''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 Laurent Martin (born 12 September 1945) is a French classical pianist. Biography After piano studies with Geneviève Zaigue in Troyes, Joseph Benvenuti at the Conservatoire de Paris, Germaine Audibert in Nice and Pierre Sancan in Paris, Mart ...

, 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 Aristophanes (; grc, Ἀριστοφάνης, ; c. 446 – c. 386 BC), son of Philippus, of the deme Kydathenaion ( la, Cydathenaeum), was a comic playwright or comedy-writer of ancient Athens and a poet of Old Attic Comedy. Eleven of his for ...

' ''

The Frogs ''The Frogs'' ( grc-gre, Βάτραχοι, Bátrakhoi, Frogs; la, Ranae, often abbreviated ''Ran.'' or ''Ra.'') is a comedy written by the Ancient Greek playwright Aristophanes. It was performed at the Lenaia, one of the Festivals of Dionysus in ...

'' 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

External links

* {{IMSLP2, work=Esquisses, Op.63 (Alkan, Charles-Valentin), cname=Esquisses, Op.63 * Playlist of all 49 Esquisses, played by Yui Morishita: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL-NTwJ11LiqObHF4lxeyQ7dwmEeeoIBzG * Answers.com: http://www.answers.com/topic/motifs-48-esquisses-sketches-for-piano-in-4-books-op-63 1861 compositions Compositions by Charles-Valentin Alkan

Alkan Alkan may refer to: Places Iran * Alkan, Kohgiluyeh and Boyer-Ahmad * Alkan, Qom Turkey * Alkan, Gülşehir, in Gülşehir, Gülşehir district Given name * Alkan Chaglar (born 1981), Turkish Cypriot journalist and columnist Surname * Ahmet Alk ...

Compositions for solo piano Compositions that use extended techniques

The Esquisses

See also

External links