L'isle joyeuse

Exposition, bars 1–98#

The introduction creates a whole tone context. This changes to an A Lydian context which, in bars 15–21, transitions, through the addition of G natural, to the whole tone context of a new motive at bar 21. This A Lydian context serves to transition from the whole tone mode on A to the A major context, inflected by occasional Lydian Ds, of the second theme at bar 67.

Middle, bars 99–159#

The other transposition of the whole tone scale, avoided in the outer sections, is used and provides further harmonic contrast.

Recapitulation, bars 160–255#

The second subject appears in pure A major, the “ultimate tonal goal of the piece”. The opening codas “louder and more animatedly until the very end”. It ends with a loud tremolo, a group of grace notes ascending to two octaves of A notes in the highest registers of the piano, and a quick, final arpeggio, the same arpeggio used to accompany the first use of the second subject, played downwards, hitting the lowest note on the keyboard (A 0 ) markedly.

External links#

• • Recording by Alon Goldstein in MP3 format (archived on the Wayback Machine)