This lyrical and rather sentimental piece by Alkan is the third of his six Recueil de Chants (Collection of Songs) Op 65. Alkan wrote five volumes of Chants: Opp 38 (two books), 65, 67 and 70. He took as his inspiration and model Mendelssohn’s Songs without Words, not merely sharing their harmonic language and length, but following the key sequence of Mendelssohn’s first book, Op 19 (E major, A minor, A major, A major, F sharp minor and G minor), even ending with a barcarolle. Mendelssohn’s ‘songs’ were composed between 1830 and 1845; Alkan’s between 1857 and the early 1870s.
Pianist Mark Viner has added some detailed fingerings onto the score (note that those fingerings in italic are by Alkan himself).
For playing tips, read Mark Viner’s article on page…
