IMSLP Forums

Has anybody played Five Bagatelles - Gerald Finzi (I. Prelude; II. Romance and V. Fughetta) before? How do you find the movement of this piece?

Since Gerald Finzi died in 1956, his music is still under copyright in Canada, the EU, and the United States. If you are looking for the music of this particular piece, I would order it online here http://www.sheetmusicplus.com/title/Fiv ... no/4145587.

Also, if you would like to request a particular score on IMSLP, an appropriate place to post this type of message would be under the "Score Requests" forum.

allegroamabile wrote:Since Gerald Finzi died in 1956, his music is still under copyright in Canada, the EU, and the United States.

Not quite... http://imslp.org/wiki/Category:Finzi,_Gerald
Canada is life plus 50 years, so he's actually PD there (has been since 2007). It's a moot point, however, since the only work we have is under the [TB] block and therefore inaccessible (unfortunately).

Hi, allegroamabile,

Sorry that I am not asking for any score as I have brought it already and been practising it.

I would just like to ask for those who have heard or practised playing the clarinet part on Finzi's Five Bagatelles (I. Prelude, II. Romance; V. Fughetta) to express their comments or post some reviews here on this piece (for instance, how do they feel about the melody, its rubato, its movements etc).

I personally have not worked up the Five Bagatelles, but I have friends who I have heard perform it. Here is what I can say on it though. The Prelude is pretty straight forward, you could slightly slow the pulse in the middle, lyrical section (I believe it is in D-flat major, I don't have the music in front of me). Make sure the meter changes in the Andante cantabile are clear and apparent to the listener. In the last movement, I would practice it at a slow tempo for a period of time to make sure I have complete control of the trills and sixteenths in the altissimo and clarion registers. Also make sure the style and mood has a great deal of drive to it.

I am sorry for the confusion and I hope this helps.

While I am a pianist, I have played these pieces and am quite fond of them. They epitomize Finzi's lyrical long lined-melodies, much like those found in his songs. They also display the influence of Bach on Finzi's music (especially in the walking bass lines of the Prelude and Fughetta). The Romance and Carol betray his debt to the English musical Renaissance (Vaughan Williams in particular), but in my opinion the most original and beautiful of the five is the Forlana. I hope you enjoy playing these!