Charles-Valentin Alkan - 200 Years, 3. 1845-1849

Alkan is now generally recognised to have been exactly that – one of the truest of Beethoven’s heirs in terms of his structural handling of rhythm, the supreme exponent of the French style sévère, and the creator of some of the most dauntingly difficult (and powerful, and tender, and sardonic) piano music in the entire repertoire of the instrument... Alkan also displays striking harmonic individuality (especially in the use of diatonic dissonance) and an occasionally awesome grasp of large-scale structure. It is these features, quite as much as his uncanny skill at suggesting orchestral timbres in purely pianistic terms, which earned him the epithet bestowed by Hans von Bülow: ‘the Berlioz of the piano’... This [Alkan's piano pédalier/organ works] is also an output that, to some extent, is less concerned with the apocalyptic and diabolic aspects of the composer’s musical personality than with simpler religious moods and expressions of faith. Except that, with Alkan, nothing is ever entirely simple, and his utter originality of approach is sometimes to be discovered in the most unlikely places and genres.⁽¹⁾

After the fruitful year of 1844, Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813 - 1888) continued to compose at a steady pace. He lived on the Square d'Orléans, a neighbor and friend of Chopin, and was much distressed when the latter passed away. This period also saw Alkan passed over for the position of Head of the Piano Department at the Paris Conservatory, which prompted Alkan's further seclusion.

Looking at the titles of these works, still mostly for piano, one would easily think that they're similar Chopin's in this period: Impromptus, Funeral March, Etudes, etc.. Nothing could be further from the truth: Alkan's music is starker, occupies an inner world, has much greater scope--Four Seasons Sonata covers a person's entire life, and continues to daunt pianists technically to this day.

From an abundance of Alkan videos on YouTube, I've chosen the following for this period:

Premier Recueil d'Impromptus (First Book of Impromptus), Op. 32 No. 1 (1845–1848, published 1848), No. 1 Vaghezza (Vagueness) in B major (1847), No. 2 L'amitié (Friendship) in B major (1845), No. 3 Fantasietta alla moresca (Moorish Fantasy) in G major (1847), and No. 4 La foi (Faith) in B-flat major (1848?).

[The first book of Impromptus are in an] intimate style, with the third using 'simple block chord harmonies and the resulting primitive effects give an effective Moorish North African characterization and its modal effects look forward to Bartok's Rumanian Dance no. 1.⁽²⁾

Marche Funèbre (Funeral March) in E-flat minor, Op. 26/26a and Marche Triomphale in B major, Op. 26b/27 (1846).

The titles ... suggest that Alkan may have felt challenged to reproduce on the new, powerfully extended Erard concert grand, some of the sombre atmosphere and massive sonorities of Berlioz's great 'Symphonie funebre at triomphale' for massed bands which had recently been produced in Paris. The Marche funebre, stark, grim, full of muffled drums and chiming bells, sustains a processional atmosphere of unrelieved gloom... - Ronald Smith⁽³⁾

Listen here to Bourrée d'Auvergne, Op. 29 (1846) in MIDI.

Grande Sonate 'Les Quatre Ages' (Grand Sonata 'The Four Seasons'), Op. 33 (1848), 20 ans (Age 20) in B minor; 30 ans: Quasi-Faust (Age 30: Quasi-Faust) in D-sharp minor; 40 ans: Un heureux ménage (Age 40: A Happy Household) in G major; 50 ans: Prométhée enchaîne (Prometheus Enchained) in G-sharp minor.

The sequence of movements is unlike the typical classical piano sonata, in that they become progressively slower, ... beginning effectively with a scherzo, the second--pianistically challenging--movement is in extended sonata form, the third and fourth portray family bliss and anticipation of death respectively. The work's originality and structure has led some to believe with no further evidence that Liszt took it as an example in his Grand Sonata in B minor. ⁽⁴⁾

Scherzo-focoso in B minor, Op. 34 (1848), another characteristically Alkan virtuoso piece which one would expect but never hears at piano competitions.



Douze études dans tous les tons majeurs (Twelve Etudes in all the Major Keys), Op. 35 (1848), another pièce de résistance of Alkan's catalog.

Let's listen to No. 4 Presto in C major and No. 5 Allegro Barbaro in F major,





No. 6 Allegramente in B-flat major.

It was Robert Collet who first suggested that Brahms might have encountered the sixth study, an exercise in flexible contractions, whilst working on his D minor concerto. Although a link between Alkan and Brahms might seem unlikely, an appreciation by Hans von Bülow in the Neue Berliner Musikzeitung in August 1857 could have drawn Brahms's attention to these studies just at the time he was refashioning the concerto's opening movement from an aborted symphony... - Ronald Smith ⁽⁵⁾

No. 7 L'incendie au village voisin (Fire in the neighboring village) in E-flat major and No. 8 Lento Appassionato in A-flat major.





No. 10 Chant d'amour - Chant de mort: Et quando expectavi lumen, venit caligo (Song of love - Song of death: And when I looked for light, darkness came) in G-flat major, 'a beautiful, Schubert-esque piece of music with a radical-for-the-time ending.'⁽⁶⁾



No. 11 Posément (Calm) in B major.

Contrary to the horrid accusation of Alkan lacking melodic genius, Alkan actually wrote countless wonderful and memorable melodies, and they show up yet again here. The problem is that they are within very dense chords, so the study of this etude is to voice the melodies with projecting tone amidst all of the chords. ⁽⁷⁾

No. 12 Andando: Technique des octaves in E major.

This piece makes me exhausted. Thanks to that, my arm became stronger than ever!!⁽⁸⁾

To conclude, Deuxième Recueil d'Impromptus (Second Book of Impromptus), Op. 32 No. 2 (1849), 3 Airs à cinq temps et 1 air à sept temps (Three Airs in Five Beats and One Air in Seven Beats), this is definitely a tribute to his dear friend Chopin composed in the year of his death.

[The second book of Impromptus] represents the rhythmic influence of the zorzico, with the last Impromptu (in seven beats) anticipating the 'evocative world of Satie.'⁽²⁾

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⁽¹⁾"Charles-Valentin ALKAN (1813–1888)." Composer page, Toccata Classics. (http://www.toccataclassics.com/composer.php?ID=12 (11/30/2013))
⁽²⁾ William Alexander Eddie, "Charles Valentin Alkan: His Life and His Music." Burlington, VT, Ashgate Publishing Company, 2007, Preface. (http://books.google.com/books?id=7o6ps01rGxYC&pg=PA103&lpg=PA103&dq=Alkan+impromptus&source=bl&ots=NUNV4884Za&sig=u6pA8x9YlGv19G2a0offZxmFcvs&hl=en&sa=X&ei=3HCbUvK7No3voAT7kIGAAw&ved=0CE8Q6AEwBDgK#v=onepage&q=Alkan%20impromptus&f=false (12/01/2013))
⁽³⁾ deviantrake, "Charles Valentin Alkan - MARCHE TRIOMPHALE Op.26b / Marche Funebre Op.26a - RONALD SMITH." Notes to YouTube video, 07/08/2009. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6r6_kRV2L4 (12/01/2013))
⁽⁴⁾"Grande sonate 'Les quatre âges'." Wikipedia entry. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grande_sonate_%27Les_quatre_%C3%A2ges%27 (12/01/2013))
⁽⁵⁾ Hexameron, "Alkan - Etude No. 6 Op. 35." Notes to YouTube video, 05/20/2009, quoted from Ronald Smith's Alkan, The Man, The Music. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X-xsqftLfiE (12/01/2013))
⁽⁶⁾ OrangeSodaking, "Alkan: Etude in G Flat Major Op. 35 No. 10 (Ronald Smith)." Notes to YouTube video, 03/13/2011. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4q9sCMBqRv4 (12/01/2013))
⁽⁷⁾ OrangeSodaking, "Alkan: Etude in B Major Op. 35 No. 11 (Ronald Smith)." Notes to YouTube video, 03/13/2011. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiF4oQQHayc (12/01/2013))
⁽⁸⁾ hatahatagami, "Alkan Op.35 No.12 Etude in E Major." Note to YouTube video, 04/03/2013. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KcMoNXSKAw (12/01/2013))