DESCRIPTION:
One of only three complete recordings of Alkan's 'The Months', none of which are commercially available to my knowledge, which is why I'm uploading to YouTube.

Six of these pieces originally appeared in 1838 as the composer's Op. 8 - Six morceaux caractéristiques: Une nuit d'hiver, La Pâque, Sérénade, Une nuit d'été, Les moissoneurs and L'opéra. The full set of 12 pieces for 'Les Mois' was first published in 1840.

There is some unevenness to the set as a whole, but there is plenty of material to hold one's grasp too. The most well-known pieces are deservedly so - Gros temps, Promenade sur l'eau, and Carnaval showing three utterly distinct styles which makes them good for progamming.

Here are the track listing and start-points of each piece:

1. Une nuit d'hiver
2. Carnaval (4:54)
3. La retraite (6:32)
4. La Pâque (8:00)
5. Sérénade (10:37)
6. Promenade sur l'eau (12:52)
7. Une nuit d'été (15:14)
8. Les moissoneurs (18:43)
9. L'hallali (22:04)
10. Gros temps (23:41)
11. Le mourant (26:10)
12. L'opéra (30:23)

Daniel Capelletti - piano