Simple Solutions Volume 5: A Burning Desire

Thirteen Easy Arrangements of Classical Love Songs for the Intermediate Pianist

PDF Sheet music
Piano solo arrangements by Henrik Kilhamn

CONTENTS

Schubert: Serenade (Ständchen)
Schumann: Monat Mai from Dichterliebe
Schumann: Widmung
Schumann: The Lotus Flower
Grieg: "I Love Thee"
Kreisler: Liebeslied
Massenet: Méditation from Thais
Mozart: "Voi che sapete" from Figaro
Bizet: Habanera from Carmen
di Capua: "O Sole Mio"
Puccini: "O Mio Babbino Caro" from Gianni Schicchi
Puccini: "Nessum Dorma" from Turandot
Wagner: Isolde's Liebestod from Tristan & Isolde

ABOUT Volume 5

After doing three volumes with piano solo pieces and the fourth with famous pieces of orchestral origins, I wanted to continue in that direction with a similar collection from the rich repertoire of well-known songs and opera arias. The theme made itself known early on since most of them is about love in some form – poets, princes and pages singing their hearts out in some of the most memorable tunes of all classical music, with A Burning Desire. Obviously, the expression of song is unique to that medium, but since they are always singing notes the melodies themselves can also be played on an instrument like piano. And together with formidable accompaniment possibilities we pianists can actually produce all this beautiful music ourselves, and these arrangements aim to do just that.

The first part is five songs from the German Lieder tradition, so only voice and piano to start with, in poignant works by Schubert, Schumann and Grieg of various lengths. Then comes two instrumental love songs originally composed for the violin by Kreisler and Massenet, as a kind of intermission in the set. The remaining six pieces are all from the epic opera tradition, or in the case of O Sole Mio, opera-adjacent since it needs to be sung by an opera singer. First a classical scene by Mozart; then an exciting invitation from Carmen by Bizet; two intimate but powerful prayers by Puccini; and finally Isolde’s iconically climactic Liebestod by Wagner. You can read more about every song and see the full translated lyrics in the included Contents section.

The difficulty of the pieces in this volume ranges between the equivalent of Grade 3-5 depending on the source material; on a scale of 1 to 8 where 1 is suitable for a beginner and 8 for conservatory level and beyond. However, this is only a reference point and no official grading, and pieces may be experienced subjectively as easier or harder.

PLAYLIST of videos of all arrangements:

ABOUT Simple Solutions

The Simple Solutions series came from the idea that even not-professionally trained pianists should be able to enjoy the feeling of playing great music from the piano repertoire with their own hands. This is possible with some clever rearranging of the musical material: reducing the range of independent voices and jumps while preserving core ideas of melody and rhythm. In this easier setting, you will instead have enough time on your hands (literally!) to bring the music to life and care about those aspect that often otherwise come second: phrasing, articulation, dynamics, and balance. This will help you develop your over-all musicality, which will be of great value in all other pieces as well.

In the end, if you feel ready for a challenge and want to go forward with proper piano studies that requires years of practice – you can always move on to more advanced arrangements or original piano compositions. They will always be there. In the meantime, these arrangements will bring you close to the same enjoyment as the full versions, because all musical ideas are carefully conserved.

They are just a little bit easier.

KEY SIGNATURES

Five of the arrangements in this volume come in two versions: transposed to easier key signatures as well as kept in their original keys. The other eight are only kept in their original keys, which are pretty easy to begin with. The "Easy Keys" transposed version is normally recommended for the most comfortable Simple Solutions experience. It's easier to read notes without many sharps or flats, which frees up a lot of attention for all other musical aspects only at a cost if you have perfect pitch. The version in Original Key serves the purpose of constituting a steppingstone if you wish to continue with the original composition or more advanced transcriptions in some capacity later on.

MORE Volumes

Simple Solutions Volume 1 (Elementary ~ Grade 3)
Simple Solutions Volume 2 (Intermediate ~ Grade 5)
Simple Solutions Volume 3: Nights & Dreams (Intermediate ~ Grade 5)
Simple Solutions Volume 4: An Orchestral Orchard (Intermediate ~ Grade 4-5)

Simple Solutions Volume 1-4 Bundle - All four volumes for a great price!