4. 'Au bord d'une source'

The difficulty of this piece is very high. It contains many leaps, and its technical demands often lead to a neglect of important musical aspects. The worst outcome is a mechanical performance. The tempo is essentially consistent from beginning to end. However, it is not a piece that should rush forward; the goal is to play it gracefully and leisurely, utilizing sufficient rubato. Furthermore, changing the 'color' during modulations is also crucial.

Liszt indicates diminuendo markings at the end of phrases. For example, starting from measure 1, a phrase concludes on the first beat of measure 3. Further divisions occur on the fourth beat of measure 4, the first beat of measure 7, and so on. Consider the section up to each division as a single phrase, and apply rubato within it. Slightly relaxing the tempo at the end of a phrase creates a beautiful sense of space. A poor performance would be to rush through these sections. (However, this does not mean applying excessive ritardando at the end of a phrase; it's more like a slight easing without changing the fundamental tempo. This is called 'tapering').

• At measure 7, the color changes. It is advisable to use the soft pedal in such sections.
• For the tremolos between measures 11-12, avoid producing two identical volumes or two identical speeds. Slow down the tempo on beats 2-3 of measure 12 and enter the fermata.
• At measure 13, 'sempre dolce e grazioso' is crucial. Adhere to this even in technically challenging passages.
• Between measures 17-19 and again between 19-20, change the color.
• Thereafter, remember to change the color during modulations, apply rubato, and always play 'dolce'.

From measure 41 onwards, this is the only section where the volume increases in the piece. Starting from here, aim towards measure 46. The descending passage between measures 49-50 should be played slowly and with a blurred quality. Do not play it marcato.

Now, from this point forward, once you have sufficient technical proficiency, let's understand the characteristics of this piece. In measure 1, observe the inner voice of the right-hand sixteenth notes: A♭ D♭ E♭ G D♭ E♭, then B C E♭ A♭ C E♭. In the second beat's A♭ D♭ E♭ G D♭ E♭, the D♭ and E♭ are merely pedal tones. The notes that change are A♭ and G. Similarly, in the third beat, C and E♭ are pedal tones, so B and A♭ are changing. In other words, a non-harmonic tone appears on the beat, and its resolution occurs on the off-beat. In measure 6, first beat, observe the melody: C♯ B. Here too, the resolution occurs on the off-beat. Such instances are abundant throughout the piece. The important thing to note is to avoid accentuating these off-beat resolutions.