Melodious Pieces Op. 149 No. 27

About this work

Number 27 of opus 149 divides the movement in a way that can surprise anyone reading only the upper part: the primo sings in long notes while semiquavers flow through the secondo. This Andante asks the players to keep both layers audible. The quick notes give continuity to the melody without needing to take its place.
A sustained tune over flowing accompaniment
The secondo can practise the right hand with the bass alone before the primo joins in. Aim for evenly flowing semiquavers and well placed bass notes. The upper player can then sustain the melody without pushing the pulse. Rests allow the tune to breathe, while the accompaniment keeps moving underneath.
Grace notes and accents colour the theme’s returns. Begin with the main notes, finding their places against the secondo’s movement, then add the ornaments without shifting those points of contact. Dynamic changes sometimes follow each other closely. Prepare the return to piano as carefully as the preceding accent, so that the melody can immediately recover its gentle sound.
Score and playback
The PDF contains the secondo and primo parts for piano four hands on 3 pages. The MIDI provides a guide to the notes and rhythm. Alberto Simões typeset this score with LilyPond for the Mutopia Project. It is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 licence, which requires attribution and the same licence terms for adaptations.
Credits and files: Mutopia entry, source score and licence. Find more music on LesPartitions.info.