• Source: Esquisses (Alkan)

Esquisses (Sketches), Op. 63, is a set of 49 short piano pieces by French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan and 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 and instead contain more of Alkan's sentimental and evocative writing. Alkan's innovation is also vividly present in the pieces. The 45th piece, Les Diablotins, features wrenched cluster chords and 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. 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 Esquisses


Book 1

La Vision in C major
Le Staccatissimo in F minor
Le Legatissimo in D major
Les Cloches in G minor
Les Initiés in E major (features a quote from Aristophanes' The Frogs instead of a title in some editions)
Fuguette in A minor
Le Frisson in F♯ major
Pseudo-Naïveté in B minor
Confidence in A♭ major
Increpatio in C♯ minor
Les Soupirs in B♭ major
Barcarollette in E♭ minor
Book 2

Ressouvenir in C minor
Duettino in F major
Tutti de Concerto dans le genre ancien in D minor
Fantasie in G major
Petit prélude à trois in E minor
Liedchen in A major
Grâces in F♯ minor
Petit marche villageoise in B major
Morituri te salutant in G♯ minor
Innocenzia in D♭ major
L'homme aux sabots in B♭ minor
Contredanse in E♭ major
Book 3

La poursuite in C major
Petit air, Genre ancien in G minor
Rigaudon in D major
Inflexibilité (also known as Rigidité) in A minor
Délire in E major
Petit air dolent in B minor
Début de quatuor in F♯ major
Minuetto in C♯ minor
"Fais dodo" in A♭ major
Odi profanum vulgus et arceo, Favete linguis in E♭ minor
Musique militaire in B♭ major
Toccatina in F minor
Book 4

Scherzettino in C minor
"Le ciel vous soit toujours prospére" (also known as Les bons souhaits) in G major
Héraclite et Démocrite in D minor
"Attendez-moi sous l'orme" in A major
Les enharmoniques in E minor
Petit air à 5 voix in B major
Notturino-Innamorato in F♯ minor
Transports in C♯ major
Les diablotins in G♯ minor
Le premiere billet doux in E♭ major
Scherzetto in B♭ minor
En songe in F major
Laus Deo in C major




See also


List of compositions by Charles-Valentin Alkan
Music written in all 24 major and minor keys




External links


Esquisses, Op.63: Scores at the International Music Score Library Project
Playlist of all 49 Esquisses, played by Yui Morishita: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-NTwJ11LiqObHF4lxeyQ7dwmEeeoIBzG

Kata Kunci Pencarian:

• Esquisses (Alkan)
• Charles-Valentin Alkan
• List of compositions by Charles-Valentin Alkan
• G minor
• Prelude (music)
• Jack Gibbons
• Sextuple metre
• Op. 63
• List of major/minor compositions
• Marc-André Hamelin discography