Infernal Galop (“Can-can”, Orpheus in the Underworld), piano arrangement

Jacques Offenbach · Level 5 (Advanced) · Romantic · Piano

The frantic galop from Orpheus in the Underworld (1858), in which the gods of Olympus dance in the underworld: the can-can tune everyone knows. A piece by Jacques Offenbach, the master of Parisian operetta under the Second Empire. D major, 1/2, 129 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.
• Start slowly: the repeated notes and the left-hand leaps must be secure before you speed up. Keep the sound light, without banging. One hand sometimes plays two voices: hold the long notes for their full value and let the main line sing louder than the accompaniment. For chords, shape the hand in the air before landing, all notes together. Fast writing: work section by section in Wait mode, then in dotted rhythms, and raise the tempo in steps of 5–10%.

More pieces by Jacques Offenbach

• Barcarolle (The Tales of Hoffmann)

Source : PDMX / MuseScore · CC0 1.0