ABSTRACT
This elegant miniature was relatively new when Scriabin recorded it: Album Leaf was composed and published in 1905, only three years before the recording (Phonola roll 13427).
Tempo Flexibility
The form of the piece is a period consisting of three similar phrases (mm. 1-8, 9-20, and 21-27). The tempo shifts clearly delineate the formal structure, peaking at climactic moments in each phrase and decelerating at the phrase endings. In the course of the piece, the tempo varies fivefold, from = 41 at the end of the first phrase (m. 8) to = 200 in the climactic section of the second phrase (m. 18).
