The fourth Charlier etude has become the seemingly forlorn sibling of the three venerable “Du Style” etudes, often overlooked in favor the popular #6 and the dominant and ubiquitous #2. And that is an unfortunate state of affairs, because this etude is an absolute delight to play and hear. It has taken me a while to carve out enough time to record this etude — the latest installment in my YouTube Charlier Project — but I am glad to have been delayed while preparing this etude, because it gave me some extra time to prise open the hood and see in greater detail what is inside. I found some interesting things.

Whenever I start preparing one of these etudes for this project I always go back to the book and take a close look at exactly what’s on the page, wanting to make sure that I am not playing anything out of habit that is inconsistent with the score. One of the first steps in that process is to check the marked tempo to see how it compares to how I normally play it. In this case I was shocked. The marked tempo (quarter note = 66) is slow. And when I say slow, I mean strap-on-your-turtle-shoes-this-is-going-to-take-a-while slow. This tempo is, in my opinion, simply unworkable; the music just dies at that tempo (sorry Thèo!). So if 66 is too slow, you might ask, then what is a good tempo? The quick answer is 72-76, but to really determine the best tempo, you need to take a look at the Poco piu mosso section in bar 25, decide how fast you want that section to go, and then play the opening a little slower than that. Determining the tempo in this manner will yield a much more compelling result than simply clicking the metronome onto 66 and heading on your way. If you do that, it will be a long trip indeed.

Another critical element in this etude is the pair of “poco a poco stringendo e crescendo” markings towards the end of the piu mosso section. Charlier has gone to the trouble to notate very specifically what he wants here, and I think it is important that we acknowledge this (especially since I have already rebuffed his request to play this thing too slow!). In this case his markings make perfect sense, and it is up to us to make sure that we achieve the kind of two terrace stringendo that he is asking for; making sure that the first stringendo ends in bar 38, followed by 4 bars at the arrival tempo, before beginning the second stringendo. This is a subtle technique, to be sure, but I do feel like it is much more interesting than simply writing one long stringendo that spans the entire 12 bar section. That is a long time for a gradual accelerando, and even if done well, I don’t think it would be very satisfying musically.

The Stesso Tempo section that follows is a resumption of the “Poco piu mosso” tempo, but make sure to notice the dolce marking. This section may look like a technicians toy box — with the double tongued 32nd notes, sextuplets, and copious 16ths — but this music must still retain the dolce style that is indicated. Charlier is reminding us that this is still a member of the “Du Style” family after all.

Looking further ahead, another critical detail that is often overlooked in performances of this etude is the placement of the “Forte” marking on page 2, lines 2 and 3. This dynamic marking is not placed on the downbeat, but rather under the 16th triplet, indicating that this figure begins with the 16th triplet/eighth and not on the downbeat. In both instances the downbeat is the conclusion of the previous phrase, not the beginning of a new one, nor an elided phrase. This makes a very distinct difference in the character of this section and Charlier has marked it with great care and precision. We owe it to him to not overlook it.

That about sums it up. It has been a real pleasure to prepare this etude again. Hopefully my exploration of it (and the resulting performance) will offer some help when you go about preparing this etude yourself. Perhaps it will even lead to some much deserved attention for this often forgotten member of the “Du Style” family. Let’s share a little love shall we? This etude richly deserves it.

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