Publication: Simon Richault, 1867

Dedication: Monsieur Simon Richault

This collection consists of 12 pieces, comprising 11 original short pieces and an arrangement of No. 13 "Pastoral Symphony" from Handel's oratorio Messiah. Here, three pieces from the 11 original short pieces are included. The title of this work is accompanied by the instruction "for organ, harmonium, or piano / without pedalboard." Alkan was also an excellent organist, having won a first prize in organ at the Paris Conservatoire in 1834. In 1853, the piano company led by Pierre Érard developed the "piano-pédalier" (pedal piano), which was exhibited at the 1855 Paris World's Fair and attracted considerable attention. The phrase "without pedalboard" likely refers to this "pédalier." It is probably no coincidence that Alkan, a Jew who never held an organist position in a Catholic church, took an interest in the "pédalier." Alkan owned this instrument and performed Bach's works on it. He also composed for the "pédalier" himself, publishing the following four works simultaneously in 1866:

All of the works with opus numbers suggest religious content, but Op. 69, the colossal Chorale Variations, particularly demonstrates a strong interest in Bach.

Now, Op. 72, from which three pieces are excerpted here, was published the year after the aforementioned four works and is a companion piece to Op. 66. The instruction "pedalboard" was deliberately omitted, and the work was composed so that it could be performed on harmoniums and small organs, which were widely popular at the time. Perhaps this was a consideration for the fact that the "pédalier" was not widely adopted by the general public. It is dedicated to Simon Richault, the publisher who supported Alkan's publishing activities for many years.

No. 3 in D minor, Presque Adagio

It begins as a four-voice fugue, adopting a concise structure consisting of an exposition (measures 1-15), a well-developed development section (measures 16-44), a stretto (measures 45-51), and a coda (measures 52-59). In the latter half of the development section (measures 36-44), following the first half (measures 16-36) which develops based on the opening subject, the subject and countersubject are presented simultaneously, ascending towards a climax. At this point, the countersubject appears in inversion. In performance, be mindful that both of these motifs are clearly audible.

No. 6 in B-flat major, Avec majesté

A song without words-like piece, featuring rapid ascending and descending scales as motifs. Although seemingly complex due to numerous double bar lines, the piece as a whole can be broadly divided into two parts at measure 88 (see analysis diagram). Part 1 is in ternary form (A-B-A'). Both sections develop based on the following motives presented in A (see musical example). Part 2 features an etude-like passage in thirds based on motive 'a', after which the subject reappears, leading to the coda. Although the writing style is entirely different, like No. 3, it strictly develops the subject's motives and emphasizes internal unity. The analysis diagram should be used to understand the role of each motive and to help construct the performance.

No. 11 in A minor, Doux

The insertion of multiple heterogeneous elements within a unified whole is one of the characteristics of Alkan's later works. As a clue to understanding the complex structure, musical examples and an analysis diagram are also provided here. The five main motifs appearing in this work are shown in the musical example below, with x1 and x2 abruptly inserted in the middle of the piece (indicated in gray in the diagram). After Subject A is presented, interrupted by the heterogeneous F natural of x1, which modulates to E minor, Subject B appears in both hands respectively. Following this, a monophonic chant-like 'c' appears in E-flat minor (measure 62). While 'c' is interrupted by B-flat of x2, this x2 has a high affinity with E-flat minor, and the impression of discontinuity is weaker compared to x1 interrupting Subject A. E-flat minor, which is a tritone (augmented fourth) away from the tonic A minor, is the most distant key from the tonic. It is also possible to interpret that by setting the chant-like section in a key distant from the tonic, Subjects A and B are given connotations of 'secular' and 'sacred' respectively. Subjects A and B are contrapuntally combined and recapitulated simultaneously (measures 81-103). After the religious idea 'd' in quintuplets reappears in A major (measure 104), the melody of Subject A is fragmented by 'x' and fades away weakly.