CHARLES-VALENTIN ALKAN (1813-1888): Complete Recueils de Chants, Vol. 1 - Recueils Nos. 1 and 2, Op. 38 and No. 3, Op. 65, Une fusée: Introduction et Impromptu, Op. 55.

Description: Dating from 1857 and 1859, the Recueils are in the genre of the "Song without Words". In fact, each of the six pieces in each of the five books follows Mendelssohn's key sequence in his first book (Op. 19b) and each has similar moods and each ends with a Barcarolle. The seven-minute Une fusée (1859), a first recording, is an addition to the repertoire of spinning-wheel pieces. Stephanie McCallum (piano).