The Carnival of the Animals on 2 April at the home of Pauline Viardot with an audience including Franz Liszt, a friend of the composer, who had expressed a wish to hear the work. There were other private performances, typically for the French mid-Lent festival of , but Saint-Saëns was adamant that the work would not be published in his lifetime, seeing it as detracting from his "serious" composer image. He relented only for the famous cello solo "The Swan", which forms the penultimate movement of the work, and which was published in 1887 in an arrangement by the composer for cello and solo piano
Carnival of Souls Times" saw the 1989 screening at the Fantasy Festival and wrote: "What has earned "Carnival of Souls" its reputation is the director's knack for building a mood of fatalistic angst." "TV Guide" awarded "Carnival of Souls" a score of three stars out of four. Praising the film's atmosphere, acting, and eerie score, calling it, "A chilling ghost story with artistic pretensions." "Film Reel.com" gave "Carnival of Souls" a positive review, praising the film's atmosphere, slow building tension, and disturbing visuals. Wes R. from "Oh the Horror!" praised the film stating, ""Carnival of Souls" is a film every horror fan must