Le chemin de fer

"Le chemin de fer" (French for "the railway"), Op. 27, is a programmatic étude for piano composed by Charles-Valentin Alkan in 1844, [cite web |url=http://www.pianopedia.com/w_4946_alkan.aspx |title=Alkan - Le chemin de fer, étude, op.27 |accessdate=2008-01-08 |author=Brisson, Eric |date=2008 |work=Pianopedia ] , frequently cited as the first musical representation of a railway. [cite web |url=http://www.iag.uni-hannover.de/~hitching/Alkan.html |title=Charles-Valentin Alkan (1813-1888) |accessdate=2008-01-08 |author=Hitching, George |date=2006-08-24 |work=George Hitching personal page ] cite book |last=Murray |first=Christopher J. |title=Encyclopedia of the Romantic Era, 1760-1850 |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=8wnCx9cZWw4C |year=2004 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |location=London |isbn=1-5795-8422-5 |pages=12 ] It is a "perpetuum mobile" composition at an extremely fast tempo, in D minor, and performance at tempo lasts approximately five minutes.cite book |last=Delaborde |first=Elie M. |title=Le Chemin de Fer, Op. 27 (score) |year=2000 |publisher=Ludwig Masters Publications |location=London ]

Composition

The composition is marked "vivacissimamente" (extremely brisk, from ""), [cite web |url=http://www.music.vt.edu/musicdictionary/textv/Vivacissimamente.html |title=Vivacissimamente |accessdate=2008-01-11 |author=Cole, Richard |date=2007 |work=Virginia Tech Multimedia Music Dictionary ] 112 half notes per minute. The first theme is sixteenth notes accompanied by a repetitive ostinato bass in eighth notes, illustrating the fleeting steam locomotive. The second is a more lightweight melody in the relative major, F major, still comprising just sixteenth notes, which depicts the happy journey of the passengers.de icon cite web |url=http://www.wellermusik.de/Musikgeschichte/ALKAN/alkan.html |title=The Piano Music of Charles-Valentin Alkan |accessdate=2008-01-11 |author=Weller, Wolfgang |date=1996 |work=Weller Music ] The only respite from the torrent comes at the coda, in which the note durations lengthen and the piece comes to a close, portraying the train pulling into a station. The piece's length, in printing (506 measures), not performance (5 minutes), is humorously referred to as describing a very long trip.fr icon cite book |last=Beck |first=Charles |title=Œuvres choisies pour piano |year=1969 |publisher=Huegel et Cie |location=Paris|pages=iv, v ]

Reception

The most recurrent criticism of the étude is disparaging its banal programmatic nature, and it is rated very poorly compared with Alkan's other compositions. [fr icon cite web |url=http://www.critique-musicale.com/musAAA.htm |title=Opinion of the Works |accessdate=2008-01-11 |author=Fernandez, Claude |date=2006-01-01 |work=critique musicale ] It is dismissed as "amusing", with no technical innovations. [cite web |url=http://mq.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/reprint/X/2/251.pdf |title=The Piano Works of C.V. Alkan |accessdate=2008-01-09 |author=Bellamann, H. |format=PDF |work=The Musical Quarterly ] Although he demanded strict adherence to the metronome, one analysis of the extreme tempo showed that it is nearly impossible to play at the correct speed, and that at that speed the notes become impossible to distinguish. One published edition agrees with this statement, suggesting that Alkan's metronomic indications do not need to be taken too literally, and most examinations agree, one proposing that there is a printing error and it should be played half as fast (112 quarter notes per minute).cite book |last=Eddie |first=William A. |title=Charles Valentin Alkan: His Life And His Music |url=http://books.google.com/books?id=7o6ps01rGxYC |year=2007 |publisher=Ashgate Publishing |location=France |isbn=1-8401-4260-X |pages= ] Its historical accuracy was also questioned, given that it was composed in 1844, a period in railway history when trains seldom travelled faster than 19 mph (30 km/h). Despite these denigrations, its joyful melody has been celebrated as a forerunner to Arthur Honegger's famous orchestral work, "Pacific 231", which also represents a locomotive.

Recording

References

External links

* [http://alkan.assos.free.fr/alkan/04_partitions_en.html Sheet music]