Les roses d’Ispahan (Op. 39 No. 4)

Gabriel Fauré · Level 5 (Advanced) · Romantic · Piano

An 1884 song to a poem by Leconte de Lisle, with oriental fragrances: the voice sways gently over a flowing eighth-note accompaniment. A song (voice and piano) arranged for solo piano: the right hand plays the vocal line, with the accompaniment notes that lie below it; the left hand plays the piano part as written. D major, 2/4, 81 bars (about 3 minutes), complete score.

▶ Play this piece with the interactive score

How to practise it

• Listen first: the site plays it while the score scrolls.
• Wait mode: the score waits for you at every note, at your own pace.
• Tempo challenge: play in time, with a score and a map of the bars you got right.
• Keep a calm, supple tempo, like a gentle sway; the left hand stays light beneath the melody. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. The left hand makes wide leaps: look at the landing note in advance and move early, without rushing the rhythm. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together.

More pieces by Gabriel Fauré

• Après un rêve (Op. 7 No. 1)
• Lydia (Op. 4 No. 2)

Source : Arrangement Note after Note d’après la saisie CC0 du corpus OpenScore Lieder · CC0 1.0