Schwanenlied (Op. 1 No. 1)

Fanny Hensel · Level 5 (Advanced) · Romantic · Piano

The first song of the first collection Fanny Hensel published under her own name (1846), to a poem by Heine: a star falls, the leaves fly away, the swan sings its last song. An arpeggiated accompaniment ripples like water. 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. G minor, 6/8, 54 bars (about 2 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.
• The arpeggios must flow smoothly and very lightly; the melody sings above them with a little more weight. In 6/8, count the beats as groups of three eighths (dotted beats) to keep the lilt. 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.

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