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Burgmüller, Johann Friedrich Franz : 18 Etudes de genre (faisant Suite aux Etudes faciles op. 100)　La Source Op.109-5

Work Overview

Music ID : 34158
Instrumentation：Piano Solo　
Genre：etude
Total Playing Time：2 min 20 sec
Copyright：Public Domain
etude
Piano Solo
piano solo

Commentary (2)

Author : Sato, Takashi

Last Updated: January 31, 2022
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

 From “25 Etudes,” “The Limpid Stream,” and this “The Fountain,” and from “12 Etudes,” No. 6 “By the Spring”—these three pieces constitute the “Water Trilogy,” expressing the movement of water and the diffuse reflection of light through arpeggios. Liszt’s “Les jeux d’eaux à la Villa d’Este,” eventually led to Debussy’s “Reflets dans l’eau,” and Ravel’s “Jeux d’eau.” These are the foundational works that connect to Impressionistic piano pieces.

 The chord in measure 13 is an altered dominant chord (a type of augmented sixth chord) known as the “German sixth chord,” which creates a special climax.

Performance Points (Original ♪=120)

  The sustained notes, which were played by the first finger in “The Limpid Stream” and the fifth finger in “The Secret,” now shift to all fingers. The inner fingers, especially 2, 3, and 4, are particularly challenging. To ensure the melody always stands out regardless of which finger plays it, first practice playing it as a chord to achieve balance (Practice Method ①). For the small notes other than the melody, play them as quietly as possible, using only the fingers close to the keys, without wrist rotation (Practice Method ②).

(From To-on Edition “Burgmüller 18 Etudes” (NS61))

Writer: Sato, Takashi

Author : Ooi, Kazurou

Last Updated: November 30, 2020
[Open]
Note: This article is automatically translated from the original Japanese text. The author of the original work did not supervise this translation.

Overall Flow

It is marked Andante grazioso. Thirty-second notes are written in all measures except for the last two, allowing no momentary rest. This suggests a continuous flow, like an uninterrupted stream of water. To maintain the continuous flow of the music with strong rubato, the piece should generally proceed straightforwardly, except where markings such as rall. or a tempo are indicated.

Overall Structure

The compositional style has strong lyrical elements. It can be considered more as a song with accompaniment rather than purely instrumental writing. Among the notes written in the treble clef for the right hand, the eighth notes (excluding the thirty-second notes) constitute the melodic line.

These melodic notes should be clearly articulated, while the thirty-second notes should be played as softly as possible (pp).

Now, from this point onward, these are the author's personal observations, and agreement is not required: there are measures within the melodic line that appear not to be part of the melody.

  • Measures 30-32 are clearly not melodic.
  • The author also believes that the chromatic progression in measure 4 is not part of the melody.
  • Furthermore, while the first beat of measure 12 is a melodic note (B), the author believes the G on the second beat is not. If these two Gs were written as eighth notes, they might be melodic, but since they are written as thirty-second notes, the author considers them not to be.
  • Measure 20 is similar, mirroring measure 4.

Points to Note

  • Pay attention to the pedaling. Change the pedal on the off-beat of the second beat to avoid muddiness.
  • In measure 8, during the V-I cadence, play the I on the second beat softer than the first beat; however, since it is in octaves with the accompaniment, there is a tendency to apply too much force. Play the octaves as softly as possible (pp).
  • Measure 24 is similar.
Writer: Ooi, Kazurou

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