Schumann: Widmung - Easy Piano Arrangement

Robert Schumann: Widmung (Dedication) from Myrthen, Op. 25 No. 1

PDF Sheet music, piano solo
Simple Solutions piano arrangement by Henrik Kilhamn

Approximate Grade: 5
Scale 1 - 8: Beginner - Advanced

Key: Easy key G major + Original key A-flat major included

Robert Schumann’s song cycle Myrthen, Op. 25 was a wedding gift to his love Clara, and the opening number Widmung (Dedication) is meant for her, with Friedrich Rückert’s declaration of love set to tones. It has a very advanced piano part to begin with, where both hands contribute to an advanced texture of harmony and patterns bursting with joy underneath the singer’s more straightforward line. This arrangement has a simpler version of that concentrated in LH, but aims to preserve both contour and energy to have the same effect. I have changed the position of 16th note in the dotted rhythm for playability – switching finger into a skip instead of doing a double stop with the thumb makes it much more enjoyable to play. As the outer sections provide training for LH agility, the middle section is instead focused on RH with the challenge of producing a melody from the top notes of the repeated chords.

This arrangement is included in Simple Solutions Volume 5 - A Burning Desire (Intermediate ~ Grade 3-5)

KEY SIGNATURE

The arrangement comes in two versions: both transposed to an easier key signature as well as kept in the original key. The "Easy Key" transposed version is 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 stepping stone if you wish to continue with the original version or more advanced transcriptions in some capacity later on.

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.