Publication: Paris, Simon Richault, 1859

Dedication: Son frère Gustave Alkan

No. 1 In strict tempo E-flat major

A collection of minuets dedicated to his youngest brother, the composer Gustave Alkan (1827–?). No. 1 is a minuet in a classical style. Its impression is reinforced by the periodic theme in 8-bar units and the development based on thematic motifs. At measure 48, where a bar interrupting the regular phrase is inserted just before the trio, a rhetorical effect is created, as if stopping mid-sentence. The trio features a vivid modulation from an A-flat minor chord to E major (m. 85). The subsequent section (mm. 85–94), though short, densely combines thematic motives, making it the most tension-laden part of the piece.

At the beginning of the recapitulation (m. 103), there is an instruction for both hands: “con 8va ad lib. (doubling at the octave).” The interpretation of this instruction is highly debatable. This is because the instruction to 'double at the octave' seems unnatural for a passage already notated with octave figures. Two possible interpretations and the commentator's stance are presented below.

• Interpretation 1: To interpret it literally as 'this passage may be played without octaves depending on the performer's level.'
  In this interpretation, for the right hand, it would be reasonable to take the uppermost voice, considering the double stops at m. 110. However, this would make the thematic line too thin and the sound too disparate from the left-hand voice, thus insufficient for the effect of thematic return. Furthermore, if the performer's level were a consideration, similar instructions should be present in No. 3 of the same collection where continuous octaves appear in both hands, but they are absent. Looking at Alkan's works as a whole, it is extremely rare for him to offer simplified performance options at the expense of musical effect.
• Interpretation 2: To interpret “con 8va ad lib.” as a misprint for “All’8va ad lib. (an octave higher/lower than notated).”
  That Alkan did not necessarily confuse “con 8va (coll’8va)” with “All’8va” is evident from the last five measures of the second movement of his Sonatine, Op. 60 (1861), where these instructions are used simultaneously. However, at m. 151, the instruction “sempre l’8va ad lib.” does not repeat “con,” which it should if it were to strictly prescribe the same content as m. 103. In this regard, the strictness of octave instructions in this piece is questionable. Thus, the possibility arises to interpret it as 'optionally an octave higher for the right hand and an octave lower for the left hand.' Indeed, this provides a performance effect sufficient to compensate for the shortcomings of 'Interpretation 1' by strongly emphasizing the thematic return. However, this optional octave transposition is limited to measures 103-110. This is because only the range within these measures fits the compass of a 7-octave piano, which had already appeared around 1850. Even so, the connection is quite natural when the range returns at m. 111. Similarly, “sempre l’8va ad lib.” at m. 151 should be considered to apply only until m. 154.

Based on the above findings and after consultation with performers and composers, the commentator has concluded by supporting Interpretation 2. However, we encourage individual performers to explore these interpretations in practice and further deepen the discussion.