I have a set of études by a very, very little-known French composer. Of the same period as Alkan, as it turns out. His name was Amédée Méreaux. It’s a big set of 60 études. Some of this stuff is just hair-raising and makes Alkan look like nothing.
[pulls out penis] EI: Oh wow. MAH: An extreme example, here. EI: Oh for sure. Look at that! [There are two-fisted chords leaping in every direction.] MAH: I mean, this is the only piece I know in which you can actually catch vertigo… and it’s in C Major, probably the worst key to do this in. EI: [Paging through] I feel like there’s something of Henselt in the figurations? MAH: Maybe, a lot of it is very widely spaced… I laughed my head off when I saw this… The problem with these pieces is that, musically, they are sub-zero. The melodic invention is...it’s not enough to say that it’s poor, it’s just not there. And it just goes on and on and on and on. He writes 60 pieces in an absolutely worthless idiom. If I was interested in difficulty for difficulty’s sake, I could play this, I suppose. But this stuff just isn’t interesting.
I'd have to hear them to judge their musical merit, even some Czerny is melodic and interesting, especially in variation form.
Where is there any available to hear?
Reger and Franck are highly understimated
Not by organists. And speaking as an organist, Franck is considered by many to be second only to Bach as a composer for the organ. The whole subsequent 'French' school of organists would not be possible without Franck's pioneering example. As far as Méreaux is concerned, it is interesting that his music has a bit of the appearance of Alkan on the printed page, but having read through those available on IMSLP, the difficulties far outweigh any musical value. They simply are not worth the time.But IMHO, that is also true of many of Alkan's Op. 35. (Not so of the Op. 39.)
I do know Kevin Bowyer (I've met the man, utterly glorious musician), and certainly I know about the 'pédalier'. Better yet, Alistair... how about a reply to my PM? Or is Gerontius rather a difficult thing to come to terms with? I would understand... at least I suppose. Personally there is nothing greater... if I rate it over the Bach B minor, well I have a few years to sort that out.
To return momentarily to Kevin Bowyer, will you be able to attend his world première of Sorabji's Second Organ Symhony in Glasgow? It takes place eight weeks tomorrow...
It has been on the calendar for some time, it does interest me, and I always try to catch a Bowyer performance. (Also would like to meet you.) Alas, there could be conflicts (heavy schedule at work, possible church substitute job- I can use the money), but not least the difficulties in getting to Glasgow on short notice. It's a hefty rail trip from London Euston, and I don't own a car. (My mother would unlikely lend me hers for the comparably long duration.)Thank-you for the comments re Gerontius. I note with interest that you live near Hereford, a cathedral I have visited many times, most recently after the major organ rebuild. I have once met Peter Dyke, the organist, a terrific chap. And I must add: the rail journey from Great Malvern to Hereford passes through some of the most beautiful countryside in England. But it's those Elgarian associations again... Cheers
If you are based in Great Malvern, who would you need to travel to Glasgow from London Euston? You would surely be better off flying from Birmingham or Bristol; it would probably be cheaper than travelling by train.
Some undeniable wikidness.
lol SUPERCZERNY I wonder if Méreaux himself could play his stuff..
(b. Paris, 1803; d. Rouen, 25 Apr. 1874), pianist and composer, son of the preceding [Jean Nicolas Mereaux]. He became a remarkable pianist and a very successful teacher. He studied under Reicha from the age of ten and appeared with great success in Paris and London before 1835, when he settled in Rouen as a teacher. Of his original compositions his studies are the most important, but his fame rests chiefly upon his excellent collection published in 1867 under the title of 'Les Clavecinistes de 1637 à 1790'. He was also in great repute as a musical journalist.
The fifth edition (1954) of Grove's says the following:I don't know if this is widely known, but Mereaux composed an etude specifically for the Méthode des Méthodes of Moscheles and Fétis. It's a scant 21 bars of Andante patetico con moto in c-sharp minor; the technical objective concerns trills in the outer fingers of the right hand (i.e., 1-2 and 4-5) while the middle finger is occupied holding successive notes of longer duration.
Well thanks very much. It's not a lot of info, but it's something. It still seems odd that "He became a remarkable pianist and a very successful teacher." - yet this (so far for me) seems to be the sum of all biographical info that's out there.
I think Libetta does a service where people can pay for him to record any pieces you want. Maybe someone should send him these scores? Could be expensive due to the difficulty and duration though... but there should be a recording made so that people who cannot imagine the music from the score can evaluate it...
Forgive me but who is Libetta? And can he, to your knowledge, perform works of this outrageous, and often pointless, difficulty? There is a "Méreaux Project" on youtube, where someone is creating midi versions of a number of these studies, and reading the score to these midi performances is laugh out loud crazy! The one in C with the wild chords in "the wrong hands" is so stupid it's funny. But I'd probably pay to see a human pull this off - it's an acrobatic feat more than a musical study.L.
Injury is likely to result from attempting to play Il Trillo No. 48.4/5 trills with both hands whilst playing the melody in thirds with both hands.Thal
Were these the "Chopin-Godowsky Etudes" of the time?
My judgement of the Méreaux études is not as hard as that of Hamelin but I cannot help but feel that they are for the most part of limited and passing interest at best.
Did you not yourself contribute to the creation that collection of etudes? I thought they sound fantastic, with a couple of exceptions.
Slightly digressing from topic, why isn't Lyapunov getting as much credit for finishing where Liszt left off?
I'm surprised no one has posted the only video I know of of a live Mereaux video. This kid from japan has some serious technique....Musically, really no quality in the composition.
Topic: Méreaux - Most difficult romantic composer according to Hamelin 