En Rythme Molossique on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
''En rythme molossique'' (''In 
The first episode is lighter in mood, but the rhythm is still pervasive.
In the second episode, the rhythm dissolves into a crotchet followed by a minim, and flowing semiquavers appear throughout.
The original theme returns only after the second episode concludes, in double counterpoint with the second episode, and the climax then occurs with both episodes being combined. Finally, the flowing semiquavers of the second episode reappear once more in the coda in
Performance by Jack Gibbons
{{DEFAULTSORT:En rhythme molossique (Alkan) Études by Charles-Valentin Alkan 1846 compositions Compositions in D minor
molossian
The Molossians () were a group of ancient Greek tribes which inhabited the region of Epirus in classical antiquity. Together with the Chaonians and the Thesprotians, they formed the main tribal groupings of the northwestern Greek group. On thei ...
rhythm'') is the second of the Études in the minor keys, Op. 39 for solo piano by the French composer Charles-Valentin Alkan, published in 1846. It is in D minor. The piece is in rondo form
The rondo is an instrumental musical form introduced in the Classical period.
Etymology
The English word ''rondo'' comes from the Italian form of the French ''rondeau'', which means "a little round".
Despite the common etymological root, rondo ...
, with two episodes, and is mostly driven by the rhythm .
Ronald Smith compares the theme to the octaves in canon
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western ca ...
of the minuet
A minuet (; also spelled menuet) is a social dance of French origin for two people, usually in time. The English word was adapted from the Italian ''minuetto'' and the French ''menuet''.
The term also describes the musical form that accomp ...
from Joseph Haydn's string quartet, Op. 76 No. 2.
The first episode is lighter in mood, but the rhythm is still pervasive.
In the second episode, the rhythm dissolves into a crotchet followed by a minim, and flowing semiquavers appear throughout.
The original theme returns only after the second episode concludes, in double counterpoint with the second episode, and the climax then occurs with both episodes being combined. Finally, the flowing semiquavers of the second episode reappear once more in the coda in D major
D major (or the key of D) is a major scale based on D, consisting of the pitches D, E, F, G, A, B, and C. Its key signature has two sharps. Its relative minor is B minor and its parallel minor is D minor.
The D major scale is:
:
Ch ...
, with the rhythm being repeated over and over again in the bass, and the work ends, referencing Beethoven's "Tempest" sonata, also in D minor.
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji
Kaikhosru Shapurji Sorabji (born Leon Dudley Sorabji; 14 August 1892 – 15 October 1988) was an English composer, music critic, pianist and writer whose music, written over a period of seventy years, ranges from sets of miniatures to wor ...
considered this piece to be one of the 'most original' of the op. 39 set, 'the dour, harsh, heavy brutality of the rhythm is magnificently expressed.'K. Sorabji, 'Around Music' (1932), pp. 217-8
References
External links
*Performance by Jack Gibbons
{{DEFAULTSORT:En rhythme molossique (Alkan) Études by Charles-Valentin Alkan 1846 compositions Compositions in D minor