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Burgmüller - 1. La Candeur (Openness) in C major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

The quaver patterns require the cultivation of a legato cantabile touch and tonal gradation. Begin with the voice and sing the lines, shaping expressively and giving some space where the music breathes. Fingers need to be close to the keys, and the wrist flexible and mobile. As you glide through the five-finger positions sense the alignment of the arm behind each finger. You’ll feel this either as a tiny lateral movement in the wrist in the direction of travel, or as a small wrist circle (either is fine). Don’t overlook the chordal accompaniment in the LH; a solidly prepared background... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 2. L’Arabesque (Arabesque) in A minor (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

Allegro scherzando tells us to play fast and playfully. Keep the LH chords close to the keyboard, the fingertips firm and somewhat active, the wrist loose but relatively still. You’ll need to organise a good fingering for the LH chords (I give some tips on this in my video below). RH semiquaver patterns are played using a drop-roll (down-up) movement generated from the upper arm, the arm and the wrist assisting the fingers. Lateral adjustments (lining up) in the wrist keep us free and loose and help control finger articulation in the fast notes. The first note of each RH... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 3. La Pastorale (Pastoral) in G major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

This study features a simple melody in the RH against a chordal accompaniment in the LH. For the required legato cantabile touch, the fingers need to be in close contact with the keyboard, playing from the key surfaces. The wrist is free, loose and mobile. Play the grace notes very lightly but do not hurry them as they are gently expressive, and not percussive. The best way to control the LH repeated chords is to keep the fingers inside the keys rather than letting the keys all the way up to the top. Aim to achieve a chord legato from... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 4. La Petite Réunion (The Little Party) in C major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

The composer paints a jolly picture of a little party in this piece. We hear laughter in the bouncy thirds (RH bars 2, 10, etc.) and perhaps a note of disappointment (the A flats in bars 19 and 20) that the party is drawing to a close and it is time to think about going home. The guests are happy and content, and enjoy each other’s conversation (listen carefully to the dialogue between the hands from bar 15). This is a study in double note playing on the white notes (mostly thirds, but also sixths), staccato as well as legato.... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 5. Innocence in F Major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

Beginning at a gentle p dynamic (as so many of the études do), the tempo is moderato (not too fast) and the mood grazisoso (graceful). The composer leaves it to us to decide the dynamic level at the end of the crescendo in the first half of this binary piece. My sense is that it should not rise above a mf, in order that the crescendo to f in bar 13 (where we find the highest note in the piece) marks the climax. On the final chord, also marked f, we find the lowest LH note (bass F). Play this... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 6. Progrès (Progress) in C Major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

We return to C major for this lively, cheerful piece entitled Progrès (Progress). With touches of laughter (the staccato quavers in bars 3, 4 and 7), this study celebrates the pleasure in making progress - we have come a long way on our journey already! This study features scales in parallel tenths, a contrary motion scale, changes of touch from legato to staccato, rapid changes in hand position with jumps in both hands, and syncopated slurs. The general rule that the first note of a slur should take the accent, no matter which beat it falls on, is reinforced by... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 7. Le Courant Limpide (The Clear Little Stream) in G Major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

Le Courant Limpide (The Clear Little Stream) is a charming study in tonal control, evenness of touch, and using the imagination to create a vivid soundscape. The study features virtually continuous triplet motion in the right hand, the left hand crotchets providing a simple drone in the A section, and a counterpoint to the right hand’s hidden melody in the B section. The melodic element in the first eight bars is in the right thumb (you will notice these melody notes have their own crotchet stems), so for this reason it is good practice to play the thumb line minus... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 8. La Gracieuse (Gracefully) in F Major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

La Gracieuse (Gracefully) is in the subdued key of F major, and features written-out turns against a simple chordal background. The left hand has the chance to explore the ornament in the B section of this ternary form study, but we begin with the right hand. The turn consists of four notes - the note above, the principal note, the note below, and the principal note again. If this study were written with the usual ornament sign for a turn, the page would look much cleaner. Instead of all the demisemiquavers (or 32nd note in the American nomenclature), we would... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire

Burgmüller - 9. La Chasse (Hunting Song) in C Major (from 25 Easy and Progressive Etudes, Op. 100)

The previous two studies were about delicacy and control of sound in the softer dynamic levels; La chasse has all the energy and colour of a hunt, with a dynamic range from pp to f. The form is rondo (A-B-A-C-A), with an introduction and a coda. We clearly hear the hunting horns and the galloping of horses’ hooves, and we feel the excitement of the occasion. Do we also detect a certain compassion for the poor fox in the troubled B section (dominant minor, poco agitato) and the expressive C section in the relative minor, marked dolente (sadly)? The staccato... Read >>


Graham Fitch Repertoire