Scènes d'enfants Op. 15 n°7 : rêverie

About this work

Rêverie is not a lullaby placed in the middle of nowhere. It is the seventh of the thirteen Scenes from Childhood, composed in 1838, and seems to suspend the motion after several livelier miniatures. Schumann looks back at childhood as an adult: the theme is simple, but its returns subtly alter the colour and direction.

The melody passes from one voice to another within four-part chords. The player must therefore decide which notes sing and which support the harmony. Syncopations and suspensions create the sense of floating time; covering them with continuous pedal deprives the piece of its breathing. Listen especially to notes shared by consecutive chords: they stitch the phrases together without showing the thread.

Practise each voice separately, then play the chords while bringing out only the upper line. Add the inner replies afterwards. A calm tempo still needs a pulse: without one, the reverie grows so drowsy that it falls asleep before the pianist. Change the pedal with the harmony and leave phrase endings open, like a thought that needs no full stop.


What the document contains

the seventh piece from Scenes from Childhood for piano;
a 2-page PDF;
a separate MIDI file.

This page contains Rêverie alone. Earlier scenes from the cycle are available separately, allowing the piece to be placed within its larger course.