Hunting Song No. 3 Opus 19

The Anacrouse collection offers pianists, beginners and advanced alike, a wide choice of classical works from the Renaissance to the present day. It brings together major works of the repertoire as well as rarer pieces, and also offers transcriptions for piano solo or four hands, selected for their musical and educational interest. Each score, available individually, benefits from careful editorial work: a rigorously established musical text, clear and legible engraving, accompanied by a short biography of the composer and a note on the work.

“Hunting Song”, the third piece of the first book of Songs Without Words (Opus 19), is a work of great vitality. For the pianist, it is an excellent study in the hunting rhythm (6/8), staccato articulation and the precision of the chords. The pedagogical challenge lies in maintaining constant energy and clarity of playing despite the speed of the tempo, while bringing out the characteristic horn calls that punctuate the piece.

Felix Mendelssohn revolutionised piano music with his “Lieder ohne Worte”, short lyrical pieces in which the instrument becomes a singer. Published around 1832, “Hunting Song” stands apart from the other, more contemplative romances through its heroic character and picturesque imagery. It perfectly illustrates Mendelssohn’s talent for linking technical virtuosity to an evocative musical narrative, recalling the great hunting scenes of German Romantic literature.