Donna Maria Valse à quatre mains.

Bookseller Notes

A contemporary fair copy of an unpublished waltz from the master of the French form, Gatien Marcailhou. In E-flat major, the main theme of the Primo part is characteristised by a triplet ornament on the second beat while the Secondo provides a typical waltz accompaniment with a touch of chromaticism. Ravel cited Marcailhou as the true creator of the modern French waltz, 'les valses de Marcailhou restent documentaires de leur temps comme les camlias blancs ou plement roses aims de nos aeules du second Empire' (1933) while Paul Valry attributed the composer with the popularisation of the form: 'Il faut lui associer le nom du musicien qui, le premier, fixa le type de cette loi des mouvements tourbillonaires et donna l'me du rythme tant de couples : Marcailhou.'The composer was a friend of George Sand, and taught Gabriel Faur.