Salut, cendre du pauvre!, Op 45, is Alkan’s only work to have been published in 1856. It is a paraphrase of a poem by Gabriel-Marie-Jean-Baptiste Legouve (1764–1812) to which it is difficult to assign any clear identity. As with the previous piece, but within a generally calmer musical landscape, several sections create a juxtaposition of contrasting atmospheres. The piece begins with a number of arpeggios and then goes on to introduce a pregnant theme which then filters through the entire work. There follows a page in a much more funereal mood reminiscent of the
Marche funèbre (Op 26) with its obsessive throbbing in the left hand. The piece comes to a calm close with big spread chords.
from notes by François Luguenot © 2001
English: Ansy Boothroyd
;)
