PlayPiano
The short answer
A Venetian boat song with a Venice autograph witness. Venetian Boat Song, Op. 19 No. 6 is a song without words by Felix Mendelssohn from the Romantic era. PlayPiano puts it at Level 5, an estimate.
- song without words
- Romantic
- melancholic
Also known as Lieder ohne Worte: Venetianisches Gondellied, Op. 19 No. 6.
History
The surviving autograph of this G-minor boat song is dated 16 October 1830 and carries the heading Auf einer Gondel, or On a Gondola, in a Venetian context. It later closed the first six-piece book of Songs Without Words, first published in London in 1832. The manuscript date is a documented witness, not proof that every note was first composed on that day.
Sources
What to listen for
A melody becomes a duet
Hear paired notes in thirds or sixths giving the melody its duet-like sound.
How to practise it
Keep the opening accompaniment quiet while preparing the later high entry.
- Count the introduction, then practise D into the F sustain.
- Practise the two opening support groups lightly before adding the higher line.
How hard is it
A rocking boat-song accompaniment must remain steady beneath a clearly voiced melody with unforced phrase direction.
About this piece
- Collection
- Small scenes, big imagination
- Licence
- Creative Commons Attribution 3.0
- Source
- mutopiaproject.org
- Credit
- “Lieder ohne Worte: Venetianisches Gondellied, Op.19 No.6” by F. Mendelssohn-Bartholdy (1809 to 1847). Mutopia edition maintained by Ryan Prince. Source: https://www.mutopiaproject.org/cgibin/piece-info.cgi?id=1679. Licensed under CC BY 3.0: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/. Changes to the supplied file: none; any later conversion or edit must be disclosed separately.
More by Felix Mendelssohn
- Lieder ohne Worte, Op. 85 No. 1Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Venetian Gondola Song, Op. 30 No. 6Level 5, estimatedWith Maestro
- Scherzo in E minor, Op. 16 No. 2Level 8, estimatedWith Maestro
