Charles-Valentin Alkan - 49 Esquisses

Laurent Martin, Piano. Esquisses (Sketches), Op. 63 is a set of 49 short piano pieces by French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan published in 1861. The pieces are divided into four books; the first pair of books and the last pair each comprise between them pieces in each of all the major and minor keys. Book 4 ends with an extra, unnumbered, piece, Laus Deo, in C major. Four pianists have recorded the set in its entirety: Laurent Martin, Osamu Nakamura (now Osamu Kanazawa), Steven Osborne, and Yui Morishita (twice). Unlike many other of Alkan’s pieces, such as the Op. 33 Grand Sonate and the Op. 39 set of etudes in all the minor keys, these 49 pieces do not focus mainly on virtuosity and transcendentalism. Instead, they contain more of Alkan’s sentimental and evocative writing. Alkan’s innovation is also vividly present in the pieces. The 39th piece, Héraclite et Démocrite, features two sharply contrasting themes for the respective philosophers, and at some passages Alkan overlaps the themes to create a solemn and sad theme in the left hand and a bouncy and joyous theme in the right. The 45th piece, Les Diablotins, features wrenched cluster chords. The 48th piece, En Songe, is a dreamy and quiet piece all except for the very final chord, which is a sudden F major chord with the dynamic ff. (Wikipedia) BOOK 1 0:00:00 - No.1 “La Vision“ 🥑 0:03:05 - No.2 “Le Staccatissimo“ 0:04:08 - No.3 “Le Legatissimo“ 0:05:34 - No.4 “Les Cloches“ 0:06:32 - No.5 “(Aristophanes, Les Grenouilles, vers 449 à 455)“ 0:09:00 - No.6 “Fuguette“ 0:10:32 - No.7 “Le Frisson“ 0:12:16 - No.8 “Pseudo-Naïveté“ 0:13:32 - No.9 “Confidence“ 🥑 0:15:45 - “Increpatio“ 🥑 0:17:10 - “Les Soupirs“ 0:18:55 - “Barcarollette“ BOOK 2 0:20:10 - “Ressouvenir“ 0:22:59 - “Duettino“ 0:24:11 - “Tutti de Concerto“ 🥑 0:25:16 - “Fantasie“ 0:26:34 - “Petit Prélude à Trois“ 0:27:18 - “Liedchen“ 🥑 0:28:28 - “Grâces“ 0:30:03 - “Petite Marche Villageoise“ 0:31:46 - “Morituri te Salutant“ 0:34:06 - “Innocenzia“ 0:35:28 - “L’homme aux Sabots“ 0:36:06 - “Contredanse“ 🥑 BOOK 3 0:37:13 - “La Poursuite“ 0:37:56 - “Petit Air“ 0:38:41 - “Rigaudon“ 0:39:39 - “Inflexibilité“ 0:40:35 - “Délire“ 🥑 0:41:29 - “Petit Air Dolent“ 0:42:58 - “Début de Quatuor“ 0:44:03 - “Minuettino“ 0:47:12 - “Fais Dodo“ 0:48:09 - “Odi Profanum Vulgus et Arceo: Favete Linguis“ 0:50:36 - “Musique Militaire“ 🥑 0:51:49 - “Toccatina“ 🥑 BOOK 4 0:52:59 - “Scherzettino“ 0:54:00 - “Le Ciel Vous Soit Tojours Prospère!“ 0:55:36 - “Héraclite et Démocrite“ 🥑 0:57:47 - “Attendez-moi Sous L’orme“ 0:58:29 - “Les Enharmoniques“ 1:00:22 - “Petit Air à 5 Voix“ 1:01:18 - “Notturnino-Innamorato“ 🥑 1:02:33 - “Transports“ 1:03:18 - “Les Diablotins“ 🥑 1:05:50 - “Le Premier Billet Doux“ 1:06:53 - “Scherzetto“ 1:08:59 - “En Songe“ 🥑 (my favourite) 1:10:24 - “Laus Deo“