NB. Guess what personal achievement am I celebrating... :D

Throughout his career, Alkan was fond of publishing pairs of curiously contrasting pieces, for instance, Jean qui pleure et Jean qui rit, fughe (2) da camera or the psychologically acute Petites pièces (2) (Ma chère liberté and ma chère servitude). The Capriccio alla soldatesca and Le tambour bat aux champs, which share the number Op. 50, comprise a satirical conspectus of combat seen from the perspective of a cavalry officer and of a common foot soldier, respectively. Thus, it is inevitable to hear the Marche funèbre and Marche triomphale, composed in the glow of Alkan's successful return to the concert platform in 1844, as a tandem meant to share and spur recognitions. Both were published by Brandus in 1846, though Alkan is known to have performed them privately in the latter part of 1844, and both are dedicated "à Madame la Duchesse de Montebello," one of Alkan's wealthy pupils. But while the Marche funèbre is a grand, somberly haunting tone poem, the Marche triomphale, with its octave triplet cascades, is rife with an exhilarating giddiness set off by strutting smugness. Originally titled Marche héroïque, it is not unlike the signature piece of Leopold de Meyer, a piano virtuoso who took Paris by storm at the end of 1844; the Marche marocaine created such a public furor that Berlioz was moved to orchestrate it and offer it at one of his "monster concerts" on February 16, 1845. The genuine contrast, it seems, is the reclusive genius, poet, and satirist with another brilliant showman. Thanks to the vagaries of publishing, the Marche triomphale shares its opus number with the contemporaneous Le chemin de fer.

(AllMusic)

Please take note that the audio AND the sheet music ARE NOT mine. Change the quality to a minimum of 480p if the video is blurry.

Original audio:    • Charles Valentin Alkan  MARCHE TRIOM...  
Original sheet music: imslp.org

If you wish to see the first version of this video (performed by MIDI), click here:    • Video