fifths lacking the third (though on the piano, where notes cannot be held for long, these are rendered as repeated chords) are found. However, this combination of a unison melody supported by sustained open fifths is a prototype of Saint-Saëns' "Oriental" style, already found in the famous ballet "Bacchanale" from his opera Samson and Delilah. One might criticize this as stereotypical and clichéd, and given that it was the colonial era, it is often criticized as "condescending." However, the composer himself traveled abroad frequently and actively sought to learn about foreign cultures. Therefore, it would be more accurate to say that he tailored his compositions to the knowledge level of the audience at the time. This is because no matter how much Saint-Saëns listened to and researched music from various parts of the world and showcased the results in his own works, if the audience's knowledge and cultural understanding did not keep pace, it would not be recognized as such. For example, while Japonisme was popular in late 19th-century Paris, and in the field of art, actual objects were imported and could be examined firsthand, in an era without recordings, it was extremely difficult to easily listen to foreign music, and it should be considered that the public's understanding at the time was still limited. Incidentally, the "Orient" referred to here is the "East" from a French perspective, and even Greece and Rome (and their classical cultures) were already considered "East" by France. Even the Spanish taste popular at the time played a part in the Orientalism of the era, in the sense that it conveyed the lingering scent of Islamic culture. While lions are associated with Africa, Africa was also considered the "Orient" by the French at the time. This rather crude categorization reflects the limited worldview of an era when the exchange of people and goods was difficult.