Charles-Valentin Alkan - 3 Marches for piano four hands, Op. 40

Goldstone and Clemmow, piano duet
00:00 No. 1 in A-flat Major: Allegro
08:31 No. 2 in C Minor - E-flat Major: Allegro Moderato
14:46 No. 3 in B-flat Major: Modérément
NOTE: It is not always possible to exactly align the primo and secondo parts onto one screen due to them being published as separate parts on opposing pages. Every effort has been made to align them where possible for the viewer. It is hoped that the experience of reading both parts of Alkan's richly detailed score in its original engraving is rewarding enough to justify the occasional awkward arrangements on screen.
Published in 1857 at the height of Alkan's mature style, the op. 40 marches for piano duet evince the complete harmonic control and rhythmic invention that the composer possessed as a leading acolyte of the contemporary French musical school. From simple, almost thoughtless-sounding material, Alkan wrings forth one variation after the next with such detailed shadings in each part that, despite frequently repeated sections, the music never overstays its welcome. Rather, it delights with each subsequent rendition of its themes as they mutate through comic barbs, persistent offbeat accents, and percussive appoggiaturas. Call-and-response episodes and a stereoscopic treatment of the keyboard reveal Alkan's vivid technique for orchestrating the piano.
The march was a popular nineteenth-century genre, more fit for parades and theatrical productions rather than recital rooms or orchestral halls (excluding the more serious funeral march subgenre, which Beethoven helped introduce into the symphony). Yet Alkan remained fascinated by the march genre throughout his decades-long career, adapting its foursquare formula to concoct any number of fine musical solutions at the piano. In Alkan's hands, a march could be stiff and acerbic just as easily as it could be sweet and melodious; it could equally take the form of a heartfelt eulogy or a carefree promenade, a farcical sketch, an esoteric vision, or an exotic roulade.
In the op. 40 Marches, we find Alkan at his most witty and playful. Here, he can hardly keep his tangential imagination at bay for long. Just when you feel that you are on firm ground, the pace will quicken, the character will transform, or the atmosphere will descend into an ephemeral "twilight fantasy" (as Ronald Smith once described a moment from the Trio of the Sonatine, mvt. III). This is vintage Alkan.

[@user-lj1sc9bs4t]

Alkan love♥️♥️♥️

[@briansunday7099]

You know, I’ve had the score for these for ages and have never heard them. Thank you, Alkan Society - no wonder I am a member!

[@thealkansociety8513]

The entire album is absolutely worth a listen/purchase. Goldstone and Clemmow performing Alkan’s complete duos and duets on Toccata Classics. Glad to hear you are still discovering with your membership!

[@briansunday7099]

Did anyone notice the similarity between the opening theme of the third march and Berlioz’ March to the Scaffold? Part of me thinks it’s deliberate, as I think is what seemed to me to be a direct quote from Berlioz’ Ouverture to Les Franc Juges in the Funeral March for a Dead Parrot. Consider his “utter drivel” remark about Berlioz’ treatise on orchestration, coupled with the notion that invoking Berlioz in his fight for Zimmermann’s position proved to be fruitless. Just a thought.

[@DanielBerke]

I'm quite familiar with these from the Goldstone and Clemmow album (all of which is fantastic), and all three have passages of sublime beauty which can bring a tear to my eye - coupled with Alkan's usual humor and ability to coax unique and novel sounds from a piano.

[@thealkansociety8513]

Perhaps it is Alkan’s balancing restraint that makes the sublime passages you mention so powerful, so unexpected. The coda of the third march comes to mind, where time seems to stop for a few moments before the final fortissimo section. There is nothing else like it.

[@DanielBerke]

@@thealkansociety8513 Having thought about it some more, I think it's (at least partly) Alkan's use of contrast that I find so enchanting - between loud/forceful, fairly "simple", almost "harsh" or "strident" (though not in a bad way) passages, to something melodically lyrical and sweet, and perhaps a bit more "complex". I'm not a musician so I'm struggling for the right terms, but it's a pattern I see over and over in his music, especially many of the pieces I like best. It's like going from the intensity of the eye wall of a hurricane into the stillness of the eye and back again, where both parts would be good on their own, yet the contrast enhances them both.

[@MofosOfMetal]

To me - there are hints of the triumphant tune in the 'Marche au Supplice' from Berlioz's Symphonie Fantastique in the 3rd March. All 3 are brilliant and unique, many touches that are so idiosyncratic to Alkan.

[@piano-music]

7:39 clean Rachmaninoff 2nd concerto ...+ chopins polonaise (octaves)

[@andrewtessman9921]

I think some of these treasures are more approachable for two hands than some of his works for two hands, or even two hands and pedal (maybe) :) Nonetheless, a treat to listen to and view!