Leybach, Joseph

International Music Score Library Project [IMSLP] entry: Joseph Leybach

(Ignace Xavier) Joseph Leybach (1817--91) was a French pianist and organist who composed salon music and organ pieces. He was born in Alsace, but spent most of his career in Toulouse, where he died. Now mostly forgotten, apart from one nocturne

Piece	MP3	Midi	Genre
La Diabolique		MIDI	piano salon
	Leybach's 2me Grand Etude Caracteristique, Op. 47 is sub-titled, and better known as, La Diabolique. It was published in 1862 by Schott & Co., 48 Great Marlborough Street, London W and sequenced in 2025 from a copy in my collection. It is marked presto [fast] with a metronome marking of 152 quavers to the minute [but see below]. The composer has added a footnote to the music: This piece must be played four times in succession every day at the speed given by the metronome; this will take around ten minutes [my trasnslation from the French] -- ANW] Taken at the speed given, the piece lasts some 3m20s, so cannot be played four times in ten minutes; in addition, the speed is not really presto. My best guess is that the metronome indication should refer to a dotted quaver, which reduces the time taken to 2m20s. So that's the speed I've sequenced it to. Ten minutes of relentless hammering is perhaps a bit much; or the Victorians had oodles of stamina!

Piece

MP3

Midi

Genre

La Diabolique

MIDI

piano salon

Leybach's 2me Grand Etude Caracteristique, Op. 47 is sub-titled, and better known as, La Diabolique. It was published in 1862 by Schott & Co., 48 Great Marlborough Street, London W and sequenced in 2025 from a copy in my collection.

It is marked presto [fast] with a metronome marking of 152 quavers to the minute [but see below].

The composer has added a footnote to the music: This piece must be played four times in succession every day at the speed given by the metronome; this will take around ten minutes [my trasnslation from the French] -- ANW] Taken at the speed given, the piece lasts some 3m20s, so cannot be played four times in ten minutes; in addition, the speed is not really presto. My best guess is that the metronome indication should refer to a dotted quaver, which reduces the time taken to 2m20s. So that's the speed I've sequenced it to.

Ten minutes of relentless hammering is perhaps a bit much; or the Victorians had oodles of stamina!

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Andy Walker, anw [at] cuboid4.me.uk [remove digit to construct address]