Publication: Paris, Simon Richault, 1857

Dedication: To his friend Léon Honnoré

No. 1 in E major, Slowly, yet with sufficient animation

This work opens the series of five volumes of Chants (Songs) published from 1857 to the early 1870s. Each volume in the collection consists of six pieces with the same key sequence. Volume 1 is structured as follows: 'No. 1 (Slowly, yet with sufficient animation) in E major' – 'No. 2 (Almost like an Allegretto) in A minor' – 'No. 3 Choral in A major' – 'No. 4 Offering in A major' – 'No. 5 (Very agitated) in F-sharp minor' – 'No. 6 Barcarolle in G minor'. It is likely no coincidence that this key sequence is identical to that of Mendelssohn's Songs Without Words, Book 1.

In No. 1 of this work, the melody is sung sonorously over undulating three-octave arpeggios, making it an exhilarating piece. Léon Honnoré (1818–1874), to whom the collection was dedicated, was an old friend of Alkan and a pianist and composer who received a first prize in piano at the Conservatoire in 1835.